The Economics of the Financial Crisis: Lessons and New Threats (Finance and Capital Markets Series)

Through the tools of economics, Annunziata's vivid and gripping book shows how the global financial crisis was caused by a failure of leadership and common sense in which we all played a role. The insights of this clear and compelling analysis are essential for learning the right lessons from the crisis, and seeing new threats around the corner. We were all in it together. Through the tools of economics, Marco Annunziata's vivid and gripping book shows how the global financial crisis was caused by a failure of leadership and common sense in which we all played a role. We could have seen it coming--we just did not want to. Now the temptation to scapegoat rather than take responsibility is leading us to repeat the same mistakes. As the major advanced economies struggle with unsustainable fiscal trends, while the weight of the world shifts to emerging Asia, the global economy faces a new set of challenges. Meeting them requires every one of us, policymakers, investors and consumers, to realize that common sense, humility, imagination and information are our most powerful weapons. The insights of this clear and compelling analysis are essential to dispel the myths and learn the right lessons from the crisis, and to see the new threats around the corner. PART I: A BRIEF HISTORY OF SCARY TIMES Introduction: From Hubris to Humble Pie How Did We Get There? The Earthquake PART II: GLOBALIZATION: HOPES, FEARS AND SHIFTING POWERS Asia Fuels Hopes and Fears No Man is an Island: International Policy Coordination-Accident or Design? European Hubris PART III: LESSONS RIGHT AND WRONG Deflation, Quantitative Easing, and the Money Multiplier Has Capitalism Failed? The Dangerous Temptation of Scapegoating and the Debate on Ethics PART IV: THE WAY FORWARD The Eurozone's Existential Challenge Exit Conclusion