Stephanie Medina Cas's Books

Building Statistical Capacity in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

By: Ms. Stephanie C Medina Cas,Yasmin Alem,Jacinta Bernadette Shirakawa

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Building Statistical Capacity in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

By: Ms. Stephanie C Medina Cas,Yasmin Alem,Jacinta Bernadette Shirakawa

Based on internal data, this paper finds that the capacity development program of the IMF’s Statistics Department has prioritized technical assistance and training to fragile and conflict-affected states. These interventions have yielded only slightly weaker results in fragile states than in other states. However, capacity development is constantly needed to make up for the dissipation of progress resulting from insufficient resources that fragile and conflict-affected states allocate to the statistical function, inadequate inter-agency coordination, and the pervasive impact of shocks exogenous to the statistical system. Greater coordination with other capacity development providers and within the IMF can help partially overcome low absorptive capacity in fragile states. Statistical capacity development is more effective when it is tailored to countries’ level of fragility.

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International Monetary Fund

Published Date

ISBN 13

9798400202742

Improving the Monetary Policy Frameworks in Central America

By: Stephanie Medina Cas,Mr.Alejandro Carrion-Menendez,Ms.Florencia Frantischek

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Improving the Monetary Policy Frameworks in Central America

By: Stephanie Medina Cas,Mr.Alejandro Carrion-Menendez,Ms.Florencia Frantischek

Several Central American (CADR) countries with independent monetary policies are strengthening their monetary frameworks and some have implemented or are moving towards inflation targeting (IT) regimes. Strengthening the monetary policy frameworks of CADR is key to improving the effectiveness of monetary policy. The paper reviews the literature on the reforms needed for strengthening the monetary policy frameworks, and examines the experiences of IT countries, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay to help distill lessons for CADR. It also constructs an index to measure the relative strength of the monetary policy framework of CADR countries.

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International Monetary Fund

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ISBN 10

1463923244

ISBN 13

9781463923242

Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic

Trade Integration and Economic Performance

By: Stephanie Medina Cas,Mr.Andrew Swiston,Mr.Luis Barrot

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Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic

Trade Integration and Economic Performance

By: Stephanie Medina Cas,Mr.Andrew Swiston,Mr.Luis Barrot

This paper studies the potential for the export sector to play a more important role in promoting growth in Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic (CAPDR) through deeper intra-regional and global trade integration. CAPDR countries have enacted many free trade agreements and other regional integration initiatives in recent years, but this paper finds that their exports remain below the norm for countries of their size. Several indexes of outward orientation are constructed and suggest that the breadth of geographic trading relationships, depth of integration into global production chains, and degree of technological sophistication of exports in CAPDR are less conducive to higher exports and growth than in fast-growing, export-oriented economies. To boost exports and growth, CAPDR should implement policies to facilitate economic integration, particularly building a customs union, harmonizing trade rules, improving logistics and infrastructure, and enhancing regional cordination.

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International Monetary Fund

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ISBN 10

1475510845

ISBN 13

9781475510843

The Policy Interest-Rate Pass-Through in Central America

By: Stephanie Medina Cas,Mr.Alejandro Carrion-Menendez,Ms.Florencia Frantischek

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The Policy Interest-Rate Pass-Through in Central America

By: Stephanie Medina Cas,Mr.Alejandro Carrion-Menendez,Ms.Florencia Frantischek

Several Central American (CADR) central banks with independent monetary policies have adopted policy interest rates as their main instrument to signal their monetary policy stances, often in the context of adopting or transitioning to inflation targeting regimes. This paper finds that the interest-rate transmission mechanism, or the pass-through of the policy rate to market rates, is generally weaker and slower in CADR than in the LA6, the countries selected as benchmarks. A variety of potential factors behind this finding are examined, including the degrees of financial dollarization, exchange rate flexibility, bank concentration, financial sector development, and fiscal dominance. Through panel data analysis, the study suggests that the transmission mechanism can be strengthened by increasing exchange rate flexibility, and, over time, by adopting measures towards reducing financial dollarization, developing the financial sector, and reducing bank concentration.

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