In light of demographic change and the growing problems of traditional old-age security systems, this book discusses two essential instruments in connection with privately providing for old-age security: (1) savings in private pension schemes and (2) building up equity for home-ownership. Further, it assesses the relationship between the two instruments and offers a unique overview of the latest market developments. In order to represent the profound differences between the individual member states of the EU, this book features six country-specific studies - covering Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom - that provide detailed insights into the complexity of local private pension schemes, mortgage markets, and housing markets. Lastly, the book discusses public policies and fiscal incentives intended to better integrate residential property with private pensions. It will appeal to both, private households seeking to build up old-age security, as well as policy makers interested in providing secure pension schemes.

The Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 shook the foundations of the global economy and what began as a localised currency crisis soon engulfed the entire Asian region. What went wrong and how did the Asian economies long considered 'miracles' respond? How did the United States, Japan and other G-7 countries respond to the crisis? What role did the IMF play?. Why did China, which suffers many of the same structural problems responsible for the crisis remain conspicuously insulated from the turmoil raging in its midst?. What explains the remarkable recovery now underway in Asia? In what fundamental ways did the Asian crisis serve as a catalyst to the current thinking about the "new international financial architecture"?. This book provides answers to all the above questions and more, and gives a comprehensive account of how the international economic order operates, examines its strengths and weaknesses, and what needs to be done to fix it. -- .

Shortlisted for the 2022 Runciman Award The recent economic crisis in Greece has triggered national self-reflection and prompted a re-examination of the political and cultural developments in the country since 1974. While many other books have investigated the politics and economics of this transition, this study turns its attention to the cultural aspects of post-dictatorship Greece. By problematizing the notion of modernization, it analyzes socio-cultural trends in the years between the fall of the junta and the economic crisis, highlighting the growing diversity and cultural ambivalence of Greek society. With its focus on issues such as identity, antiquity, religion, language, literature, media, cinema, youth, gender and sexuality, this study is one of the first to examine cultural trends in Greece over the last fifty years. Aiming for a more nuanced understanding of recent history, the study offers a fresh perspective on current problems.

Eurozone Dystopia traces the origin of the Eurozone and shows how the historical Franco-German rivalry combined with the growing dominance of neo-liberal economic thinking to create a monetary system that was deeply flawed and destined to fail. William Mitchell argues that the political class in Europe is trapped in a destructive groupthink. Based on a flawed understanding of macroeconomic fundamentals, groupthink extols the virtues of the erroneous concept of the self-regulating free market and prevents Europe from seeing its own policy failures. As a result, millions are unemployed, with imperiled member states caught in a cycle of persistent stagnation and rising social instability.Providing a detailed historical analysis of the evolution of the Eurozone and its failings from the 1940s to the present day, the book argues that the Eurozone lacks the necessary monetary architecture, particularly the existence of a federal fiscal function which could have resolved the economic crisis quickly. The author examines the options available to Europe and concludes that an orderly abandonment of the euro and a return to national currencies is the superior option available. The justification for this conclusion is exhaustively argued within a Modern Monetary Theory framework. This thoughtful and accessible account of Europe's economic woes will appeal to all those who are seeking an explanation for the crisis and are receptive to sensible and credible alternatives to the current scenario.

This important and topical volume is composed around the debt and migration crisis in Europe in 2015 (known as the Greece crisis), and written almost concurrently as the two crises developed in quick succession. The central argument here is that Europe's present crisis suggests a post-colonial bind, or to put in stronger terms, a post-colonial destiny of Europe. The European situation bears remarkable similarity with the post-colonial condition elsewhere in the world and suggests a strong bond between Europe's present situation and the post-colonial bind in which much of the world finds itself. The purpose of this volume is to examine in the light of 21st century capitalism notions such as debt, crisis, rupture, dialogue, mobilization, neo-liberalism, war and migration, and the old, never to be settled, question of ideology. The volume ends with reflections on Europe's migration crisis, and reinforces the point that a critical post-colonial sense of history, accumulation, globalization, and the resilience of the nation form will help us reflect on the present European crisis, and draw appropriate lessons.

