Andreas Steiner assesses the relationships between global imbalances, financial crises, and central bank policies, with a specific focus on their reserves. His combination of a strictly international perspective with an analysis based on empirical research enables him to develop an analytical...

"If governments followed the optimal fiscal policy path, surpluses in good times would counter necessary deficits during economic downturns, leading to worldwide balance. The world, however, has chosen to go in a different direction in recent decades, avoiding thrift in light of a decidedly more...