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...

In distilling a vast literature spanning the rational- irrational divide, this paper offers reflections on why asset bubbles continue to threaten economic stability despite financial markets becoming more informationally-efficient, more complete, and more heavily influenced by sophisticated...

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 -- I. INTRODUCTION -- II. EXPOSURE TO LONG- TERM U. S. SECURITIES -- A. Foreign Positions in U.S. Securities in 2004 -- B. Impact of Declines in the Dollar and U.S. Asset Prices -- C. Evolution of Exposure: 1994 to 2004 -- D. Exposure to Dollar Bonds Issued by Third Countries...

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.