While the appearance of debit and credit cards is similar, the attributes have significant differences, particularly when it comes to account overdrafts. This does not suggest that credit cards are somehow superior products, as complaints abound concerning credit card fees. Nevertheless,...

Bank debit cards may look like credit cards, but they certainly do not act like them when it comes to account overdrafts. This does not suggest that credit cards are better than debit cards, as complaints abound concerning the transparency of fees charged to consumers for credit card...

Between the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, a radical reform of Banca d'Italia – the Italian central bank and banking supervisory authority – was enacted. It was the last chapter of a historical evolution, started in 1893 with its incorporation as a joint-stock-corporation under...

Based on a connection between network analysis and B-VAR models, this paper provides a first empirical evidence of the relationships between capital centralization expressed in terms of network control on one hand and monetary policy guidelines and business cycles on the other. Our findings...

We examine whether business groups’ influence on cash holdings depends on ownership. Group affiliation can increase firms’ agency costs or benefit firms by providing an internal capital market, especially in transition economies characterized by weak investor protection and difficult...

Monetary policy decisions taken by central banks affect the economy, society and politics worldwide. Does the presence of women matter in these decisions? We construct a new and unique dataset on the presence of women on central bank monetary policy committees for a large sample of countries,...