Diverging fiscal policy paths, housing booms and diverging unit labour costs were driving forces of rising intra-European current account imbalances, which were underpinned by low interest rates. Since the outbreak of the crisis, the adjustment of intra-EMU current account imbalances has been...

The bursting of the Japanese bubble economy in the early 1990s put the stage for a lasting low-, zero-, and negative-interest rate environment, which fundamentally changed the business environment for the Japanese commercial banks. On the income side, with interest margins becoming increasingly...

This paper presents an analysis of the impact of the Bank of Japan's low-interest rate policy on the banking sector in the wake of the 1998 Japanese financial crisis. We show how the low-cost liquidity provision as a means to stabilize banks has created a growing gap between deposits and loans...

Japan's industrial and trade policies are often seen as the reason for high Japanese balance of trade surpluses. Does this theory stand up to a close examination of the relationships between balance of trade, trade policy and structural change?

The paper analyses the role of fiscal and monetary policy for the development of the current account imbalances in the euro area, including the most recent developments during the coronavirus crisis. Several financial transmission channels such as international bank lending, changes in TARGET2...