This paper studies the extent to which alternative loan loss provisioning regimes affect the procyclicality of the financial system and financial stability. It uses a DSGE model with financial frictions (namely, balance sheet and collateral effects, as well as economies of scope in banking) and...

This paper studies the growth effects of externalities associated with intergenerational health transmission, health persistence, and women's occupational constraints- with particular emphasis on the role of access to infrastructure. The first part provides a review of the evidence on these...

This paper studies the existence of middle-income growth traps in a two-period overlapping generations model of economic growth with two types of labor and endogenous occupational choices. It also distinguishes between "basic" and "advanced" infrastructure, with the latter promoting design...

The effects of capital requirements on risk-taking and welfare are studied in a stochastic overlapping generations model of endogenous growth with banking, limited liability, and government guarantees. Capital producers face a choice between a safe technology and a risky (but socially...

November 2000 - A two-step approach is used to assess the extent to which the credit crunch in East Asia was supply- or demand-driven. The results for Thailand suggest that the contraction in bank lending that accompanied the crisis was the result of supply factors. Agénor, Aizenman, and...

Interactions between knowledge and health are studied in a three-period overlapping generations model with health persistence. Agents face a non-zero probability of death in adulthood. In addition to working, adults allocate time to child rearing. Growth dynamics depend in important ways on the...