We study central bank interventions in times of severe distress (mid-2010), using a unique bond-level dataset of ECB purchases of Greek sovereign debt. ECB bond buying had a large impact on the price of short and medium maturity bonds, resulting in a remarkable "twist" of the Greek yield curve....

This paper analyses the determinants and effects of ECB interventions in times of severe distress. We focus on the Greek government bond market in mid-2010 and use a unique new dataset to show, for the first time, what type of bonds the ECB bought. We then explore the short-term effects of ECB...

The Greek bail-out was highly controversial. An oft-heard assessment is that i) the bail-out was a mistake, ii) the political haggling over it was irrational and iii) the bail-out will create a moral hazard problem. Contrary to this view, our analysis suggests that, given EMU's present...

Die Staatsschuldenkrise im Euroraum kann kurzfristig nicht gelöst werden: Die finanzielle Unterstützung für die Schuldnerstaaten reicht nicht aus, deren Austeritätsprogramme wirken zu restriktiv und die Mitgliedsländer sind nicht bereit, auf Fiskalkompetenz zu verzichten. Die Autoren...