Financial markets and financial intermediation may be competing mechanisms in the provision of liquidity insurance and their co-existence may adversely impact risk-sharing. The question studied here is what is the optimal central bank policy when there is private information about liquidity...

In recent years, the theory of rules and discretion in monetary policy has fascinated scores of academic economists and policymakers alike. This paper asks whether it can be applied to understand the history of the world monetary system, by focusing on the setup and the experience of the Bretton...