This book builds upon our knowledge of the far-reaching economic, political and social effects of the Euro crisis on the European Union by providing a unique study of European identities. In particular, it considers the impact on the construction of European identities in political and media discourse in Germany, Ireland and Poland-three countries with profoundly different experiences of the crisis and never before compared in a single study. Offering an original insight into the dynamics of identity change at moments of upheaval, the author argues that political and media actors in the early stages of the crisis drew on long-standing identities in order to make sense of the crisis in the public sphere. European identity discourses are thus resilient to change but become central to legitimising and contesting bailouts and further economic integration. As such, the author challenges the commonly held view that identities change dramatically at times of crisis but argues that this very resilience helps to understand the EU's current divisions. The study of identity during the Euro crisis sheds important light on the prospects for European solidarity as well as on the future of the single currency as an identity-building project. The book will be of particular interest to students and scholars in the fields of EU politics, comparative European politics, and identity politics.

Covering events such as banking crises, economic bubbles, natural disasters, trade embargoes, and depressions, this single-volume encyclopedia of major U.S. financial downturns provides readers with an event-driven understanding of the evolution of the American economy. The United States has fairly recently experienced the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. But crippling financial crises are hardly unusual: economic emergencies have occurred throughout American history and can be seen as a cyclical and "normal" (if undesirable) aspect of an economic system. This encyclopedia supplies objective, accessible, and interesting entries on 100 major U.S. financial crises from the Colonial era to today that have had tremendous domestic impact-and in many cases, global impact as well. The entries explore the history and impact of major economic events, including banking crises, economic shortages, recessions, national strikes and labor upheavals, natural resource shortages, panics, real estate bubbles, social upheavals, and the collapse of specific American industries such as rubber and steel production. Students will find this book an essential ready-reference on key events in American economic history that documents how and why these events led to significant financial and economic problems throughout the United States and around the globe. Supplies up-to-date information on financial crises from crashes to natural disasters that is relevant to high school and college students in history, government, business, and economics classes Offers a look at causes, responses, and ultimate outcomes of financial crises decades later, allowing readers to perceive unintended consequences of free trade agreements or new technology Documents how events far outside average American citizens' awareness can culminate in a financial crisis that greatly impacts their everyday lives, and the cyclical nature of the nation's economy Includes key primary documents, a chronology of key dates, an appendix of relevant sources, and an index organized by category, company names, and personal names

In this timely and thought-provoking book, Eckhard Hein illustrates that the Great Recession, which hit the world economy in 2008/09, is rooted in the contradictions of finance-dominated capitalism. The author provides an in-depth exploration of the macroeconomics of finance-dominated capitalism, its problems and its crisis, and presents economic policy lessons and alternatives. In particular, he shows that since the early 1980s, finance-dominated capitalism has affected long-run economic developments via three distinct channels: - the re-distribution of income at the expense of low labor incomes, - the dampening of investment in real capital stock, - and an increasing potential for wealth-based and debt-financed consumption. The author concludes that against the background of these basic macroeconomic tendencies, increasing instability potentials at the national economy levels and rising current account imbalances at both global and European levels have developed and have contributed to the severity of the Great Recession. This systematic study of finance-dominated capitalism presented from a macroeconomic perspective will prove a thought-provoking read for academics, researchers, graduate students and economic policy consultants with an interest in macroeconomics, financial economics, economic policies, and distribution and growth.

Wellbeing, resilience and sustainability are three of the most popular ideas in current usage and are said to represent a much-needed paradigm shift in political and policy thinking. This book is unique in bringing the three concepts together as representing a new trinity of governance. Here we introduce some of the commonalities between the ideas, particularly their concern with distinctive human capacities that shape who we are and that imply a particular relationship to our wider social and natural environments. The book explains what is distinctive about the three ideas and why they are currently popular. In particular, we are concerned with how these ideas contribute to governance 'after the crisis', and how questions of social, political and economic uncertainty influence the ways in which these main arguments are developed. The book will appeal to those studying these ideas, how they apply to politics, political economy and governance, and to the wider public and policy-makers in these fields.

