Few micro…nance-funded businesses grow beyond subsistence entrepreneur-ship. This paper considers one possible explanation: that the structure ofexisting micro…nance contracts may discourage risky but high-expected returninvestments. To explore this possibility, I develop a theory that uni…es...

[...]We begin by explaining the three most commoncategories of value-at-risk models—equally weighted movingaverage approaches, exponentially weighted movingaverage approaches, and historical simulation approaches.Although within these three categories many differentapproaches exist, for the...

[...]This article has two objectives: to examine theforces responsible for the declining role of traditionalbanking in the United States as well as in other countries,and to explore the implications of this decline and banks’responses to it for financial stability and regulatory policy.A key...

We consider a general equilibrium model with frictions in credit markets used by households. Inour economy, houses provide housing services to consumers and serve as collateral to lower borrowingcost.We show that this amplifies and propagates the effect of monetary policy shocks on...

After liberalizing international transactions of financial assets, many countries experiencelarge swings in asset prices, capital flows, and aggregate production. This paper studies howthe adjustment to capital account liberalization depends upon the degree of development of adomestic financial...

Traditional theories of the origins of the welfare state have emphasized the financial weakness of Britain’s largest provider of mutual insurance in the late 19th century, the friendly societies. These theories share common implications with contemporary theories of institutional change...

By analysing a newly compiled database of exchange rates, this paper finds that Central European financial integration advanced in a cyclical fashion over the fifteenth century. The cycles were associated with changes in the money supply. Long-distance financial integration progressed in...