We analyze the main forces affecting financial system pro-cyclicality (the fact that developments in the financial sector can amplify business cycle fluctuations). We first review some major structural developments in financial markets that may influence pro-cyclicality and that have been...

In this speech, Sir John Gieve, Deputy Governor for financial stability, discusses the financial cycle and the UK economy. He argues that the US sub-prime market provided only the initial spark and fed a fire fuelled by much broader weaknesses in the financial sector. He outlines a number of...

This paper presents estimates of short and medium frequency cycles for eight key economic and financial variables of the Greek economy and explores their characteristics. Five alternative techniques are used: turning point analysis; bandpass filters; the Hodrick-Prescott filter; univariate...

The subprime loan mortgage crisis has revived scholarly interest in Minsky's financial instability hypothesis. The related mathematical models present two types of Minskian financial structures. We construct macrodynamic models that consider both structures and discuss financial instability and...

We investigate the effects of financial development on recession while controlling for potential recession factors using data of about 129 countries covering the 1990-2010 period. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examining this relationship using a plural and innovative...

Financial institutions heterogeneity, a high degree of dissimilarity across multiple dimensions, including business focuses, correlated asset holdings, capital structures, and funding sources, reduces systemic risk. We empirically test this hypothesis using a bank holding company (BHC) level...

This paper examines the link between overbanking and financial distress during the interwar period in Europe, focusing on Italy as a case study. Using regression analysis and a systematic review of coeval literature, it shows that banks experiencing distress had opened scores of branches, had...