We study determinants of sovereign portfolios of Spanish banks over a long time-span, starting in 2008. Our findings challenge the view that banks engaged in moral hazard strategies to exploit the regulatory treatment of sovereign exposures. In particular, we show that being a weakly capitalized...

We develop a theoretical framework that encompasses four distinct motives for dollarization and discuss appropriate policy responses to help contain dollarization and its attendant risks. ""Moral hazard"" dollarization provides a clear case for prudential policy activism. However, prudential...

"In this incisive fifth edition of Financial Crises and Recession in the Global Economy, Roy E. Allen examines the major financial instabilities, crises, and evolutionary trends since the 1970s and through the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Providing empirical research on the relation between money...

This paper reviews the performance of the euro area since the euro's launch 20 years ago. It argues that the euro crisis has exposed existential flaws in the euro regime. Intra-area divergences and the corresponding buildup of imbalances had remained unchecked prior to the crisis. As those...