Worthwhile Reading - April 16

C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Lower its Benchmark Interest Rate.

World Economic Outlook: Crisis and Recovery. IMF.
key excerpt from executive summary of Chapter 3: From recession to recovery: how soon and how strong?:
The results suggest that recessions associated with financial crises tend to be unusually severe and their recoveries typically slow. Similarly, globally synchronized recessions are often long and deep, and recoveries from these recessions are generally weak. Countercyclical monetary policy can help shorten recessions, but its effectiveness is limited in financial crises. By contrast, expansionary fiscal policy seems particularly effective in shortening recessions associated with financial crises and boosting recoveries. However, its effectiveness is a decreasing function of the level of public debt. These findings suggest the current recession is likely to be unusually long and severe and the recovery sluggish. However, strong countercyclical policy action, combined with the restoration of confidence in the financial sector, could help move the recovery forward.

and executive summary of Chapter 4: How linkages fuel the fire: the transmission of financial stress from advanced to emerging economies.
Against the backdrop of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, this chapter studies how financial stress in advanced economies is transmitted to emerging economies. Crises in advanced economies have a large common effect on the banking sectors, stock markets, and foreign exchange markets of emerging economies. There is also a sizable country-specific effect, which appears to be magnified by the intensity of financial linkages. In more normal times, reducing individual countries’ vulnerabilities, such as current account and fiscal deficits, can lower the level of financial stress in emerging economies, but such improvements provide little insulation from the transmission of a major financial shock from the advanced economies. Given the current banking crises in advanced economies, reductions in banking flows to emerging economies could be large and long-lasting. The major negative spillovers and repercussions of this for both advanced and emerging economies argue for a coordinated policy response.

UPDATE: some other excerpts at:
IMF's World Economic Outlook: Not good. Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge.

Bring in the anti-trust division (on banking). Simon Johnson, The Baseline Scenario.

A closer look at industrial policy. Ilya Podolyako, The Baseline Scenario.

Foreclosure filings in U.S. climbed to record in first quarter. Bloomberg.

Bail-out for dummies, part I. Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge.

Deflation? Mark Thoma, Economist's View, with chart from John Williams of the SF Fed.

Investment grade corporate bond yield. Jake, EconompicData.

The top 10 signs you are living in a banana republic, and my favourite $100 billion omelette. The Barricade.

Cool graphic on payroll changes over time in the U.S.:
When did your county's jobs disappear? Slate.