Migrant remittances increased strongly since the 1980s, becoming an important and reliable source of funds for many developing countries. Therefore, there is a strong incentive for receiving countries to attract more remittances, especially through formal channels that turn to be either less...

This study examines the emergence of financial stability as a key police objective. It discusses the underlying trends in the financial system, as well as the role of finance in relation to money, the real economy and public policy. Financial stability is defined in terms of its ability to help...

Country members of EMU as well as the United States have improved their fiscal positions during the course of the past decade. This article considers the impact of further government debt and deficit reductions in the EMU area. First the literature on government finance establishing the role of...

This paper presents a number of scenario analyses, based on simulating DNB's multi-country model EUROMON, for the euro area economy. The scenarios deal with monetary policy and budgetary policy actions, and with exogenous shocks such as changes in oil prices, asset prices and exchange rates. The...

We first sketch how central banks have used unconventional monetary policy measures by using three indicators based on the composition of the balance sheet of eleven central banks. Our analysis suggests that although the ECB's balance sheet has increased dramatically during the crisis, the...

Since the start of the economic transformation in 1978, China has been growing at spectacular level. Given the size and growth of its economy, China is in a position to substantially influence world commodity prices and prices for various consumption goods. This report summarises insights from a...

In two-sided markets, one widely observes skewed pricing strategies, in which the price mark-up is much higher on one side of the market than the other. Using a simple model of two-sided markets, we show that, under constant elasticity of demand, skewed pricing is indeed pro?t maximizing. The...

Using a simple model of two-sided markets, we show that, in the social optimum, platform pricing leads to an inherent cost recovery problem. This result is driven by the positive externality of participation that users on either side of the market exert on the opposite side. The contribution of...

In this paper we present a theoretic framework to analyse pricing structures in debit card schemes. Card-holders value debit cards only to the extent that these are accepted by retailers, while retailers in turn benefit from a widespread usage of cards. This points to the two-sided nature of the...

This paper provides a theory of two-sided market dynamics with arguably better microfoundations. These alternative microfoundations focus on observable heterogeneities of both sides of the market in a competitive framework. The theory is rich in empirical predictions and is less dependent on a...