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This article discusses the use of economic sanctions as a tool to influence the behavior of other nations, particularly in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The authors propose a theoretical framework for designing sanctions that maximize economic damage to the target country while minimizing harm to the sanctioning coalition. The empirical analysis reveals that the current sanctions implemented by the United States and the European Union fall short of maximizing harm to Russia, presenting an opportunity for improvement. However, the authors acknowledge the potential unintended consequences of sanctions, such as harming average Russian citizens and strengthening support for Putin's regime. The article also highlights the need to consider factors such as Russian retaliation, the bias towards capital goods in the current sanctions, and the potential for parallel imports to weaken the impact of sanctions. Overall, the article provides a valuable framework for policymakers to optimize the design of economic sanctions. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the financial behavior of individuals in the final years of their life, specifically focusing on inter-vivos gifts and the motivations behind them. The study analyzes data from the Netherlands on deaths between 2006 and 2013, comparing the wealth of individuals who died suddenly to those who had prolonged illnesses. The findings suggest that individuals who did not experience a sudden death had significantly lower wealth at the end of their life, indicating strategic estate planning to minimize inheritance tax liabilities. The study also explores potential mechanisms driving this behavior, including tax avoidance through estate planning. The research has implications for policymakers, suggesting the need to extend the "look-back period" for tax purposes. Overall, this paper contributes to our understanding of estate planning and inter-vivos transfers. [Extracted from the article]

The Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Credit Crisis of the 2000s had similar causes but elicited strikingly different policy responses. While it remains too early to assess the effectiveness of current policy, it is possible to analyse monetary and fiscal responses in the 1930s as a natural experiment or counterfactual capable of shedding light on the impact of current policies. We employ vector autoregressions, instrumental variables, and qualitative evidence for 27 countries in the period 1925–39. The results suggest that monetary and fiscal stimulus was effective -- that where it did not make a difference it was not tried. They shed light on the debate over fiscal multipliers in episodes of financial crisis. They are consistent with multipliers at the higher end of those estimated in the recent literature, and with the argument that the impact of fiscal stimulus will be greater when banking systems are dysfunctional and monetary policy is constrained by the zero bound. --- Miguel Almunia, Agustín Bénétrix, Barry Eichengreen, Kevin H. O’Rourke and Gisela Rua [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Miguel Almunia and colleagues on the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policies, one on the causes of financial crisis and how it extend globally, and one by Xavier Freixas on the banking regulations during financial crisis.