This paper argues that an optimal deposit insurance scheme would allow the level of insurance coverage to be determined by the market. Based on this principle, the paper proposes an insurance scheme that minimizes distortions and embodies fairness and credibility, two essential characteristics of a viable and effective deposit insurance scheme. Using a simple model for the determination of the optimal level of insurance coverage, it is shown that the optimal coverage is higher for developing compared to developed countries; a condition that is broadly satisfied by prevailing deposit insurance practices around the world.

Balanced growth models are commonly used in macroeconomics because they are consistent with the well-known Kaldor facts regarding economic growth. These models, however, are inconsistent with one of the most striking regularities of the growth process—the massive reallocation of labor from agriculture into manufacturing and services. This paper presents a simple model consistent with both the Kaldor facts and the dynamics of sectoral labor reallocation. The model shows that balanced growth can be consistent with structural change.

This paper studies some continuous-time cash-in-advance models in which interest rate smoothing is optimal. We consider both deterministic and stochastic models. In the stochastic case we obtain two results of independent interest: (i) we study what is, to our knowledge, the only version of the neoclassical model under uncertainty that can be solved in closed form in continuous time; and (ii) we show how to characterize the competitive equilibrium of a stochastic continuous time model that cannot be computed by solving a planning problem. We also discuss the scope for monetary policy to improve welfare in an economy with a suboptimal real competitive equilibrium, focusing on the particular example of an economy with externalities.

This paper constructs an integrated framework to disentangle the underlying economic mechanism of industrial transformation. We consider three essential elements for the analysis: skill requirements, industry-wide spillovers, and degrees of consumption subsistence. We find that human and nonhuman resources, production factor matching, and industrial coordination are all important for activating a modern industry. In the process of industrial transformation, job destruction may exceed job creation, and income distribution may get worse immediately following the activation of a modern industry. An array of policy prescriptions for advancing a poor country is provided.

In this paper, we provide a dynamic general equilibrium framework with an explicit investment-financing constraint. The constraint is intended as a reduced form to capture the balance sheet effects, which have been widely regarded as an important determinant of financial crises. We derive a link between the value of the firm and the social welfare and we find that the value of the firm can be greater with than without the constraint. Our model also sheds light on how the effects of productivity shocks and bubbles may be amplified by the financing constraint.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) presents the full text of an article entitled "To B or Not to B: A Welfare Analysis of Breaking Up Monopolies in an Endogenous Growth Model," by Danyang Xie and published November 2000. The article discusses the welfare consequences of a government regulation that forces a patented equipment to be supplied by a number of independent producers.