We explain the emergence of a variety of intermediaries in a model based only on differences in their funding costs. Banks have a low cost of capital due to, say, safety nets or money-like liabilities. We show, however, that this can be a disadvantage, because it exacerbates...

We use a labor-search model to explain why the worst employment slumps often follow expansions of household debt. We find that households protected by limited liability suffer from a household-debt-overhang problem that leads them to require high wages to work. Firms respond by posting high...

Sovereigns in distress often engage in debt restructuring, typically negotiating with multiple classes of bondholders at once. We use natural experiments to investigate whether sovereign bondholders benefit from committing not to restructure. We find that committing not to restructure one class...