Debt crises have placed strains not only on the European Union's nascent federal system but also on the federal system in the United States. Old confrontations over fiscal responsibility are being renewed, often in a more virulent form, in places as far flung as Detroit, Michigan, and Valencia, Spain, to say nothing of Greece and Cyprus. Increasing the complexity of the issue has been public sector collective bargaining, now a component of most federal systems. The attendant political controversies have become the debate of a generation. Paul Peterson and Daniel Nadler have assembled experts from both sides of the Atlantic to break down the structural flaws in federal systems of government that have led to economic and political turmoil. Proposed solutions offer ways to preserve and restore vibrant federal systems that meet the needs of communities struggling for survival in an increasingly unified global economy. Contributors: Andrew G. Biggs (American Enterprise Institute); Cesar Colino (National Distance Education University, Madrid, Spain); Eloisa del Pino (Instituto de Politicas y Bienes Publicos, Madrid, Spain); Henrik Enderlein (Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany); Cory Koedel (University of Missouri, USA); Carlos Xabel Lastra-Anadon (Harvard University, USA); Daniel Nadler (Harvard University, USA); Shawn Ni (University of Missouri, USA); Amy Nugent (Government of Ontario, Canada); James Pearce (Mowat Centre, University of Toronto, Canada); Paul E. Peterson (Harvard University, USA); Michael Podgursky (University of Missouri, USA); Jason Richwine (Washington, D.C. USA); Jonathan Rodden (Stanford University, USA); Daniel Shoag (Harvard University, USA); Richard Simeon (University of Toronto, Canada); Camillo von Muller (University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Leuphana University, Germany); Daniel Ziblatt (Harvard University, USA)

This book addresses the viability of the EU economic and social model within and after the global economic crisis. It identifies four key issues which warrant further discussion and its contributions offer two perspectives on each of the four main issues: the asymmetry of the legal and policy framework of the euro and how this should be recalibrated; substantive tensions in the EU integration project between the Treaties' 'economic constitution' and the normative aims of social policy and inclusion and their impact on national policy, the role of civil society, including the two sides of industry in overcoming these tensions and the EU's global aspirations towards the creation of a viable socio-economic model.In drawing these debates together, the book provides a broad understanding as well as starting points for future research.Bringing together different disciplinary approaches, ranging from legal studies to political economy, sociology and macroeconomics, it is a valuable contribution to the debate on the European social model and introduces new insights by focusing on legal and political tensions, the impact of the financial crisis and other economic contexts as well as global dimensions.

The two most topical issues in current financial markets deal with the causes of the recent financial crisis and the means to prevent future crises. This book addresses the latter and stresses a major shift in most countries toward a better understanding of financial stability and how it can be achieved. In particular, the papers in this volume examine the recent change in emphasis at central banks with regard to financial stability. For example: What were the cross-country differences in emphasis on financial stability in the past? Did these differences appear to affect the extent of the adverse impact of the financial crisis on individual countries? What are perceived to be the major future threats to financial stability? These and related issues are discussed in the book by well-known experts in the field - some of the best minds in the world pursuing financial stability. Following the global financial crisis, significant reforms have been initiated in many countries to address financial stability more directly, frequently focusing on macroprudential policy frameworks in which central banks play a more active role.

This book explores the way in which the financial crisis that began in the US spread to the economy of the European Union. It takes a critical look at the measures adopted by EU institutions in response to that crisis, seeking to explain the rationale behind them, their context, their development and why different exit strategies were not adopted. In doing this, the book makes comparisons with the measures adopted by institutions in the US and the UK. As the crisis has shown that the financial supervision frameworks prevailing in 2007 were not fully able to deal with the largest financial crisis in history, this volume also reviews the proposals that have been designed to reform the supervisory architecture in financial services in the EU. The book concludes that the EU member states under most pressure from financial markets do suffer from intrinsic problems, but that the economic effects of the crisis have been exacerbated by shortcomings in economic governance within the EU. This work will be highly relevant to policy makers and scholars looking at EU integration, finance and market regulation.

From the mid-1980s, investors in the US increasingly directed capital towards the financial sector at the expense of non-financial sectors, lured by the perception of higher profits. This flow of capital inflated asset prices, creating the stock market and housing bubbles which burst when the imbalance between stagnant incomes and rising debts triggered the banking meltdown. Profitability and the Great Recession analyses these trends in profitability and capital accumulation, which the authors identify as the root cause of the financial crisis, in the context of the US and other major OECD countries. Drawing on insights from Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx, the authors interpret the relationship between capital accumulation and profitability trends through the conceptual lens of classical political economy. The book provides extensive empirical evidence of declining rates of US non-financial corporate accumulations from the mid-1960s and profitability trends in that sector falling from post-war highs. In contrast to this, it is shown that there was a vigorous rise of profitability in the financial sector from a 1982 trough to the early part of the twenty-first century, which led to the bloating of that sector. The authors conclude that the long-term falling accumulation trend in the non-financial corporate sector, highlighted by the bankruptcy of major automobile corporations, stands out as the underlying force that transformed the financial crisis into a fully-fledged Great Recession. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in the areas of economics, political economy, business and finance.

