Little empirical investigation exists of the links among capital account liberalization, prudential regulation and supervision, financial crises, and economic development, mainly because of the lack of comparable measures to describe regulatory practices for different countries. This paper examines empirically, albeit in a preliminary manner, these links using new measures of capital controls, prudential regulation, supervision, and depositors' safety for a sample of 15 developing economies over the period 1990-97. Results confirm the importance of the degree of capital account convertibility and the regulatory and supervisory framework in affecting financial fragility and economic performance.

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This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.The paper uses an event study methodology to investigate which and how macroeconomic announcements affect commodity prices. Results show that gold is unique among commodities, with prices reacting to specific scheduled announcements in the United States and the Euro area (such as indicators of activity or interest rate decisions) in a manner consistent with gold's traditional role as a safe-haven and store of value. Other commodity prices, where such news is significant, exhibit pro-cyclical sensitivities and these have risen somewhat as commodities have become increasingly financialized. These results are important for those trading in the commodity markets on a frequent basis and long-term market participants that take their decisions based on information on price fundamentals, which are reflected in the release of macroeconomic announcements.

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