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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. This paper develops a comprehensive new framework to measure and analyze sovereign risk. Since traditional macroeconomic vulnerability indicators and accounting-based measures do not address risk in a comprehensive and forward-looking way, the contingent claims approach is used to construct a marked-to-market balance sheet for the sovereign, and derive a set of credit-risk indicators that serve as a barometer of sovereign risk. Applications to 12 emerging market economies show the risk indicators to be robust and highly correlated with market spreads. The framework can help policymakers design risk mitigation strategies and rank policy options using a calibrated structural model unique to each economy.

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. Over the past decades, workers' remittances have grown to become one of the largest sources of financial flows to developing countries, often dwarfing other widely-studied sources such as private capital and official aid flows. While it is undeniable that remittances have poverty-alleviating and consumption-smoothing effects on recipient households, a key empirical question is whether they also serve to promote long-run economic growth. This study tackles this question and addresses the main shortcomings of previous empirical work, focusing on the appropriate measurement, and incorporating an instrument that is both correlated with remittances and would only be expected to affect growth through its effect on remittances. The results show that, at best, workers' remittances have no impact on economic growth.

This paper develops a comprehensive new framework to measure and analyze sovereign risk. Contingent claims analysis is used to construct a marked-to-market balance sheet for the sovereign and derive a set of forward-looking credit risk indicators that serve as a barometer of sovereign risk. Applications to 12 emerging market economies show the approach to be robust, and the risk indicators are a significant improvement over traditional macroeconomic vulnerability indicators and accounting-based measures. The framework can help policymakers design risk mitigation strategies and rank policy options using a calibrated structural model unique to each economy. IMF Staff Papers (2008) 55, 109–148; doi:10.1057/palgrave.imfsp.9450026; published online 22 January 2008

Macroeconomic Consequences of Remittances was prepared in response to the growth of cross-country remittance flows and the request of the IMF's Executive Board for a thorough investigation of remittances and remittance systems, including their effect on poverty and macroeconomic performance. This Occasional Paper is the product of a team led by Ralph Chami of the IMF Institute and composed of Adolfo Barajas of the