This book analyzes the adverse effects of globalization and liberalization - acutely manifest in the increased financialization of capital and the concomitant global financial crisis of 2008-09 - on the labour force, especially in the developing countries. Drawing upon case studies from several countries including India, Columbia, Malawi, Brazil and Thailand, it highlights the worsening plight of working class as a whole and informal labour in particular. The essays examine issues such as down-sizing, lowering of wages, insecurity and erosion of labour rights, and show how labour is grappling with the situation. The volume critically re-assesses varied aspects of the growing informal sector: its dubious credential as an employment provider during crises; its non-adherence to internationally recognized standards of decent work; the problems and potential of workers' unions; and the need for a regulatory regime. It also discusses changes in the Indian labour market induced by business environment and technology as well as its future dynamics. Presenting a historical review of labour markets, the work explores the deregulation wave under the globalization of 1980s and the interactions between existing unstable asset markets and labour markets. The book will prove especially useful to students and scholars in economics, labour studies and sociology, and those engaged in public policy and governance.

Financial crises are dramatic events. When they emerge, they tend to dominate the attention of the press and become the focus of policymakers. In one form or another, they have affected the lives of millions of people throughout the world. As references to 16th century Dutch tulips, 18th South Seas merchant ventures, or 1920s Florida real estate make clear, they have been around for a long time. At their worst, such as in the cases of the Great Depression or the current Great Recession, their effects have been felt worldwide, with the number of people affected counted into the billions. They have at times changed the course of history.

This book analyses ten of the most important financial crises of the last thirty years. The specific crises covered in the book are the 1982 Chilean crisis, the 1992 ERM crisis, the 1994 Mexican crisis, the 1997 Asian crisis, the 1998 Russian crisis, the 1999 Brazilian crisis, the 1999 Ecuadorian crisis, the 2000 Turkish crisis, the 2002 Argentine crisis, and the 2008 crisis in Iceland. The set includes the most important emerging-market crises of the last three decades as well as two particularly informative advanced-country crises, the ERM crisis of 1992 and the Icelandic crisis of 2008. A separate chapter is devoted to each crisis, and a brief concluding chapter sums up some of the key lessons that I believe that we can draw from these events.

This book offers a critical engagement with languages that describe, perpetuate, respond to, and resist economic crises. Unlike many volumes on economic crises that offer economistic explanations of their causes or policy suggestions for their resolution, this collection explores the different types of language used to deal with complex economic phenomena. The chapters in this volume examine a range of connections between language and crises: from the metaphors used historically to describe economic crises, to the languages deployed within periods of crises and economic struggle, to the popular responses thereto (including political manifestations and worker-organized enterprises). Also considered are the implications for democratic participation and gender relations, and the lack of language to express economic experience amongst certain groups. With essays from seven contributors representing five different countries, this collection has global relevance in a time marked by economic volatility and upheaval, and will serve as a valuable resource for those interested in the politics of language, economic discourse and the epistemological complexities of economic crises. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Cultural Economy.

In Debtor Protection in American and European Union Bankruptcy Law, international law scholar Dimitris Liakopulos raises a delicate issue at the foundations of the modern banking system by analyzing US bankruptcy law with a focus on the concept of automatic stay. His work identifies legal sources and authorities having repercussions in terms of operational protection. It then examines their functional profiles, with specific regard to procedure. The book then examines criminal exposure in US bankruptcy law, paying particular attention to crime figures closer to those contained in American bankruptcy law. The book's third part assesses the lack of a discipline in these areas, a cumbersome gap observable at both the international and regional levels. The financial crisis of 2008 recalled the necessity and importance of a coordinated and usable crisis resolution mechanism for large financial conglomerates. The lack of discipline in the field of cross-border insolvency, and especially in the banking sector, stands out among studies and legislative instruments that have attempted to address questions of private international law, and of procedural law or of substantive law.

What would Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, the Roosevelts, Truman, and Eisenhower have done about today's federal debt crisis?America's Fiscal Constitution tells the remarkable story of fiscal heroes who imposed clear limits on the use of federal debt, limits that for two centuries were part of an unwritten constitution. Those national leaders borrowed only for extraordinary purposes and relied on well-defined budget practices to balance federal spending and revenues. That traditional fiscal constitution collapsed in 2001. Afterward,for the first time in history,federal elected officials cut taxes during war, funded permanent new programs entirely with debt, grew dependent on foreign creditors, and claimed that the economy could not thrive without routine federal borrowing.For most of the nation's history, conservatives fought to restrain the growth of government by insisting that new programs be paid for with taxation, while progressives sought to preserve opportunities for people on the way up by balancing budgets. Virtually all mainstream politicians recognized that excessive debt could jeopardize private investment and national independence.With original scholarship and the benefit of experience in finance and public service, Bill White dispels common budget myths and distills practical lessons from the nation's five previous spikes in debt. America's Fiscal Constitution offers an objective and hopeful guide for people trying to make sense of the nation's current, most severe, debt crisis and its impact on their lives and our future.

