Does the mere presence of big banks affect macroeconomic outcomes? Gabaix (2011) shows that idosyncratic shocks can have aggregate effects if the distribution of firm sizes in manufacturing follows a power law distribution. Our contribution is two-fold. First, we expand the theory of granularity...

Does the mere presence of big banks affect macroeconomic outcomes? In this paper, we develop a theory of granularity (Gabaix, 2011) for the banking sector, introducing Bertrand competition and heterogeneous banks charging variable markups. Using this framework, we show conditions under which...

Surges and reversals of short-term foreign liabilities are often held responsible for instabilities in international financial markets. Yet, empirical evidence on the factors determining the maturity of capital flows is scant. This paper analyzes the determinants of foreign assets of German...

The internationalization of financial markets is one of the focal points in the discussion about recent globalization trends. These discussions suggest that capital can move freely between countries. However, there is ample evidence that national borders do matter and that there are many...