Although the main responsibility for carrying out economic reforms in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe lies with these countries themselves, the transformation of the Soviet-style economic system into a market economy must be made easier by support from abroad. In this the...

The countries of Eastern Europe need to raise considerable finance not only in order to improve their balances of payments but also to adjust the structure of their economies over the long term to changed internal and external conditions. The adjustment measures require capital, but the Eastern...

The International Monetary Fund is at present examining the possibility of borrowing on private capital markets in order to meet its growing refinancing needs. Reservations concerning such a step have been voiced in particular by the oil-importing developing countries. Professor Konrad analyses...

There is thus a fundamental credibility issue about the willingness of the ECB to be a lender of last resort in the government bond markets. This will continue to make the eurozone a fragile construction. As a result, the possibility of a future euro crisis cannot be excluded.

To boost investments into sustainability, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - a crucial part of the economy - must play a role. The current sustainable finance framework focuses on capital markets. But SMEs normally get external finance from banks, and bank-based financial systems work...

While macroprudential policy has mostly focused on the role of banks, we argue that pension funds are also important for financial stability. Drawing on previous research on pension funds, we explain how their actions can have a vital impact on other financial institutions as well as on...