If there is a single message that emerges from the wonderful essays contained in this volume, it is that economics is hard. The fact that virtually all economists agree on a handful of simple truths that describe the marketplace belies the fact that, when push comes to shove, dynamic economic processes are notoriously difficult to understand and control. The Economic Crisis in Retrospect provides the reader with a window into how some of the most perceptive economic thinkers of the last two centuries have wrestled with these issues.' - Steven G. Medema, University of Colorado, US'When the financial crisis hit, Ben Bernanke defended the economics profession by arguing that economists such as Bagehot and Thornton had a complete analysis of financial crises. Unfortunately, until the crisis hit, most economics students had never heard of, let alone read, either. That's sad, and this book provides an excellent entree into past economists' insights and how they relate to the financial crisis. It is a useful read.' - David C. Colander, Middlebury College, US 'With apologies to Santayana. . . this excellent work shows that those who can remember past economic thought are condemned to repeat the insights of major economic thinkers and show their relevance by applying them to contemporary economic issues.' - Steven Pressman, Monmouth University, US As the United States continues its slow recovery from the global financial crisis of 2008, politicians, policymakers and academics are increasingly turning to the lessons of history to gain insight into how we might address both current and future economic challenges. This volume offers contributions by eminent economists and historians, each commenting on the theories of a particular 20th century economist and the ways in which those theories apply to modern economic thought. Presented in rough chronological order of the lives of the featured economists, these chapters tackle a number of major economic issues, including the role of central banks, monetary and fiscal policy, government spending, entrepreneurship and financial innovation. The contributors apply the theories of Walter Bagehot, Thorstein Veblen, John Maynard Keynes, Joseph Schumpeter and Friedrich Hayek to these and other crucial topics, offering both comprehensive historical analysis and vital insights into the modern US and world economies. Two additional chapters on the Great Depression and US monetary and fiscal history round out this critical collection. Students and professors of all economic disciplines will find much to admire in this fascinating volume, as will anyone with an interest in economics both past and present. Contributors: B. Bateman, B. Caldwell, R.N. Langlois, P. Mehrling, R. Prasch, T.J. Sargent, P. Temin, G.P. West III, R.M. Whaples

This book analyzes how the Global Financial Crisis is portrayed in contemporary popular culture, using examples from film, literature and photography. In particular, the book explores why particular urban spaces, infrastructures and aesthetics - such as skyline shots in the opening credits of financial crisis films - recur in contemporary crisis narratives. Why are cities and finance connected in the cultural imaginary? Which ideologies do urban crisis imaginaries communicate? How do these imaginaries relate to the notion of crisis? To consider these questions, the book reads crisis narratives through the lens of myth. It combines perspectives from cultural, media and communication studies, anthropology, philosophy, geography and political economy to argue that the concept of myth can offer new and nuanced insights into the structure and politics of popular financial crisis imaginaries. In so doing, the book also asks if, how and under what conditions urban crisis imaginaries open up or foreclose systematic and political understandings of the Global Financial Crisis as a symptom of the broader process of financialization.

This book explores some relevant distortions and market failures in financial and banking markets caused by the recent financial crisis and offers important insights to policymakers as well. After having introduced the reader to the economic background behind the origin of the present financial turmoil, the book proposes a distinct angle to look at some macro and microeconomic aspects. The volume discusses whether and to what extent policies, implemented by governments and monetary authorities to countervail bank defaults and avoid a disastrous financial instability, have in some way determined opportunistic conducts (moral hazard), changes in banks' behaviour, distortive incentives and market failures. Furthermore, the book offers a viewpoint on the effects of the evolution of regulation for the banking sector. Finally, the book assesses how the increase in the cost of funding and the shrinking in credit supply (credit crunch) has modified the financial structure of small and medium firms. To illustrate this, some specific cases at Italian regional level are examined.

This is the first book to put together Asia and the developed world in the subprime crisis context and to combine macro and micro analysis to draw lessons from it. The crisis has valuable lessons for the dergulation of China's insurance industry, which is seen as the 'goldmine' in the future of global financial development.

