This study takes a closer look at the role of risk (mis)management by financial institutions in the emergence of the Great Crash. It is explained that prior to the crisis too much reliance was placed on the quantitative side of risk management, while not enough attention was paid to qualitative...

I state it from the beginning: I’m in favour of selective public intervention in the economy. Selective does not mean fundamentalism and neither ideology. Selective means pragmatic, where it is needed (a reaction approach) or where it might be (a preventive approach). This paper briefly...

I have written these words at a time of a deepening financial crisis which is ricocheting worldwide and causing tremendous anguish and tremors, a spreading economic downturn. It is also not a long while after the European Parliament passed a report which I worked out together with a Dutch...

After having reviewed trends leading to greater international inequality, this article argues for a more stable international financial system allowing developing countries greater participation in international trade combined with full exploitation of their development potential. As emerging...

I explain the key failure mechanics of large dealer banks, and some policy implications. This is not a review of the financial crisis of 2007–2009. Systemic risk is considered only in passing. Both the financial crisis and the systemic importance of large dealer banks are nevertheless obvious...

The paper analyzes developments in bank lending in Italy during the financial crisis, assessing the relative contribution of demand and supply factors to lending deceleration. We find that the slowdown in lending was mainly due to a reduction in demand. For households, this can be attributed to...

The unprecedented drop in international trade during the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 has mostly been analysed at the macroeconomic or sectoral level. However, heterogeneous exporters in terms of productivity, size or external finance dependence should be hit differently by...

This paper reviews the origin and spread of the distressed debt problem in the transition region. We argue that while the crisis was triggered abroad, the current high level of distressed debt in various transition countries mainly reflects home-grown vulnerabilities. As in the West, the root...

<em>Is the financial crisis a test for Basel II?</em> - In the last few months the debate about the Basel II framework has been intensified by the extent of the current financial crisis. The main discussion focused also on the impact of the new capital regulation over the business cycle fluctuations....

In mid-September 2008, a global financial crisis erupted which was followed by the most serious worldwide economic recession for decades. As in many other regions of the world, governments in the euro area stepped in with a wide range of emergency measures to stabilise the financial sector and...