Andrea Pescatori is an economist in the North American division of the Western-hemisphere department of the IMF. Previously, he spent four years at the Research Department of the IMF. Prior to joining the IMF, he was an economist at the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and a visiting economist at the International Finance Division of the Federal Reserve Board. Mr Pescatori was also visiting fellow at the Riksbank and Ente L Einaudi (Banca díItalia). He graduated from Universitat Pompeu Fabra under the supervision of Jordi GalÌ and has published extensively on monetary and fiscal policy issues, with particular emphasis on credit frictions, the housing channel, and the role commodity prices.