The floating dollar standard was rooted in the aggressive pursuit of liberalized financial markets and the asymmetric integration of countries in the periphery into the international financial system. The mechanism of generating international liquidity was buttressed by the concerted advocacy of...

The current financial crisis has called the role of the monetary policy into question and has also re-opened the debates about a new regulation and the need of prudential controls of banking activity. This paper argues that the origins of the current crisis can be found in two interrelated...

A sequence of crises and emergency interest rate cuts has moved global interest rates towards zero and government debt to historical records. We discuss the available options to exit from unconventional monetary policies and unsustainable government debt. First, we shed light on the probability...

Why do financial institutions, industrial companies, and households hold low-yielding money balances, Treasury bills, and other liquid assets? When and to what extent can the state and international financial markets make up for a shortage of liquid assets, allowing agents to save and share risk...

The financial crisis of 2008 raised crucial questions regarding the effectiveness of the way the United States regulates financial markets. What caused the crisis? What regulatory changes are most needed and desirable? What regulatory structure will best implement the desired changes? This...

This paper develops a general equilibrium model to analyze the link between financial imbalances and financial crises. The model features an interbank market subject to frictions and where two equilibria may (co-)exist. The normal times equilibrium is characterized by a deep market with highly...

Financial integration among economies has the benefit of improving allocative efficiency and diversifying risk. However the recent global financial crisis, considered as the worst since the Great Depression has re-ignited the fierce debate about the merits of financial globalization and its...