This paper models the causes of the 2008 financial crisis together with its manifestations, using a Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause (MIMIC) model. Our analysis is conducted on a crosssection of 107 countries; we focus on national causes and consequences of the crisis, ignoring crosscountry...

This paper examines the impact of European Monetary Union (EMU) accession on bilateral international commercial bank lending patterns. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, I demonstrate that accession to the EMU was accompanied by a change in Portuguese and Greek borrowing in favor of...

Estimates of the speed of convergence vary widely and depend on the methodology employed. While cross-sectional regressions typically find slow convergence, time series estimates suggest that incomes converge rapidly. This paper uses panel methods to combine cross-sectional and time series...

We examine a concerted debt reduction deal between a sovereign debtor, a private creditor, and an official creditor, who insures the deposits of the commercial bank. Our results show that a weakening of the financial position of the commercial bank reduces the contribution of the commercial bank...

Using cross-country data, we review the empirical evidence concerning long-term labor and total factor productivity growth. We find that the conclusions one can draw from cross-country data are surprisingly modest. Nevertheless, we confirm the crucial role for physical capital accumulation in...

We examine the implications of a North-South trade accord where investments in the Southern partner nation exhibit country risk. Our analysis demonstrates that North-South trade accords can serve as "credibility-enhancing" mechanisms towards treatment of foreign investment, inducing additional...

We introduce a monopolistically-competitive model of foreign lending in which both explicit and implicit fixed-premium deposit insurance increase the degree to which bank participation in relending to problem debtors falls below its globally optimal level. This provides a channel for...

A constitution remains in force so long as no party wishes to defect to the non-cooperative situation, and it is reinstituted as soon as each party finds it to its advantage to revert to cooperation. It is the rich, and not the poor segments of society who in our model pose the greater threat to...

This paper shows that proximity to major international financial centers seems to reduce business cycle volatility. In particular, we show that countries that are farther from major locations of international financial activity systematically experience more volatile growth rates in both output...