The macroeconomic theories and models favored by academics, as well as those used more commonly by policymakers, effectively rule out by assumption economic and financial crises of the sort we are living through. (In particular, the longer-run dangers posed by the rapid expansion of credit and...

Banking systems have rapidly grown to a point where, for many countries, bank assets amount to multiples of GDP. As a consequence, governments' capacities to provide stability-enhancing fiscal guarantees against systemic crises can no longer be taken for granted. As regulation of dynamic...

The recent financial crisis teaches important lessons regarding the lender-of-last resort (LLR) function. Large swap lines extended in 2007-08 from the Federal Reserve to other central banks show that the classic concept of a national LLR fails to address key vulnerabilities in a globalized...