Präsidentschaftswahl in Afrika Gabuns Familiendynastie Nach dem Tod von Langzeitherrscher Omar Bongo in Afrikas reichstem Land will sich sein Sohn Ali an diesem Sonntag zum Nachfolger wählen lassen - und ihm sind dabei fast alle Mittel recht. Ali Bongo...

Why did the bankers behave so badly? Greedy bankers are getting most of the blame for the current financial crisis. This column explains bankers did behave badly for mainly three reasons. They committed cognitive errors involving biases towards their...

A solution to financial instability: Ring-fence Cross-Border Financial Institutions Josef Ackermann, Chief Executive of Deutsche Bank and chairman of the Institute of International Finance, writes in the FT (2009): “There is a danger that changes in the...

The “shadow financial system” of government guarantees We are witnessing the massive use—perhaps even abuse—of guarantees, which suggests that policy makers consider them a “free lunch” that permits them to bypass budgetary scrutiny in the US and other...

International financial stability architecture for the 21st century In response to the crisis the international financial community has established the Financial Stability Board (FSB). The FSB aims to address vulnerabilities and to develop and implement...

Is microfinance too rigid? A group of young(ish) scholars are revolutionising development economics using new data sets, randomised trials and the best available economic theory to find out exactly what works and why. Here is an example of some motivating...

Betrugsverdacht gegen Promotionsberater Mehrere Agenturen sind darauf spezialisiert, Akademikern beim Erwerb des Doktortitels zu helfen. Bestechungen kommen in der Branche vor, sagt ein Firmenchef. Das Organisieren von Doktortiteln ist Ger von Stattens...