We examine which variables are robust in explaining cross-country differences in the real impact of systemic banking crises. Based on a meta-analysis, we identify 21 variables frequently used as determinants of the severity of crises. Employing nine proxies for crisis severity, we find that...

This study examines the emergence of financial stability as a key police objective. It discusses the underlying trends in the financial system, as well as the role of finance in relation to money, the real economy and public policy. Financial stability is defined in terms of its ability to help...

Despite the efforts that commercials banks have made to promote the use of debit cards and the introduction of new payment methods, the migration from cash to electronic payment methods is not proceeding as quickly as sometimes expected. Why do people pay by cash on one occasion and by bank card...

This study addresses the sustainability of the Dutch system of supplementary pensions, that is, supplementary to the state old-age pension. Traditionally, the system is characterised by high-quality defined-benefit schemes that offer members a high degree of pension security. However, the...

When the financial crisis erupted in 2007, it quickly became clear that many vulnerabilities had built up in the system, unnoticed by the financial authorities. Assets that had been considered safe proved to be risky and illiquid, the level and spread of risks were unclear and many market...

This paper analyses investment strategies of three types of institutional investors pension funds, life insurers and non-life insurers over the period 1999-2005. We use balance sheet and cash flow data, including purchases and sales of equity, fixed income and real estate. We trace asset...

This paper examines the financial behaviour of 77 Dutch pension funds during 2002-2005. Using microdata, we investigate differences across various types of funds. Both the asset mix and the degree of home bias are related to the size of pension funds: large institutions invest more in equity and...

The crisis has demonstrated that the ability of banks to absorb shocks needs to be strengthened. The financial tensions that have emerged repeatedly since 2007 could assume such serious proportions because the exposure of the banks was too high and too risky in relation to their capital...

Using a New-Keynesian framework, we investigate how far the inflationary processes in member states of EMU cause regional price levels to converge. We fail to produce hard evidence of the present existence of such an adjustment mechanism, notwithstanding that inflation in some countries tends to...

Some committees are made up of experts, persons interested in both the (subject) matter at hand and in coming across as able decision-makers. Such committees would like to conceal disagreement from the public. We present a theory that describes the reaction of experts to the requirement to...