This paper deals with the financial statements of Central Banks. The starting point is the analysis of their balance sheets, which reveal their strong connections, on the one hand, with the National Treasuries; on the other hand, with the financial firms. The balance sheets reveal, besides the...

This paper contributes to the debate regarding national government debt. It asks if government should excise public debt through inflation or pay it as it was stipulated, and argues that, from an economic and social point of view, what is desirable is the just fulfillment of State obligations....

This article verifies the occurrence of a real estate bubble in the Brazilian economy. Overall, our results suggest the existence of a bubble in the real estate sector of the economy. The Austrian School of economics provides a solid explanation to this phenomenon, which are reinforced by...

We present a detailed survey of changes in the reserve requirement system in Brazil and analyze the system's main functions and goals during the period from 1994 to 2012. We identify four different subperiods with respect to the use of this policy tool. In the first subperiod, from july 1994 to...

We present a detailed survey of changes in the reserve requirement system in Brazil and analyze the system's main functions and goals during the period from 1994 to 2012. We identify four different subperiods with respect to the use of this policy tool. In the first subperiod, from july 1994 to...

This paper tests two hypotheses for the overbidding behavior of the banks in the fixed rate tenders conducted by the European Central Bank from January 1999 until June 2000. One hypothesis attributes the overbidding to expectations of a future tightening of monetary policy, while the other...

Given that several countries have adopted inflation targeting, and that the main objective of this regime is to function as a guide for the inflationary expectations of economic agents, transparency in the handling of the monetary policy becomes a prerequisite for the success of this regime....

This article analyses the development of the Colombian monetary and banking system between 1850 and 1880. The political debate and the power struggle at the national level determined the economic model of this period. Beyond its technical feasibility, the economic decisions were influenced by...

This article uses conventional models to evaluate whether the term structure of interest rates can predict economic activity in Mexico. A positive relationship between interest rate differentials and economic activity is detected, even after controlling for the monetary policy stance through...

This article shows, from an economic history perspective, the changes in the Colombian monetary policy brought about by “La Regeneración” (conservative regime) from 1880. The new political model replaced the decentralization policies, pursued by Radicals in the previous decades, with a very...