Sovereign risk premia in several euro area countries have risen markedly since 2008, driving up credit spreads in the private sector as well. We propose a New Keynesian model of a two-region monetary union that accounts for this “sovereign risk channel.” The model is calibrated to the euro...

his paper reviews the literature on asymmetric monetary transmission within the European Monetary Union (EMU). At first, a stylized model is presented in order to highlight the importance of asymmetric monetary transmission for the decision-making of the European Central Bank (ECB). The...

Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience...