This paper develops a network model of a stylized banking system in which banks are connected to one another through interbank claims, which allows us to study the diffusion of default avalanches triggered by an exogenous shock under a number of different assumptions on the degree of...

The cross holding of interbank deposits represents an optimal ex-ante co-insurance arrangement whenever the uncertainty concerning banks' liquidity needs is idiosyncratic and imperfectly correlated. When a shock to aggregate liquidity demand occurs, however, such an arrangement could be...

The recent global financial crisis has revived a well-honored debate on the desirability and feasibility of taxing financial activities to curb speculation and promote price stability. In this paper we apply agent-based computational techniques to explore this issue in a multi-market environment...

The financial sector is a critical component of any economic system, as it delivers key qualitative asset transformation services in terms of liquidity, maturity and volume. Although these functions could in principle be carried out separately by specialized actors, in the end it is their...