Prior to the 2007–2008 financial crisis, banking sector profits were very high but the profitability of financial intermediation was poor. Using a novel model of banking, this article argues that the high profits were achieved through balance sheet expansion and growing default, liquidity, and term risk mismatches between assets and liabilities. As a result, large banks’ financial leverage rose...

This paper presents new evidence that immigrants have better health than natives upon arrival to their destination. It analyzes a very interesting episode in international migration, namely the exodus of Ecuadorians in the aftermath of the economic collapse in the late 1990s. More than 600,000 Ecuadorians from 1999 to 2005 left their homeland, most relocating in Spain. Using information from th...

Recent! research! in!both! the! social! and!natural! sciences!has!been!devoted! to! increasing!our! ability!to!predict!disasters,!prepare!for!them!and!mitigate!their!costs.!Curiously,!we!appear!to! know!very!little!about!the!fiscal!consequences!of!disasters.!The!likely!fiscal!impact!of!a!natural! disaster! has! not! been! examined! before! in! any! comparable! or! comparative! framework.! We! e...