No abstract

No abstract

Highlights1. This paper examines systemic banking crises.2. We focus on the crisis duration bias 3. We compare multinomial and binomial logit models in correctly predicting crises.4. We consider a large and heterogeneous dataset. We find the multinomial logit model to outperform binomial models AbstractThis paper compares the performance of binomial and multinomial logit models in the context of building early warning systems (EWS) for systemic banking crises. We test the hypothesis that the predictive performance of binomial logit models is hampered by what we define as the crisis duration bias, arising from the decision to either treat crisis years after the onset of a crisis as non-crisis years or remove them altogether from the sample. In line with our hypothesis, results from a large sample of world economies suggest that i) the multinomial logit outperforms the binomial logit model in predicting systemic banking crises, and ii) the longer the average duration of the crisis in the sample, the larger the improvement.

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

No abstract