The global non-bank sector has experienced significant growth since the global financial crisis, raising concerns that this shift represents a financial stability risk. We consider the drivers of this growth in Sweden: a small, open economy whose non-bank sector has grown rapidly. In contrast...

In this study we estimate the effect of terror on trade in financial services using the gravity model. In a sample of more than 60 importing and exporting countries from 2000 to 2014, we find robust evidence that terrorist attacks in either the importer or the exporter territory significantly...

Banks and other financial institutions which were too-big-to-fail (TBTF) played a central role during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2009. The present article lays out how misguided policies enabled banks to grow both in size as well as in complexity and therefore acquire TBTF status,...

The global financial crisis triggered a vast number of new laws and regulations at international level, including initiatives that can be classified as "soft law". The legitimacy and efficacy of these new norms are subject to intensive academic and political debates. At the same time, soft law...

The main focus of this paper is to study empirically the impact of terrorism on the behavior of stock, bond and commodity markets. We consider terrorist events that took place in 25 countries over an 11 year time period and implement our analysis using different methods: an event-study approach,...

The paper analyzes the use of credit default swaps (CDS) for regulatory capital relief and its consequences for systemic risk. Equity capital acts as a buffer against losses, and reduces incentives for excessive risk taking. Basel capital regulation states that banks can lower capital...

We investigate how investor protection, government quality, and contract enforcement affect risk-taking and performance of insurance companies from around the world. We find that better investor protection results in less risk-taking, as do higher quality government and greater contract...

This study provides an overview of UK infrastructure investment and finance in an international context, yielding interesting facts insights for both investors and policy makers worldwide. The UK is one of the leading countries in terms of private sector involvement in infrastructure, with...

The paper surveys the characteristics of explicit systems of deposit insurance in 68 countries. It compares these actual practices with a set of best practices that has been adopted by IMF staff for their advice to member countries. These best practices seek to establish a system of deposit...