Using a unique dataset of interest rates offered by a large sample of U.S. banks on various retail deposit and loan products, we explore the rigidity of bank retail interest rates. We study periods over which retail interest rates remain fixed ("spells") and document a large degree of lumpiness...

In this empirical analysis, we estimate the impact of vacancy, neglect associated with property-tax delinquency, and foreclosures on the value of neighboring homes using parcel-level observations. Numerous studies have estimated the impact of foreclosures on neighboring properties, and these...

A number of studies have measured the negative price effects of foreclosed residential properties on nearby property sales. However, only one study beside this one addresses the mechanism responsible for these effects. I measure separate effects for different types of foreclosed properties and...

In a speech today to business leaders in Fort Myers, Florida, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and CEO Sandra Pianalto shared her economic outlook and discussed some significant headwinds that she expects will limit the rate of growth in the US for the next couple of years. She also...

In a speech to the Summa Hospitals Women’s Board in Akron, Ohio, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and CEO Sandra Pianalto described how the recession and recovery have unfolded in both the U.S. and in her region. She also highlighted the importance of productivity in driving...

We modify the Diamond-Dybvig model studied in Green and Lin to incorporate a self-interested banker who has a private record-keeping technology. A public record-keeping device does not exist. We find that there is a trade-off between sophisticated contracts that possess relatively good...

The authors seek to measure the potential benefit of reducing the likelihood of economic crises (defined as Depression-style collapses of economic activity). Based on the observed frequency of Depression-like events, they estimate this likelihood to be approximately one in every 83 years for the...

What are the economic effects of an interest rate cut when an economy is in the midst of a financial crisis? Under what conditions will a cut stimulate output and employment, and raise welfare? Under which will it have the opposite effects? The authors answer these questions in a general class...

The authors evaluate the Friedman-Schwartz hypothesis--that a more accommodative monetary policy could have greatly reduced the severity of the Great Depression. To do this, they first estimate a dynamic, general equilibrium model using data from the 1920s and 1930s. Although the model includes...

We study the dynamics of liquidity provision by dealers during an asset market crash, described as a temporary negative shock to investors’ aggregate asset demand. We consider a class of dynamic market settings where dealers can trade continuously with each other, while trading between dealers...