This study aims to identify policies that influence the development of financial institutions as measured across three dimensions: depth, efficiency, and stability. Applying the concept of the financial possibility frontier, developed by Beck & Feyen (2013) and formalized by Barajas et al...

Given no generally accepted framework for financial stability, policymakers in developing Asia need to manage, not avoid, financial deepening. This paper supports Asian policymakers' judgment through analysis of the recent events in the United States and Europe and of earlier crisis episodes,...

This paper analyzes the transmission of global liquidity to the ASEAN-5 countries (ASEAN-5), including the impact on financial landscapes and risks to financial stability. It finds that global liquidity transmission and changing financial landscapes have contributed to increases in risks to...

At the zero lower bound, the central bank's inability to offset shocks endogenously generates volatility. In this setting, an increase in uncertainty about future shocks causes significant contractions in the economy and may lead to non-existence of an equilibrium. The form of the monetary...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed in response to widespread fears that that United States was in danger of slipping into a 1930s-style economic depression. Once the ARRA was introduced, the economic debate centered on tax reductions versus direct government spending....

The United States Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on February 13, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on February 17, 2009. ARRA was passed in response to widespread fears that the United States was in danger of slipping into a...

Three years have passed since the Bank of Japan's asset purchase program was introduced in 2011, causing a sharp decline in the value of the Japanese Yen. What would be the implications for Japan and Korea's exporters if the weak Yen is here to stay? We explore this question by examining...

Economic policies shape how much people earn but also how stable their income and jobs are. The level of earnings and the degree of economic stability both matter for well-being. Micro-level data indicate that, across OECD countries, economic instability is much greater at the level of...

This paper describes the optimal level of government purchases in the presence of unemployment. The theoretical framework is a general-equilibrium matching model in which government purchases are valuable. When the unemployment gap is zero, the conventional Samuelson formula is valid. Otherwise,...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is a massive piece of legislation that was enacted on the heels of the most significant financial crisis of modern time. It was aimed at avoiding a depression. The provisions of the Act were aimed at calming the panic that had gripped investors...