We investigate consequences of overleveraging and financial sector stress on real economic activities. When banks become vulnerable, due to high leveraging, and there is a strong feedback between the real and the financial sector, a regime of high financial stress may arise. The vulnerability of...

In this work, we investigate the interrelations among technology, output and employment in the different states of the U.S. economy (recessions vs. expansions). More precisely, we estimate different threshold vector auto-regression (TVAR) models with TFP, hours, and GDP, employing the latter as...

This paper presents a new approach to solve dynamic decision models in economics. The proposed procedure, called Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC), relies on the iterative solution of optimal control problems on finite time horizons and is well established in engineering applications for...

The economic meltdown since 2008-9 has created disinflation, and even deflation in some countries in the Euro-area, in a period with large debt overhang, creating the condition for a continuing financial market stress in the Euro-area. As disinflation and deflation push up the real interest...

This project studies and models key macroeconomic variables and their impact on sovereign risk premia across some European economies and developed countries. The sample is divided into groups of countries in the European Monetary Union (EMU), the 'standalone' economies that are outside the EMU...

In recent years, we have observed significant growth in unconventional energy, shale energy, in particular in the United States. There was a boom, followed by a bust. The plunge in oil price triggered a prolonged bust in the energy sector. Which firms will benefit, and which will be squeezed out...

Academic research and policy makers in the Euro area are currently concerned with the threat of debt deflation and secular stagnation in Europe. Empirical evidence seems to suggest that secular stagnation and debt deflation in the Euro area may be rather slowly developing. Yet what appears as...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the external debt of three euro area economies, Italy, Spain, and Germany. To study the effect of debt on the investment-consumption dynamics in those countries, we first discuss the causes, sources, and adjustment processes of current account deficits in...

The paper considers the transition of an economy from non-renewable to renewable energy. The Hotelling theorem suggests to extract a non-renewable resource in an optimal way such that the resource tends to be depleted when optimally extracted. Yet, it might not be reasonable to deplete...

It appears that many boom-bust cycles are driven by linkages between the credit market and asset prices. Recently, in addition to credit, bonds and stocks, new complex securities have been developed, e.g., MBS, CDO and CDS, that act as instruments of financial intermediation and evaluation of...