Thailand's economic crisis in 1997 was fundamentally one of private sector debt, rooted in private behavior that affected the magnitude and composition of investment and how it was financed. Thailand's crisis provides further evidence that financial liberalization must be carefully managed...

The regulatory and supervisory practices most effective in promoting good performance and stability in the banking sector are those that force accurate information disclosure, empower private sector monitoring of banks, and foster incentives for private agents to exert corporate control

Most banks around the world delay provisioning for bad loans until it is too late, when cyclical downturns have already set in. The size and timing of loan loss provisions tend to improve with the level of economic development

In recent years we have seen a growing number of banking and financial crises in emerging market countries, with great costs to their economies. But we now have a much better understanding of why these crises occur and a better idea how they can be prevented

The behavior of actors in financial systems depends crucially on the incentives that motivate them. The right regulation, supervision, and incentives (including the scope of permissible activities, degree of contestability, and extent of safety net) for financial services can make the sector...