02180cas a2200265 a 4500 AALejournalIMF011654 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781463933197 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Ghosh, Atish. Shifting Motives : Explaining the Buildup in official Reserves in Emerging Markets Since the 1980's / Atish Ghosh, Jonathan Ostry, Charalambos Tsangarides. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2012. 1 online resource (39 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students Why have emerging market economies (EMEs) been stockpiling international reserves? We find that motives have varied over time?vulnerability to current account shocks was relatively important in the 1980s but, as EMEs have become more financially integrated, factors related to the magnitude of potential capital outflows have gained in importance. Reserve accumulation as a by-product of undervalued currencies has also become more important since the Asian crisis. Correspondingly, using quantile regressions, we find that the reason for holding reserves varies according to the country's position in the global reserves distribution. High reserve holders, who tend to be more financially integrated, are motivated by insurance against capital account rather than current account shocks, and are more sensitive to the cost of holding reserves than are low-reserve holders. Currency undervaluation is a significant determinant across the reserves distribution, albeit for different reasons. Mode of access: Internet Ostry, Jonathan. Tsangarides, Charalambos. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2012/034 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2012/034/001.2012.issue-034-en.xml IMF e-Library