My Account Log in

1 option

Reserves and the Buyer of Last Resort / Frederic Boissay, Harald Uhlig.

NBER Working papers Available online

View online
Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Boissay, Frederic.
Contributor:
Uhlig, Harald.
National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series:
Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w35548.
NBER working paper series no. w35548
Language:
English
Physical Description:
1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);
Place of Publication:
Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2026.
Summary:
We examine the role of central bank reserves and public liquidity when secondary markets may freeze. Central bank reserves help intermediaries purchase assets during stress but crowd out investment. Under laissez-faire, intermediaries hold insufficient reserves, overlooking how aggregate liquidity reduces freeze risk. We propose a "market-backstop principle", akin to Bagehot's principle for intermediaries. It combines state-contingent buyer-of-last-resort interventions to restore trading with modest liquidity requirements to limit moral hazard. The welfare benefits of restoring market functioning exceed the fiscal costs of interventions. We explore implications for the size and composition of central bank balance sheets.
Notes:
July 2026.
Print version record

The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.

Find

Home Release notes

My Account

Shelf Request an item Bookmarks Fines and fees Settings

Guides

Using the Find catalog Using Articles+ Using your account