International Capital Flows and Monetary Policy Spillovers

This dissertation examines the drivers and implications of international capital flows. The overarching motivation is the observation that countries not at the centre of global financial markets are subject to considerable spillovers from centre countries, notably from their monetary policy. I present new empirical evidence on the determinants of the observed patterns of international capital flows and monetary policy spillovers, and study their effect on both financial markets and the real economy. In Chapter 2 I provide evidence on the determinants of a puzzling negative correlation observed between productivity growth and net capital inflows to developing and emerging market economies (EMEs) since 1980. By disaggregating net capital inflows into their gross components, I show that this negative correlation is explained by capital outflows related to purchases of very liquid assets from the fastest growing countries. My results suggest a desire for international portfolio diversification in liquid assets by fast growing countries is driving much of the original puzzle. In the reminder of my dissertation I pivot to study the foreign characteristics that drive international capital flows and monetary policy spillovers, with a particular focus on the role of unconventional monetary policy in the United States (U.S.). In Chapter 3 I show that a significant portion of the heterogeneity in EMEs' asset price adjustment following the quantitative easing operations by the Federal Reserve (the Fed) during 2008-2014 can be explained by the degree of bilateral capital market frictions between these countries and the U.S. This is true even after accounting for capital controls, exchange rate regimes, and domestic monetary policies. Chapter 4, co-authored with Michal Ksawery Popiel, studies unconventional monetary policy in a small open economy, looking specifically at the case of Canada since the global financial crisis. We quantify the effect Canadian unconventional monetary policy shocks had on the real economy, while carefully controlling for and quantifying spillovers from U.S. unconventional monetary policy. Our results indicate that the Bank of Canada's unconventional monetary policy increased Canadian output significantly from 2009-2010, but that spillovers from the Fed's policy were even more important for increasing Canadian output after 2008.

The Capital Sculpture of Wells Cathedral, c. 1184-1210

The understudied capital sculpture of Wells Cathedral in Somerset, England (c. 1184-1210) provides ample opportunity of expanding the current scholarship and understanding of interior ecclesiastical sculpture in a West Country cathedral. While the Gothic style of architecture is typically understood as, according to Paul Binski (2014), rational in execution and reception, the capital sculpture at Wells Cathedral has been considered illogical in terms of both its iconography and location within the nave, transepts, and north porch. Utilizing Michael Camille’s post/anti-iconographical approach, this project examines the Wells figural capitals in five case studies: labour, Old and New Testament Scenes, animals and beast fables, busts, and monsters and hybrids. Each group of capitals will be approached with an understanding that this type of art was viewed by people of different classes and professions, with each viewer bringing their own personal experiences and abilities into how they could have read and understood these types of images. Therefore, the capitals at Wells must be read through layers of meaning and interpretation while also considering their locations within the cathedral and how they react and respond to surrounding figural capitals.