Description
Book SynopsisThe 2008-10 financial crisis and the global recession it created is a complex phenomenon that warrants detailed examination. The various essays in this book utilise several alternative paradigms to provide a plausible explanation and a credible cure. Great detail is given to this important analysis from different theoretical perspectives, presenting a clearer understanding of what went wrong and expounding misinterpretations of current theories and practices.
Fourteen insightful chapters by eminent scholars investigate the background of the crisis and draw lessons for economic theory and policy. They largely illustrate that the roots of the recession lie in the financial sector which, over the past few decades, has expanded considerably in terms of both size and complexity. They show that financial innovation has decoupled the real and financial sectors - not always to the benefit of economic stability - and argue that financial markets should be regulated more astutely in order to reinforce transparency and accountability. The book concludes that economics as a science should give proper weight to financial variables and integrate them into its models.
This fascinating and thought-provoking volume will prove a challenging read for academics, students and researchers in the fields of economics, money, finance and banking, and the history of economics. It will also prove invaluable for economic policymakers at all levels.
Trade Review‘The First Great Recession of the 21st Century, fascinating, insightful and thought-provoking, will prove a challenging read for academics, students and researchers in the fields of economics, money, finance and banking, and the history of economics. It will also prove invaluable for economic policymakers at all levels.’ -- Sir Readalot.org
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Óscar Dejuán, Eladio Febrero and Maria Cristina Marcuzzo PART I: ECONOMISTS ON TRIAL 1. Who Predicted the Crisis and What Can We Learn from Them? Dirk J. Bezemer 2. A Brief Note on Economic Recessions, Banking Reform and the Future of Capitalism Jesús Huerta de Soto 3. Understanding Crisis: On the Meaning of Uncertainty and Probability Ekaterina Svetlova and Matthias Fiedler 4. Financial Crisis and Risk Measurement: The Historical Perspective and a New Methodology Gumersindo Ruiz and Ramón Trías 5. Did Economic Analysis Fail in the Current Financial Crisis? Julio Segura PART II: WHAT DOES HISTORY TELL US? 6. Does the Current Global Crisis Remind us of the Great Depression? Sunanda Sen 7. Innovation, Growth, Cycles and Finance: Three (or Four or More) Stories from the 1930s and their Lessons Catherine P. Winnett and Adrian B. Winnett 8. Epic Recession and Economic Theory Jack Rasmus 9. Did Asset Prices Cause the Current Crisis? Edith Skriner 10. The Role of the History of Economic Thought in the Development of Economic Theory and Policy Steven Kates PART III: COUNTRY CASES IN A GLOBAL CRISIS 11. Testimony to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission by Alan Greenspan Editorial note 12. Long-term Depression and New Markets: Economists and the 2008 Recession Davide Gualerzi 13. Manifestations of the Global Crisis in a Small Open Economy Ivars Brīvers 14. The Aftermath of a Long Decade of Real Nil Interest Rates (Spain 1996–2008) Óscar Dejuán and Eladio Febrero Index