The current crisis is emerging as the most severe downturn since the Great Depression. This book examines its cause, the efforts to contain the crisis and proposes a cure that will limit the risk that such crises could recur in the future.

"Bank Stability, Sovereign Debt and Derivatives" brings together the latest research on banking, financial markets, and the recent financial crisis. Written by a group of leading scholars, it offers both empirical and theoretical perspectives on topics such as cooperative banking; the role of trade credit and the cost of capital; the management of foreign exchange exposures; risk governance and management control; private equity investment; credit guarantee institutions, performance and risk analysis; credit supply and the rise in sovereign debt risk in the Eurozone. It also examines the relationship between bank business models and financial stability using evidence from the financial crisis in OECD countries and develops a new risk adjusted performance approach for measuring securities exchanges' value. The book provides state-of-the-art scholarly research on bank stability, sovereign debt and derivatives and is essential reading for scholars, researchers, graduate students and consulting firms interested in banking and financial markets.

Why was the Italian Banking System more resilient during the sub-prime crisis and harder-hit in the sovereign crisis? Will their strength in the retail market result as an asset or a liability for Italian banks in the future? This book offers an in-depth analysis of one of the most important EU banking systems its attempts to weather the crisis.

In far too many cases, recommendations of forensic reports on previous pandemics were ignored. Substantial weaknesses in the preparation by public health authorities and governments increased the health and economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic relative to what they would have been if pre-existing recommendations had been followed and a wider set of plans had been put into place. We discuss parallels between the lack of preparation of financial system regulators prior to the global financial crisis and the lack of preparation by public health authorities and governments prior to COVID-19. These parallels relate to: required stocks (of capital or equipment), data collection and sharing, lending facilities, stress testing and war games, early warning indicators and systems, contagion from abroad, operational risks, a system-wide approach (including effects on the real economy), models incorporating the heterogeneity of individuals, and effects on less-regulated parts of the system. The recent COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that, apart from the direct economic consequences from illness and death from the virus, the main costs have been due to the varying degrees of preventative measures taken by the public, firms, and governments that directly impacted health, as well as social, economic, and financial activity. We make recommendations for carrying out post mortems on the COVID-19 experience, planning for future pandemics, and establishing transparent and accountable governance systems. We then propose the use of regular, combined health, economic, and financial stress tests and exercises/war games in preparing for future pandemics and other major environmental shocks.

Colin Read explores the intricacies of modern financial markets and explains in easy to understand terms the reasons for global financial unrest arising from the sub-prime mortgage crisis and global economic meltdowns. He proposes that a well educated economic citizen is our most effective tool to prevent future financial collapses, like the one witnessed in 2007-2008. He walks us through a number of topics in economics, and connects these topics to real world financial problems. He then leaves us with a series of recommendations that can strengthen the economy and leave it less prone to manipulation. Throughout, he describes the role of globalization and the expected profound impact countries like India and China will have on our economic future.

This book scrutinizes global financial flows and stocks, both financial assets and liabilities and their impact on the global balance of economic power, especially as they affect the largest and fastest-growing countries in both the developed and the developing world. It shows how financial flows can promote economic growth and financial capital can serve as a tool for higher growth rates in emerging market economies, but also that the huge amounts of financial capital currently being spent in advanced countries to promote economic growth has produced at best very modest improvements and in some cases negative results. The book opens with an analysis of global capital flows and their concentration. It then offers an analysis of rates of relative economic growth (or decline). The final section deals with the (decreasing) economic efficiency of financial flows and the (un)sustainability of economic growth, especially during the past eight years of economic recovery. Tackling one of the most serious problems in the global economy today, this book will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students of capital markets, financial crisis, and financial economics.

