The structural complexity of the largest U.S. bank holding companies (BHCs) has been changing. Following the global financial crisis, the simplification of bank complexity was a policy priority. Using a variety of measures of organizational, business, and geographic complexity, the authors show...

Building on the facility design and application experience from the global financial crisis, in March 2020 the Federal Reserve eased the terms on its standing swap lines in collaboration with other central banks, reactivated temporary swap agreements, and introduced the new Foreign and...

Two theories of the causes of currency crises prevail in the economic literature. The first traces currency instability to countries' structural imbalances and weak policies; the second identifies arbitrary shifts in market expectations as the principal source of instability. The authors of this...

It is generally agreed that strong domestic financial systems play an important role in attaining overall economic development and stabilization. The role played by foreign banks in achieving this goal, however, is still controversial. This article brings new evidence to the debate over foreign...

Using more than two decades of industry data, the authors profile the external orientation of manufacturing industries in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan. They use the term "external orientation" to describe the potential exposure of an industry's revenues and costs to...

This volume of the Economic Policy Review, "Special issue on the economic effects of September 11," explores some of the key economic consequences of the attacks of September 11. The six articles that make up the volume address several important questions: how great were the losses in New York...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the financial sectors of emerging economies soared during the 1990s, leaving many countries with banking sectors owned primarily by foreign institutions. While the implications of FDI into emerging markets are well documented, less clearly understood is how...

The trade-weighted exchange rates constructed for the aggregate U.S. economy do not always capture the changes in industry competitive conditions induced by movements in specific bilateral exchange rates. Exchange rates produced using information on industry-specific trade partners are often...