Shocks to the financial sector led credit spreads to widen to unprecedented levels in many markets during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The rise in spreads attracted attention because it could signal a disruption in financial markets, which has been widely linked to an increased burden on...

Aggregate bank lending has stagnated since 1990 in Japan. This observation has generated a debate on whether the supply side of the credit market had an effect on the economy in its recent slowdown. At this point, the evidence is ambiguous. The hypothesis is primarily challenged by the low level...