In this paper the causes of the rise in US household debt since the early 1970s are considered, using a calibrated partial equilibrium overlapping generations model. The model explains indebtedness in terms of a consumption-income motive, associated with consumption smoothing, and a...

In this paper it is shown how a Merton-model approach can be used to develop measures of the probability of failure of individual quoted UK companies. Probability estimates are then constructed for a group of failed companies and their properties as leading indicators of failure assessed....

Household indebtedness has risen sharply in recent years, with large increases in both secured and unsecured borrowing. In this paper, waves 5 and 10 of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) for 1995 and 2000 are used to examine the determinants of participation in the unsecured debt market...

In this paper the financial policies and balance sheet adjustment of companies are examined. Using a large panel of quoted UK firms, models for dividends, new equity issuance and investment are estimated, relating them to debt adjustment. The results suggest that while dividends are sticky in...

The British economy has performed well since the recession of the early 1990s. How much of this is due to the revolution in information and communications technology (ICT)? We find that the stock of computing equipment has grown at a similar rate to that seen in the US, but there appears to have...

How to avoid taxpayers paying for bank failures and banking crises? This book provides a proposal and a critique by twelve independent experts. It is addressed particularly to the threat posed in Europe by having large international banks, a history of bailouts and limited means of resolving any...