Conversion factors : a discussion of alternate rates and corresponding weights
The significant operational implications underlying the Bank's estimates of per capita GNP, represent important considerations in systematizing the use of official rates in determining the exchange rate to be used in the Atlas methodology. This paper discusses issues and procedures to develop a time series of alternative conversion factors with corresponding weights for use in converting and presenting macro-level country statistics in a common unit of account, e.g. the U.S. dollar. The focus of the paper is on conversion factors that are representative of transaction or"effective"conversion factors. It also emphasizes the implications for Bank estimates of per capita, the kinds of evidence relevant in assessing the underlying conversion factors, and identifies countries where review of the official exchange rate merits serious consideration. The paper reviews the main concerns about the adequacy of the official exchange rate as a conversion factor.
Purchasing Power Parity and Black-Market Exchange Rates
This paper develops a theory of black-market exchange rate determination as a function of the market-clearing rate, the official rate and changes in official reserve levels. The model is tested for three countries over the period 1952–1971 by using purchasing-power-parity calculations as approximations of the equilibrium rate. The results indicate that relative rates of inflation are the dominant forces influencing equilibrium exchange rates.
Fascism and the right in Europe, 1919-1945
This new text places interwar European fascism squarely in its historical context and analyses its relationship with other right wing, authoritarian movements and regimes. Beginning with the ideological roots of fascism in pre-1914 Europe, Martin Blinkhorn turns to the problem-torn Europe of 1919 to 1939 in order to explain why fascism emerged and why, in some settings, it flourished while in others it did not. In doing so he considers not just the 'major' fascist movements and regimes of Italy and Germany but the entire range of fascist and authoritarian ideas, movements and regimes present in the Europe of 1919-1945.