6 Notions
positively to economic growth (Chapter 2), principally by improving the alloca-
tion of capital, entrusting ocial agencies with very wide assignments seems to
contribute to the deterioration of that allocation.
1.2 Financial fragility, liquidity, and leverage
We rst dene the notions of nancial fragility, liquidity, and leverage (1.2.1),
and then elaborate on their theoretical underpinnings (1.2.2).
1.2.1 Denitions
The notion of “nancial fragility” can be used with two meanings:
• The rst meaning of “nancial fragility” focuses on credit demand and relies
on the notion of “credit cycle” (Kindleberger, 1978) or on the “nancial in-
stability hypothesis” (Minsky, 1986, 1995). In that framework, nancial fra-
gility is an intrinsic feat ...