This paper examines the vulnerability of banks in EMU countries to shocks to default risk premiums on public debt. This vulnerability depends on (1) the total amount of public debt in bank portfolios, (2) the extent to which the default risk of public debt of EMU member states is diversifiable,...

A widely held notion holds that freely floating exchange rates are excessively volatile when judged against fundamentals and when moving from fixed to floating exchange rates. We re-examine the data and conclude that the disparity between the fundamentals and exchange rate volatility is more...

This paper uses a simple model of optimal monetary policy to consider whether the influence of national output and inflation rates on ECB interest rate setting should equal a country's weight in the eurozone economy. The findings depend on assumptions regarding interest rate elasticities,...

This paper examines the vulnerability of banks in EMU countries to shocks to default risk premiums on public debt. This vulnerability depends on the total amount of public debt in bank portfolios, the degree of geographical diversification of public debt holdings by banks, and the extent to...

More competition among banks typically enhances the welfare of consumers. However, it may also involve a threat to financial stability, that is of vital importance for the functioning of economies. This study reveals that many forms of competition do not endanger financial stability, however....

This paper applies the Feldstein-Horioka criterion, that is, the role of savings-investment correlations, to assess the degree of financial integration in the European Community. We establish a link between the Feldstein-Horioka criterion and three other criteria for financial integration: the...