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		| Victor  Vaugirard | 
	
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		| ''Bank runs, political distortions and contagion'' | 
	
		| ( 2004, Vol. 6 No.18 ) | 
	
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		| This paper highlights the spread of banking panics across countries, as the public reassesses governments' propensity to bailouts. Policymakers decide whether to rescue a failing banking sector, by weighing the costs of a collapse against the costs associated with raising taxes to finance a bailout package. The former involve social costs for the society and personal costs for policymakers. In addition, they have an informational advantage over creditors regarding the costs of bank liquidation. A crisis in a country leads lenders to reexamine policymakers'' willingness to intervene in other countries, which eventually makes their banks more vulnerable to self-fulfilling depositors'' runs. | 
	
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		| Keywords: | 
	
		| JEL: F3 - International Finance: General G2 - Financial Institutions and Services: General
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		| | Manuscript Received : Jul 13 2004 |  | Manuscript Accepted : Oct 15 2004 | 
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