Deflation is currently considered as one of the most important threats for macroeconomic dynamics and, thus, it is argued that it should be avoided by all available means. We challenge this view because empirically it cannot be verified that deflation periods necessarily go hand in hand with...

This paper proposes a model that links households and firms, as usual, by markets for factors and goods and, additionally, by a banking sector that channels households' funds to firms and eliminates idiosyncratic risk. In equilibrium, agency costs and tax benefits of corporate debt are...

To end a financial crisis, the central bank is to lend freely, against good collateral, at a high rate, according to Bagehot’s Rule. We argue that in theory and in practice there is a missing ingredient to Bagehot’s Rule: secrecy. Re-creating confidence requires that the central bank lend in...

The Romanian banking system is on the edge of becoming a mature one. The crisis could be the opportunity to make the final transformation. Even if the last year represented a decrease of its profitability, the chance to be closer to the Western banking systems is still on the horizon. The main...