Nowadays remembered mostly through Adam Smith's references to the short-lived Ayr Bank in the Wealth of Nations, the 1772-3 financial crisis was an important historical episode in its own right, taking place during a pivotal period in the development of financial capitalism and coinciding with the start of the traditional industrialisation narrative. It was also one of the earliest purely financial crises occurring in peacetime, and its progress showed an impressive geographical reach, involving England, Scotland, the Netherlands and the North American colonies. This book uses a variety of previously unpublished archival sources to question the bubble narrative usually associated with this crisis, and to identify the mechanisms of financial contagion that allowed the failure of a small private bank in London to cause rapid and severe distress throughout the 18th century financial system. It re-examines the short and turbulent career of the Ayr Bank, and concludes that its failure was the result of cavalier liability management akin to that of Northern Rock in 2007, rather than the poor asset quality alleged in existing literature. It furthermore argues that the Bank of England's prompt efforts to contain the crisis are evidence of a Lender of Last Resort in action, some thirty years before the classical formulation of the concept by Henry Thornton.

This is a timely, important book for fiscal policy-makers and budget practitioners. It assesses why some advanced democracies were prepared for the global financial crisis and others were not, and how some countries responded in ways that exacerbated fiscal instability. Its dozen country cases offer highly relevant lessons for mitigating cyclical disturbances that frequently beset national budgets and for managing public finances during turbulent times. The key takeaway message is that government capacity and budget policies matter and should dispel the notion that all countries are helpless when crisis strikes.' - Allen Schick, University of Maryland, USThe global financial crisis of 2007-09 constituted the biggest shock to the economies of the OECD nations since the Second World War, testing budgetary systems and causing most of their governments to move into intense crisis mode. Policy responses by governments and international authorities included massive interventions to stabilize markets and economies, and significant adjustments to fiscal policy regimes. How governments reacted to the crisis, which was manifested differently in each jurisdiction, had significant political implications for sitting governments and led to reforms of fiscal policy and budgetary regimes, which have since continued to wrestle with slow economic growth and strained public finances. This singular shock provides the editors and authors of this book with an intriguing opportunity to examine how different OECD budgetary systems performed. The contributions frame and assess how governments responded to the challenge and how their budget systems evolved in the aftermath, with a focus on strategy, decision-making and balancing competing demands. Chapters cover the EU, North America and Asia, including comparison between countries that fared well, those who were moderately affected and those countries massively affected by the global financial crisis. This timely book will appeal to students and academics seeking an international understanding and analysis of the effects and consequences of the global financial crisis. Contributors: M.G. Arghyrou, R. Boyle, S. Davidsen, T. Degen, D.M. Fantone, D.A. Good, M. Horie, L. Jensen, E. A. Lindquist, M. Mulreany, P.T. Pereira, P.L. Posner, J. de Vries, J. Wanna, L. Wemans, E. Zapico-Goni

This book discusses market microstructure environment within the context of the global financial crisis. In the first part, the market microstructure theory is recalled and the main microstructure models and hypotheses are discussed. The second part focuses on the main effects of the financial downturn through an examination of market microstructure dynamics. In particular, the effects of market imperfections and the limitations associated with microstructure models are discussed. Finally, the new regulations and recent developments for financial markets that aim to improve the market microstructure are discussed. Well-known experts on the subject contribute to the chapters in the book. A must-read for academic researchers, students and quantitative practitioners.

Critically acclaimed investigative reporter and CNBC personality Charles Gasparino demonstrates how the ongoing tumult in financial markets is part of a much larger story that entails some of the world's most esteemed financial institutions selling out their responsibility - not just to their own shareholders, but to millions of outside investors and to the American public. "The Sellout" shows how and why America's largest investment banks have suffered staggering losses in assets and influence, triggering the vast financial crisis that is now devastating the United States and institutions across the globe. This page-turning narrative captures how avarice, arrogance, and sheer stupidity eroded Wall Street's dominance, made many of the US' most fabled financial institutions vulnerable to significant new foreign control, and profoundly weakened the financial security of millions of poor and middle-class American families.

The financial crisis is about more than money. It is also about morality, casting an uncomfortable light on the links between the activities of bankers and the wellbeing of society as a whole. The idea that economics is morally neutral or that finance should be above ethical scrutiny deserves to be challenged. The Most Reverend Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Larry Elliott, Economics Editor of the Guardian, bring together a group of distinguished commentators to open up the ethical debate in the search for a fairer vision of economic justice.