We synthesize the results of the recent theoretical literature on the determination of interchange fees by payment card associations. We analyze in particular the conditions under which these interchange fees are excessively high, as compared with social optimum. These conditions involve several...

We study the dynamics of an innovative industry when agents learn about the likelihood of negative shocks. Managers can exert risk-prevention effort to mitigate the consequences of shocks. If no shock occurs, confidence improves, attracting managers to the innovative sector. But, when condence...

We study the dynamics of an innovative industry when agents learn about the likelihood of negative shocks. Managers can exert risk-prevention effort to mitigate the consequences of shocks. If no shock occurs, confidence improves, attracting managers to the innovative sector. But, when condence...

Evidence suggests that banks tend to lend a lot during booms, and very little during recessions. We propose a simple explanation for this phenomenon. We show that, instead of dampening productivity shocks, the banking sector tends to exacerbate them, leading to excessive fluctuations of credit,...

We provide a rationale for imposing counter-cyclical capital ratios on banks. In our simple model, bankers cannot pledge the entire future revenues to investors, which limits borrowing in good and bad times. Complete markets do not sufficiently stabilize credit fluctuations, as banks allocate...

[fre] Les bénéfices de l'interbancarité sont peu discutables, notamment dans le domaine des moyens de paiement. Pourtant, la collaboration entre banques est difficile à organiser. L'exemple de la monétique française illustre parfaitement les conflits potentiels qui peuvent exister entre...

[fre] La crise financière qui a débuté l’été dernier - et qui est encore loin d’être résolue - montre de façon criante que les systèmes complexes de réglementation prudentielle élaborés péniblement par les autorités bancaires sont très largement inadaptés (on pense notamment...

[fre] La théorie bancaire a connu un renouvellement important au cours des vingt dernières années. L'introduction du paradigme de l'information asymétrique et des outils de l'économie industrielle a en effet permis de faire émerger une véritable théorie micro-économique de la banque,...

[eng] Prudential regulation and market discipline . Market discipline is considered a fundamental element of on-going reforms of banking regulatory supervisory systems. This article aims at clarifying the logic of the main theoretical arguments in favour of market discipline and reviewing the...