Output Fluctuations in Latin America What Explains the Recent Slowdown?

May 2000 - For the period 1992-98, domestic factors explain most output variability in Latin America. However, external factors account for about 60 percent of the 1998-99 slowdown - perhaps in part because external variables were more volatile during this period, but mainly because domestic variabl...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Herrera, Santiago
Other Authors: Perry, Guillermo, Quintero, Neile
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C The World Bank 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: World Bank E-Library Archive - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
LEADER 03804nmm a2200637 u 4500
001 EB002095969
003 EBX01000000000000001236059
005 00000000000000.0
007 cr|||||||||||||||||||||
008 221013 ||| eng
100 1 |a Herrera, Santiago 
245 0 0 |a Output Fluctuations in Latin America  |h Elektronische Ressource  |b What Explains the Recent Slowdown?  |c Herrera, Santiago 
260 |a Washington, D.C  |b The World Bank  |c 1999 
300 |a 68 p. 
653 |a Macroeconomics and Economic Growth 
653 |a Real Exchange Rates 
653 |a Financial Literacy 
653 |a Domestic Interest Rates 
653 |a Capital Flows 
653 |a Investment and Investment Climate 
653 |a Real Interest 
653 |a Real Exchange Rate 
653 |a Poverty Reduction 
653 |a Accounting 
653 |a Bonds 
653 |a Debt Markets 
653 |a Private Sector Development 
653 |a Gross Domestic Product 
653 |a Business Cycles 
653 |a External Debt 
653 |a International Development 
653 |a Share 
653 |a Bond 
653 |a Real Interest Rates 
653 |a Business Cycles and Stabilization Policies 
653 |a Currencies and Exchange Rates 
653 |a Exchange 
653 |a Pro-Poor Growth 
653 |a Real Interest Rate 
653 |a Emerging Markets 
653 |a International Interest 
653 |a Economic Stabilization 
653 |a Sovereign Debt 
653 |a Interest Rates 
653 |a Finance and Financial Sector Development 
653 |a Economic Theory and Research 
653 |a Macroeconomic Management 
653 |a Capital Markets 
700 1 |a Perry, Guillermo 
700 1 |a Quintero, Neile 
700 1 |a Herrera, Santiago 
041 0 7 |a eng  |2 ISO 639-2 
989 |b WOBA  |a World Bank E-Library Archive 
856 4 0 |u http://elibrary.worldbank.org/content/workingpaper/10.1596/1813-9450-2333  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
082 0 |a 330 
520 |a May 2000 - For the period 1992-98, domestic factors explain most output variability in Latin America. However, external factors account for about 60 percent of the 1998-99 slowdown - perhaps in part because external variables were more volatile during this period, but mainly because domestic variables - real interest rates and real exchange rates - were more stable in these two years. Herrera, Perry, and Quintero explain Latin America's growth slowdown in 1998-99. To do so, they use two complementary methodologies. The first aims at determining how much of the slowdown can be explained by specific external factors: the terms of trade, international interest rates, spreads on external debt, capital flows, and climatological factors (El Niño). Using quarterly GDP data for the eight largest countries in the region, the authors estimate a dynamic panel showing that 50 - 60 percent of the slowdown was due to these external factors. The second approach allows for effects on output by some endogenous variables, such as domestic real interest rates and real exchange rates. Using monthly industrial production data, the authors estimate country-specific generalized vector autoregressions (GVAR) for the largest countries. They find that during the sample period (1992-98) output volatility is mostly associated with shocks to domestic factors, but the slowdown in the subperiod 1998-99 is explained more than 60 percent by shocks to the external factors. This paper - a product of the Economic Policy Sector Unit and the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Sector Unit, Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office - is part of a larger effort to understand output fluctuations and growth in the region. The authors may be contacted at gperry@worldbank.org or nquintero@worldbank.org