In this paper we present a model of competition between informal lending and group lending. The paper is organized as follows. The second paragraph reviews the economic literature that analyzes separately group contracts and informal lending markets. The third paragraph tries to answer the...

In a given geographical area, what happens when a farmer, a craftsman, or a small merchant can choose between participating in a group lending or resorting to an informal money-lender? This paper presents a theoretical model that examines such situations, placing group lending and informal...

By the early 2000s an increasing number of countries had adopted a well-defined central bank framework, characterized by two intertwined features: stronger specialization for the banking authority in achieving monetary policy goals, and a lessening of its traditional responsibilities for the...

We propose a path dependence approach to analyze the evolution of the financial supervisory architecture, focusing on the institutional role of the central bank, and then apply our framework to describe the institutional settings in a selected sample of countries. The policymaker who decides to...

On May 11-12, 2011, SUERF, the Belgian Financial Forum, the Brussels Finance Institute and the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) jointly organised the 29th SUERF Colloquium New paradigms in money and finance? The papers included in this SUERF Study are based on contributions to the...

After September 2001, the war against the financing of both terrorism and organized crime occupies the centre of the policy makers' agenda. This paper has a threefold objective. To better evaluate the design of the regulation and the supervision strategy, it reviews the economics of the...

Central Bankers are currently facing big challenges in designing and implementing monetary policy, as well as with safeguarding financial stability, with the world economy still in the process of digesting the legacy of the crisis. The crisis has changed central banking in many ways: by shifting...

The paper aims at shedding some light on the dynamics of competition among off-shore centers that attract capitals of illicit origins. The paper takes a relational approach, focusing on the relations established between off-shore centers and criminal organizations, in order to design the optimal...

An increasing number of countries show a trend towards a certain degree of consolidation of powers in financial supervision, which has resulted in the establishment of unified regulators, that are different from the national central banks. By contrast a high involvement of the central bank in...