The aim of this paper is to assess the consequences of banking crises for public debt. Using an unbalanced panel of 154 countries from 1980 to 2006, the paper shows that banking crises are associated with a significant and long-lasting increase in government debt. The effect is a function of the...

The present paper treats the issue of economic foundations, on which political power rests, and the specific problem of public debt in the developed countries. Starting from the general question: “Why do rich governments borrow so much?” the paper develops a model of political power based on...

The recent economic and financial crisis does not call for a change in monetary policy strategy, but rather better integration of financial conditions and financial-crisis risks in the implementation of this strategy: this appears to be the main conclusion of a conference organised by the Banque...

The aim of this paper is to assess the consequences of banking crises on public debt. Using an unbalanced panel of 154 countries from 1980 to 2006, the paper shows that banking crises produce a significant and long-lasting increase in government debt. The effect is a function of the severity of...

The aim of this work is to assess the short and medium term impact of banking crises on developing economies. Using an unbalanced panel of 159 countries from 1970 to 2006, the paper shows that banking crises produce significant output losses, both in the short and in the medium term. The effect...

The aim of this work is to assess the impact of financial crises on output for 11 European transition economies (CEECs). The results suggest that financial crises have a significant and permanent effect, lowering long-term output by about 17 percent. The effect is more important in smaller...

This overview paper examines the financial crisis in light of past country experience and economic theory and sets out some preliminary policy recommendations. A number of facets of the crisis are detailed, including its origins and spreading factors as well as crisis resolution policies and...

This paper is the basis for the Guest Columnist article in the Tuesday, November 11, 2008 issue of the Kansas City Star Business Weekly. Because of space limitations, the published newspaper column had to be shortened from the original and unfortunately did not include either of the two...