our measure of financial distress is designed to capture a rise in the cost of credit intermediation. Using a detailed reading of the relevant sections, we look for discussions in the OECD Economic outlook of such factors as perceived funding problems and rising loan defaults, which could reduce the willingness of banks to lend at a given safe interest rate. In this way, we focus on disruptions to credit supply, rather than on broader conceptions of financial problems. We classify the degree of financial distress on a scale from 0-15. Compiling a continuous measure allows us to take into account the severity and duration of financial distress, and to analyze how crises emerge and progress.