Opaque Assets and Rollover Risk Staff Working Paper 2016-17 Benjamin Nelson, Toni Ahnert We model the asset-opacity choice of an intermediary subject to rollover risk in wholesale funding markets. Greater opacity means investors form more dispersed beliefs about an intermediary’s profitability. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability JEL Code(s): G, G0, G01, G2
Asset Encumbrance, Bank Funding and Financial Fragility Staff Working Paper 2016-16 Kartik Anand, Prasanna Gai, James Chapman, Toni Ahnert In this piece we show that a limit on the level of asset encumbrance and minimum capital requirements are effective tools for minimizing the incentive for banks to take excessive risk. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, G, G0, G01, G2, G21, G28
How Fast Can China Grow? The Middle Kingdom’s Prospects to 2030 Staff Working Paper 2016-15 Jeannine Bailliu, Mark Kruger, Argyn Toktamyssov, Wheaton Welbourn Given its size and importance for global commodity markets, the question of how fast the Chinese economy can grow over the medium term is an important one. This paper addresses this question by examining the evolution of the supply side of the Chinese economy over history and projecting how it will evolve over the next 15 years. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Development economics, International topics, Potential output, Productivity JEL Code(s): E, E2, E22, E23, E3, E32, O4
A Bitcoin Standard: Lessons from the Gold Standard Staff Working Paper 2016-14 Warren E. Weber This paper imagines a world in which countries are on the Bitcoin standard, a monetary system in which all media of exchange are Bitcoin or are backed by it. The paper explores the similarities and differences between the Bitcoin standard and the gold standard and describes the media of exchange that would exist under the Bitcoin standard. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Exchange rates, Financial services, Inflation and prices JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E58
Government Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment Under the Threat of Expropriation Staff Working Paper 2016-13 Christopher Hajzler, Jonathan Rosborough Foreign investment is often constrained by two forms of political risk: expropriation and corruption. We examine the role of government corruption in foreign direct investment (FDI) when contracts are not fully transparent and investors face the threat of expropriation. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Development economics, Economic models, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F2, F21, F23, F3, F34
Capital Structure, Pay Structure and Job Termination Staff Working Paper 2016-12 Jason Allen, James R. Thompson We develop a model to analyze the link between financial leverage, worker pay structure and the risk of job termination. Contrary to the conventional view, we show that even in the absence of any agency problem among workers, variable pay can be optimal despite workers being risk averse and firms risk neutral. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Labour markets JEL Code(s): G, G2, G24, J, J3, J33
Dating Systemic Financial Stress Episodes in the EU Countries Staff Working Paper 2016-11 Benjamin Klaus, Tuomas Peltonen, Thibaut Duprey This paper introduces a new methodology to date systemic financial stress events in a transparent, objective and reproducible way. The financial cycle is captured by a monthly country-specific financial stress index. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Central bank research, Econometric and statistical methods, Economic models, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Monetary and financial indicators JEL Code(s): C, C5, C54, G, G0, G01, G1, G15
Measuring Systemic Risk Across Financial Market Infrastructures Staff Working Paper 2016-10 Fuchun Li, Héctor Pérez Saiz We measure systemic risk in the network of financial market infrastructures (FMIs) as the probability that two or more FMIs have a large credit risk exposure to the same FMI participant. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial stability, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C5, C58, G, G2, G21, G23
The Dynamics of Capital Flow Episodes Staff Working Paper 2016-9 Christian Friedrich, Pierre Guérin This paper proposes a novel methodology for identifying episodes of strong capital flows based on a regime-switching model. In comparison with the existing literature, a key advantage of our methodology is to estimate capital flow regimes without the need for context- and sample-specific assumptions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, International financial markets, International topics, Monetary policy and uncertainty JEL Code(s): F, F2, F21, F3, F32, G, G1, G11
Wait a Minute: The Efficacy of Discounting versus Non-Pecuniary Payment Steering Staff Working Paper 2016-8 Angelika Welte Merchants who accept credit cards face payment processing fees. In most countries, the no-surcharge rule prohibits them from using surcharges to pass these fees on to customers. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Market structure and pricing, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, E, E5, E58, G, G2, G28