Bio

Skylar Brooks is a Senior Economist in the Financial Stability Department. His research and policy work are informed by a longstanding interest in financial crises and the institutions designed to manage them. He has written extensively about international arrangements for helping sovereign states restructure their debts. Today, his work focuses primarily on domestic financial stability tools, particularly on the role of central banks as providers of backstop liquidity. Skylar holds a PhD in Global Governance from the University of Waterloo.

Research Field(s): Digital Currency Financial Institutions Financial Markets International Trade and Finance

Staff discussion papers

Central Bank Liquidity Policy in Modern Times

Staff Discussion Paper 2024-6 Skylar Brooks
Across several dimensions of lender of last resort policy, I highlight broad changes that have occurred since the 2008–09 global financial crisis and discuss some of the key challenges, choices and considerations facing the designers of central bank liquidity tools today.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Lender of last resort JEL Code(s): D, D5, D53, E, E5, E58, E6, E61, G, G0, G01, G2, G21, G23, H, H1, H12

Revisiting the Monetary Sovereignty Rationale for CBDCs

Staff Discussion Paper 2021-17 Skylar Brooks
One argument for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) is that without them, private and foreign digital monies could displace domestic currencies, threatening the central bank’s monetary policy and lender of last resort capabilities. I revisit this monetary sovereignty rationale and offer a wider view—one that considers a broader set of currency functions and captures important cross-country variation.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Debt management, Digital currencies and fintech, Exchange rate regimes, Financial stability, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E52, E58, H, H1, H12, H6, H63

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Journal publications

Refereed Journals

“What finance wants: explaining change in private regulatory preferences toward sovereign debt restructuring,” Review of International Political Economy 28(6) (2021): 1509-1526.

“The Politics of Regulatory Design in the Sovereign Debt Restructuring Regime,” Global Governance 25(3) (2019): 393-417.

“Debt politics as usual? Reforming the sovereign debt restructuring regime after 2008” (with Eric Helleiner), International Affairs 93(5) (2017): 1085-1105.

“Governing Sovereign Debt Restructuring Through Regulatory Standards,” (with Domenico Lombardi), Journal of Globalization and Development 6(2) (2015): 287-318.

“Los problemas de equidad entre acreedores, y entre deudores y acreedores, en la reestructuración de la deuda soberana” (with Martin Guzman, Domenico Lombardi, and Joseph E. Stiglitz), Investigaciones Económicas 73 (2015): 7-25.

“How Green is Our Money? Mapping the Relationship Between Monetary Systems and the Environment,” International Journal of Community Currency Research 19 (2015): 12-18.

“Strengthening the Early Warning Exercise: Enhancing IMF and FSB coordination” (with Bessma Momani, Michael Cockburn, Warren Clarke, and Dustyn Lanz), World Economics 14(3) (2013): 133-151.

Book Chapters

“Private Creditor Power and the Politics of Sovereign Debt Governance” (with Domenico Lombardi). In Too Little, Too Late: The Quest to Resolve Sovereign Debt Crises, edited by Martin Guzman, Jose Antonio Ocampo, and Joseph E. Stiglitz. New York: Columbia University Press (2016).

Policy Papers and Other Publications

“Identifying and Resolving Inter-Creditor and Debtor-Creditor Equity Issues in Sovereign Debt Restructuring” (with Martin Guzman, Domenico Lombardi, and Joseph E. Stiglitz), CIGI Policy Brief No. 53 (2015).

“Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Issues Paper” (with Domenico Lombardi), CIGI Paper No. 64 (2015).

“Mexican Perspectives on Sovereign Debt Management and Restructuring” (with Domenico Lombardi), CIGI Policy Brief No. 61 (2015).

“African Perspectives on Sovereign Debt Restructuring” (with Domenico Lombardi and Ezra Suruma), CIGI Papers No. 43 (2014).

“Sovereign Debt in Turbulent Times” (with Domenico Lombardi), Longitude No. 41 (2014).

“IMF Lending Practices and Sovereign Debt Restructuring” (with James Boughton and Domenico Lombardi), CIGI Policy Brief No. 41 (2014).

“As the euro tries to emerge” (with Domenico Lombardi), Longitude No. 34 (2014).

“Where the world gathers under one umbrella” (with Domenico Lombardi), Longitude No. 32 (2014).  

“Coordination Critical to Ensuring that the Early Warning Exercise is Effective” (with Bessma Momani, Michael Cockburn, Warren Clarke, and Dustyn Lanz), CIGI-BSIA Policy Brief Series, Policy Brief No. 4 (2013).