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Defining and detecting financial fragility: New Zealand's experience

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  • Susan Schroeder
Abstract
Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate why “financial fragility” carries different definitions in the economic literature. This is a useful task as the detection of “financial fragility” depends, in part, upon how one defines it. According to Post Keynesian economists, financial fragility is a process that can culminate in financial instability (an event). For mainstream or New Keynesian economists, financial fragility has been traditionally defined as a state in which a shock can trigger instability. More recently, however, mainstream economists have recast their definition as a particular form of financial instability – an event. Each definition of financial fragility is intimately linked to the theoretical foundation upon which it rests. This carries important implications for the ability of policymakers to assess and manage the health of an economy. Design/methodology/approach - The different approaches to the definition and detection of financial fragility are compared using corresponding sets of indicators. Indicators for the Post Keynesian approach are derived from a simple cash‐flow accounting framework, in the spirit of Hyman Minsky. The economy selected for study is New Zealand. Findings - According to the Post Keynesian approach, New Zealand has been in a financially fragile state for over three years, a period during which policymakers could have been creating ways to make New Zealand more resilient to the onset of instability. According to the New Keynesian approach, New Zealand may just now be experiencing fragility, giving policymakers much less time to react. Originality/value - This study traces the definitions of financial fragility to their underlying theoretical frameworks and draws the implications for the methods of detecting financial fragility.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan Schroeder, 2009. "Defining and detecting financial fragility: New Zealand's experience," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(3), pages 287-307, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:ijsepp:v:36:y:2009:i:3:p:287-307
    DOI: 10.1108/03068290910932765
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    Cited by:

    1. Roberto Veneziani & Luca Zamparelli & Maria Nikolaidi & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2017. "Minsky Models: A Structured Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1304-1331, December.
    2. Maria Nikolaidi, 2017. "Three decades of modelling Minsky: what we have learned and the way forward," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 14(2), pages 222-237, September.
    3. Taisiia Bondaruk & Nataliia Melnychuk & Igor Bondaruk, 2018. "Instability And Its Government Regulation," Baltic Journal of Economic Studies, Publishing house "Baltija Publishing", vol. 4(2).
    4. Filippo Gusella & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2021. "Testing fundamentalist–momentum trader financial cycles: An empirical analysis via the Kalman filter," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(4), pages 758-797, November.
    5. Eric Tymoigne, 2012. "Financial fragility," Chapters, in: Jan Toporowski & Jo Michell (ed.), Handbook of Critical Issues in Finance, chapter 14, pages i-ii, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Hiroshi Nishi, 2019. "An empirical contribution to Minsky’s financial fragility: evidence from non-financial sectors in Japan," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 43(3), pages 585-622.
    7. Ernani Teixeira Torres Filho & Norberto Montani Martins & Caroline Yukari Miaguti, 2017. "Minsky's Financial Fragility: An Empirical Analysis of Electricity Distribution Companies in Brazil (2007-15)," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_896, Levy Economics Institute.
    8. Esteban Pérez Caldentey & Nicole Favreau Negront & Luis Méndez Lobos, 2019. "Corporate debt in Latin America and its macroeconomic implications," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 335-362, July.
    9. Zaher Abdel Fattah Al-Slehat, 2022. "The Effect of Equity Financing Structure and Asset Utilization Efficiency on Financial Fragility," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 15(12), pages 132-132, December.

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