This Selected Issues paper analyzes France's fiscal stance using a structural stochastic model. The theoretical model features a forward-looking benevolent government that needs to decide the optimal fiscal stance given the level of public debt, the cyclical position of the economy, and...

"The intensity of recent turbulence in financial markets has surprised nearly everyone. This paper searches out the root causes of the crisis, distinguishing them from scapegoating explanations that have been used in policy circles to divert attention from the underlying breakdown of incentives....

"Powell, Mylenko, Miller, and Majnoni analyze how data in public credit registries can be used both to strengthen bank supervision and to improve the quality of credit analysis by financial institutions. Empirical tests using public credit registry (PCR) data were performed in collaboration with...

"Caprio and Honohan question the widespread belief that market discipline on banks cannot be effective in less developed financial environments. There is no systematic tendency for low-income countries to lack the prerequisites for market discipline. Offsetting factors to the weaker market and...

This paper analyzes the crisis preparedness and crisis management frameworks for German banks. Banks dominate German financial system and represent one of the largest small- and medium-sized banking segments in the EU. The banking sector is a three-pillar system with a total of nearly 1,800...

This Technical Note discusses the findings and recommendations made in the Financial Sector Assessment Program for the Russian Federation in the areas of bank resolution and a crisis management framework. The findings reveal that the experiences of past financial crises have strengthened the...