Household savings rates in the United States have recently crept up from all-time lows. Some have suggested that a shift toward frugality will hamper GDP growth-the Keynesian ""paradox of thrift."" We estimate that households compensate for a fall in their asset income by saving more out of...

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) regional securities market saw increasing activity in the last decade, but still fell short of supplying sufficient long-term financing for growth-enhancing public and private investment projects. In addition to providing an institutional...

This paper examines whether there is a threshold above which financial development no longer has a positive effect on economic growth. We use different empirical approaches to show that there can indeed be ""too much"" finance. In particular, our results suggest that finance starts having a...

Between 1980 and before the recent crisis, the ratio of financial market debt to liquid assets rose exponentially in the U.S. (and in other financial markets), reflecting in part the greater use of securitized assets to collateralize borrowing. The subsequent crisis has reduced the pool of...

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. FINANCE, FINANCIAL STRUCTURE, AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT -- III. CROSS-COUNTRY DIFFUSION OF ICT -- IV. METHODOLOGY -- V. EMPIRICAL RESULTS -- VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS.

Intro -- Contents -- I. THE EMERGENCE OF ASIAN STOCK MARKETS -- II. PERFORMANCE OF ASIAN EMERGING STOCK MARKETS -- III. ARE ASIAN MARKETS OVERHEATING? -- IV. EQUITY PRICES AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY -- V. POLICY IMPLICATIONS -- APPENDIX I: THE DEVELOPMENT OF EQUITY DERIVATIVES MARKETS IN ASIA --...

Intro -- Contents -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. SYSTEMIC RISK IN THE SINGLE FINANCIAL MARKET -- III. THE ARCHITECTURE FOR FINANCIAL CRISIS MANAGEMENT -- IV. THE LENDER OF LAST RESORT FUNCTION IN PRACTICE -- V. CHALLENGES -- VI. WAYS FORWARD: COORDINATION VS. CENTRALIZATION OF POLICYMAKING --...

Intro -- Contents -- Executive Summary -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. LONG- TERM SYSTEMIC RISKS -- III. INNOVATIONS IN RISK TRANSFER MARKETS -- IV. INCOMPLETE MARKETS -- V. POLICY CONSIDERATIONS -- VI. CONCLUSIONS -- References.