We empirically explore the fragility of wholesale funding of banks, using trans-action level data on short-term, unsecured certificates of deposits in the European market. We do not observe any market-wide freeze during the 2008-2014 period. Yet, many banks suddenly experience funding dry-ups....

We study the allocation of interest rate risk within the European banking sector using novel data. Banks' exposure to interest rate risk is small on aggregate, but heterogeneous in the cross-section. In contrast to conventional wisdom, net worth is increasing in interest rates for approximately...

We provide the first detailed empirical analysis of the failure of a derivatives clearinghouse: the Caisse de Liquidation, which defaulted in Paris in 1974. Using archival data, we find three main causes of the failure: (i) a weak pool of investors, (ii) the inability to contain the growth of a...

Bubbles are recurrent events, which contribute to both macroeconomic and employment volatility. We introduce stochastic bubbles in the standard search-and matching model of the labor market. The economy alternates between latent and bubbly states, each being associated with a distinct solution...

I show that home ownership decisions across countries and individuals are shaped by a cultural heritage from agriculture. For centuries, dominant assets in pre-industrial economies were either land or cattle. Consequently, the type of farming prevailing locally shaped preferences and believes...

I show that the maritime shipping industry - handling above 80\% of global trade flows - has evolved over the past decades to systematically evade "corporate responsibilities,'' i.e., compliance with regulatory standards and potential tort liabilities. Shipping firms increasingly dissociated...

Theoretically, one rationale for central clearing counterparties is the mitigation of inefficiencies associated with distressed asset sales. With novel archival data, I empirically study the first event in economic history during which a CCP successfully played this role: the global wool crisis...

I show that saving gluts spur financial instability. In the US, banks locally exposed to its root causes - the rise in household wealth inequality and higher savings by intangible-intensive firms - massively increased deposits since 2000, leading to an unprecedented deposit-to-GDP ratio and to a...

I show that the maritime shipping industry – handling above 80% of global trade flows – has evolved over the past decades to systematically evade “corporate responsibilities,” i.e., compliance with regulatory standards and potential tort liabilities. Shipping firms increasingly...