SERGIO SCHMUKLER is Lead Economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1997, when he started working as a Young Professional at the World Bank. Since joining the Bank, he has been based at the Research Department. He has also worked continuously for the Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America and for the East Asia and South Asia regions. Besides his work for the Bank, he has been Treasurer of LACEA (Latin America and Caribbean Economic Association) since 2004, was Associate Editor of the Journal of Development Economics (2001-2004), visited and taught at Department of Economics, University of Maryland (1999-2003), and visited and worked at the International Monetary Fund Research Department (2004-2005). Before joining the World Bank, he worked at the U.S. Federal Reserve (Board of Governors), the Inter-American Development Bank Research Department, and the Argentine Central Bank. His research area is international finance and international financial markets and institutions. He has published several articles in academic journals and edited volumes on emerging markets finance, exchange rate regimes, financial globalization, financial crises and contagion, and financial development.