Since the onset of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, credit risk spreads in Europe have diverged. Despite this divergence, credit risk comoves strongly within certain country groups such as the eurozone periphery. We seek to answer what the determinants of the observed pattern of credit risk...

A stable financial system is a prerequisite for well-functioning market exchanges, which, in turn, allow reaping the benefits of economic specialisation and trade. In many countries around the world, the benefits of modern finance are taken for granted. Financial stability comes to the forefront...

The global financial crisis of 2008 was a crisis affecting both the financial sector and the “real economy.” This paper analyzes the transmission of unexpected shocks from the financial sector in the US to other countries and sectors. We test the hypothesis that the financial crisis spread...

This paper analyzes the incidences of sector-specific contagion during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2009. The empirical analysis comprising ten sectors in 25 major developed and emerging stock markets shows that the crisis led to an increased co-movement of returns and thus contagion...

Will the world run out of 'safe assets' and what would be the consequences on global financial stability? We argue that in a world with competing private stores of value, the global economic system tends to favor the riskiest ones. Privately produced stores of value cannot provide sufficient...

As a response to multiple financial shocks, international standards have disappointed. Consensus-seeking has stifled innovation, perpetuating outdated regulatory concepts at a time of rapid market change. Different forces are at work now. Markets are complex and idiosyncratic; they may not be...

The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 illustrates how financial turmoil in advanced economies could trigger severe financial stress in emerging markets. Previous studies dealing with financial crises and contagion show the linkages through which financial stress are transmitted from advanced...

This paper examines the contagion of the eurozone debt crisis to developed and emerging stock markets around the world. Using the VAR methodology, and changes in sovereign bond yields and stock returns of the crisis countries as proxies for the eurozone debt crisis, this paper finds strong and...

We identify current challenges for creating stable, yet efficient financial systems using lessons from recent and past crises. Reforms need to start from three tenets: adopting a system-wide perspective explicitly aimed at addressing market failures; understanding and incorporating into...