Global challenges and financial stability
The turmoil in global financial markets, caused by events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, makes investing capital increasingly difficult. In such conditions, investors are looking for safe ways to protect their funds.
What are safe assets?
The so-called safe assets constitute the answer to these needs. They are characterised by low risk and high liquidity. These instruments, such as treasury bonds of countries with the highest ratings or gold, are perceived as a stable investment, independent of market changes.
Scientific monograph – pioneering analysis
“Safe Assets in the Global Economy. Supply, Demand and Financial Stability”, authored by Dr hab. Joanna Bogołębska, Associate Professor at the University of Lodz, Dr Ewa Feder-Sempach and Dr Ewa Stawasz-Grabowska is the first monograph devoted to the operation of safe assets in the international financial system published by the prestigious Routledge publishing house
The concept of safe assets is more and more frequently used in reference to phenomena occurring in financial markets, including debt markets, but no attempt has yet been made to comprehensively explain its complex, multi-threaded nature.
This task has been taken up by scientists from the Faculty of Economics and Sociology of the University of Lodz.
Demand and supply perspectives in research
The authors of the monograph try to organise the concept of "safe assets" and embed it in the international literature on finance. They examined the issue from two perspectives: demand and supply. The supply perspective, which dominates the book, emphasizes the role of public safe assets in relation to similar ones issued by the private sector. The demand perspective analyses who invests in these assets, why they do so, and what the trends in their use are.
The future of safe assets in the global economy
Safe assets constitute an essential component of the contemporary, international financial system and are vital to its stability. Due to growing demand, especially from emerging economies, and limited supply, the global market is struggling with a shortage of safe assets. As a result, this could lead to destabilisation of the financial system, making this topic particularly important for the future of the global economy.
Being aware that supply-demand mismatches in the safe assets market constitute one of the key challenges for the stability of the international financial system, the key question arises about alternative sources of supply of these assets. The authors point to the particular potential for increasing the pool of safe assets within the European Economic and Monetary Union and in China and India.
In his review, Professor Ian W. Marsh of Bayes Business School in London points out the numerous advantages of the monograph, which is in line with contemporary trends in scientific research and is a valuable source of knowledge for both students and doctoral students, as well as financial market practitioners.
The book is available for purchase on the Routledge website. It will be available for free download from 2026.
Source: Dr hab. Joanna Bogołębska, Associate Professor at the University of Lodz, Dr Ewa Feder-Sempach, Dr Ewa Stawasz-Grabowska (Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Lodz)
Edit: Michał Gruda (Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz)
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