Using monthly post-1995 Japanese data we propose a new sign-restriction based approach to identify monetary policy shocks when the economy is at the zero-lower bound (ZLB). The identifying restrictions are thoroughly grounded in liquidity trap theory. Our results show that a quantitative easing...

The recent financial crises pointed out the central role of public and private debt in modern economies. However, even if debt is a recurring topic in discussions about the current economic situation, economic modelling does not take into account debt as one of the crucial determinants of...

At present West European banks are increasingly branching out into asset management as well as the consulting business, which cannot be directly influenced by monetary controls. We have therefore carried out a regression analysis and a factor analysis of banks' balance-sheet items, and we have...

At present, Western European banks are increasingly branching out into asset management as well as the consulting business, which cannot be influenced directly by monetary controls. We have therefore conducted a factor analysis of banks' balance-sheet items, and we have also plotted figures from...

This paper studies whether in Pakistan the dynamic behavior of unemployment, inflation, budget deficit and real GDP growth is systematically affected by the timing of elections. We cover the period from 1973-2009. Our results can be summarized as follows: 1. Unemployment tends to be lower in...

At present, Western European banks are increasingly branching out into asset management as well as the consulting business, which cannot be influenced directly by monetary controls. We have therefore conducted a factor analysis of banks' balance-sheet items, and we have also plotted figures from...

This paper analyses the role of bank-related constraints in explaining the sharp slowdown in bank lending to non-financial corporations in Germany during the recent financial crisis. We use a panel approach based on a unique data set which matches the individual responses of the banks...

This paper provides an overview of the reserve requirement measures undertaken by the Central Bank of Peru. It provides a rationale for the use of these instruments as well as empirical evidence of their effectiveness. In general, the results show that tightening reserve requirements has the...

This paper augments a relatively standard dynamic general equilibrium model with financial frictions in order to quantify the macroeconomic effects of the credit deepening process observed in many Latin American (LA) countries in the last decade, most notably in Brazil. In the model, a stylized...

This paper aims to analyze the degree of concentration of loans allocated to agricultural and livestock activities in Brazil from 2000 to 2009, and to assess the distribution pattern of rural credit among the Brazilian states. The major motivation is to investigate if the volume of available...