This paper shows that inflation in Yugoslavia shares common elements with inflation in other highly indebted countries, despite appearances other-wise. These common elements include a large transfer of resources abroad unmatched by an internal adjustment, resulting in a large internal...

The authors compare the implementation of two apparently similar stabilization programs by two reforming socialist countries, launched two weeks apart (Dec. 1989 in Yugoslavia and Jan. 1990 in Poland). They investigate possible differences underlying the apparently similar programs that may...

Although both domestic and foreign private banks have gained ground in MENA in recent years, state banks continue to play an important role in many countries. Using a MENA bank-level panel dataset for the period 2001-08, the paper contributes to the empirical literature by documenting recent...

This paper examines the evolving importance of banks and securities markets during the process of economic development. As economies develop, they increase their demand for the services provided by securities markets relative to those provided by banks, such that securities markets become...

This paper analyzes the bright and dark sides of the financial development process through the lenses of the four fundamental frictions to which agents are exposed -- information asymmetry, enforcement, collective action, and collective cognition. Financial development is shaped by the efforts...

Just before the 2008-09 global financial crisis, policymakers were concerned about the rapid growth of bank credit, particularly in Europe; now worry centers on a potential global credit crunch led by European banking institutions. Overall, credit conditions across Europe deteriorated markedly in...

This paper assesses European bank deleveraging and its impact on global credit conditions. Before the onset of the global financial crisis, European banks had rapidly expanded their foreign lending activities. However, European banks have since been tightening credit conditions in Europe more...