Abstract-This study aims to investigate the long run relationship of international reserves holding in Egypt using the buffer stock model presented by Frenkel and Jovanovic (1981). The study employed quarterly data from 1990Q1 to 2012Q4. A robust time series technique autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) was used which is applicable irrespective of whether the regressors are purely I (0) or purely I (1). The evidence derived from the ARDL approach support the fact that the scale variables and the volatility variable have significant effects on the reserve demand. The evidence also demonstratesthat both exchange rate flexibility and opportunity cost does not have any significant impact on the reserve demandin Egypt.Index Terms-International reserve holdings, Egyptian economy, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL).

Sovereign credit rating reflects the country ability to meet its financial obligations (at present and in future) on its maturities, therefore, it is an important indicator that concerns international financial institutions and foreign investors who are interested in foreign direct investment in order to know the minimum expectation of risks that can be faced in specific country. This paper aims to i) examine the effect of macroeconomic variables on the Egyptian sovereign credit rating (SCR) and ii) also investigate the impact of investment environment (measured by government effectiveness) on the SCR using the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) method over the period from 1990 to 2014. The results indicate that GDP growth, inflation, fiscal balance, reserves, current account balance, public domestic debt, and the government effectiveness have a significant impact on the sovereign credit rating in Egypt. This study has important implications for investors and policymakers.

The main aim of this paper is to assess empirically the impact of exchange rate volatility (ERV) on the export and import functions in reference to Egypt's major trading partners over the period of 1980-2016. Estimates of a cointegration relationship are obtained using the ARDL model. The conditional variance of the GARCH (1,1) model is taken as a proxy for exchange rate fluctuation. The observed outcomes reveal a significant negative coefficient of volatility on export and a non-significant positive coefficient on import. Indeed, this finding supports the traditional view that higher volatility will decrease export. To avoid the negative consequences of ERV, policymakers should shift from the concept of specialization based on the comparative advantage to competitive advantage and focus on the diversification of Egyptian exports while avoiding risks associated with market concentration by exploring potential opportunities that would increase trade openness by expanding Egypt's trade with other countries, especially with low and middle-income and emerging countries.