An empirical study that shows that countries’ reserve holdings are sensitive to the rates at which they can borrow on international financial markets, this analysis confirms the view that holding major currencies as reserve assets has costs that are frequently unrecognized. Between 1978-82 for...

The interaction between credit frictions, financial innovation, and a switch from optimistic to pessimistic beliefs played a central role in the 2008 financial crisis. This paper develops a quantitative general equilibrium framework in which this interaction drives the financial amplification...