In East Germany the immediate privatization of banks and the restructuring of the financial base of former state owned companies by the "Treuhand" prevented the transformation economies usual soft budget constraints risk. Therefore the adjustment of savings within Germany was to be due,...

Despite the fact that the last century was characterized by an impressive increase of cross-border capital flows, Japan remained a relatively closed economy up to the late 90s. Only when the "bubble" burst was the impetus given for more rapid opening up of the economy and the closely related...