The contributions to this edited collection, first published in 1983, are based on two underlying themes. The first examines the major recession that took hold of the global economy during the 1980s and assesses its effects on key areas of social structure, including political and economic democracy and trade union representation. The second theme considers the limitations of state intervention in such changing circumstances, with particular reference to the welfare state. This is a comprehensive title, which is of great relevance to those with an interest in the current global economic situation and the potential impact of this on the welfare state and class structure.

Four years have passed since the onset of the 2008 global crisis, and although some believe that there may be a second down draft soon, attention has shifted from crisis narration to assessing lessons essential for preventing or managing recurrences. The exercise is worthy, but there is always the danger of preparing for the last war when the next attack takes another form. Prevention and Crisis Management addresses this problem by highlighting the future threat to Asia from a broader perspective that takes account of the Japanese and Asian financial crises during the 1990s as well as the global crisis of 2008. The enlarged framework turns out to be illuminating for two distinct reasons. First, it reveals that Asian crises take many diverse forms, and second, the solutions devised to date have only been locally and not universally effective. Policymakers are accordingly advised to always plan for the element of surprise.

This book analyses the major economic crisis that began in 20078 and continues in 2013. Carles Manera explains that it is not just a financial crisis, caused primarily by the banking sector, as many commentators claim, but a systemic crisis caused in part by overproduction, falls in business profits, environmental problems, and a stubborn insistence by political and monetary authorities on economic policies driven by austerity. Providing examples from the economic history of western nations, which provide economists and social scientists with essential reference for understanding the complexities behind this Great Recession, the author proposes economic solutions to end the crisis that are at odds with policies proposed and acted on by major European governments, led by Germany. Manera thus adopts a heterodox approach -- a "subversive view -- making this book stand out not only from governmental economic policy-making but taking a stance far from conventional academic literature on economics. Professor Manera is highly critical of the economic policy coming out of Berlin and Brussels, in which ultra-neoliberal orthodoxy is the predominant form of economic action. He is of the firm opinion that this wrong path will only prolong the crisis for the most vulnerable members of society and for the middle classes, which make up the economic consumer power-house of the European economy. A prime objective of the work is foster a committed viewpoint and engagement by all European nation states whereby Germany should lead Europe out of this Great Recession (rather than leading Germany only out) and that the European Central Bank should broaden substantively its objectives and concentrate on policies that support economic growth. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies.

This edited volume presents the most recent achievements in risk measurement and management, as well as regulation of the financial industry, with contributions from prominent scholars and practitioners such as Robert Engle, 2003 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Viral Acharya, Torben Andersen, Zvi Bodie, Menachem Brenner, Aswath Damodaran, Marti Subrahmanyam, William Ziemba and others. The book provides a comprehensive overview of recent emerging standards in risk management from an interdisciplinary perspective. Individual chapters expound on the theme of standards setting in this era of financial crises where new and unseen global risks have emerged. They are organized in a such a way that allows the reader a broad perspective of the new emerging standards in macro, systemic and sovereign risk before zooming into the micro perspective of how risk is conceived and treated within a corporation. A section is dedicated to credit risk and to the increased importance of liquidity both in financial systems and at the firm's level.

This book examines the need for greater East Asian cooperation and the challenges to this grand endeavor. With differing national outlooks, how can East Asia preserve peace, prosperity and stability amidst geopolitical competition? To answer this question, the volume examines the political and economic relations between Beijing and its neighbors against the backdrop of two trends: the power shift from the West to the East in the aftermath of the American Financial Crisis and the ongoing eurozone crisis, as well as the rise of China.

The Group of Twenty book will provide a concise examination of the purpose, function and practice of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit with particular attention to its designation as a new "premier forum for international economic cooperation." Although providing a historical account of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors process, the main focus of the book will be on the conditions, events and debates that led to the formation of the permanent, expanded leaders' level forum. The historical span of the G20 Summit process is not long, but the global transformations that precipitated it are crucial for the analysis. Two central themes will guide the analysis of this book; first, an examination of "accumulating global deadlocks," which provide a framework of the functional deficiencies plaguing the global system; and second, "incremental institutional innovations," which will detail the patchwork of reforms to the institutions of global governance that led into the transformation of the G20's role. The book will explore a variety of major debates, including; governance by clubs versus multilateralism; the legitimacy of informal leadership; the issue of the G20's composition of both solution' countries and problem' countries; the role of the emerging powers; and, new conceptions of North-South relationships. It will address the array of functional challenges at the core of the global system. This book will provide insight and analysis on the G20 beyond its composition, offering a detailed examination of the ongoing shift in economic power and the momentum toward global institutional reform. This book takes into account the technical orientation of the G20 Finance and its financial agenda but will drill deeper on contextual issues. This book will also be produced very timely, following the early incarnations of the G20 at the leaders' level. It will draw from experiences of the initial four summits; Washington (Nov'08),

The Group of Twenty book will provide a concise examination of the purpose, function and practice of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit with particular attention to its designation as a new "premier forum for international economic cooperation." Although providing a historical account of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors process, the main focus of the book will be on the conditions, events and debates that led to the formation of the permanent, expanded leaders' level forum. The historical span of the G20 Summit process is not long, but the global transformations that precipitated it are crucial for the analysis. Two central themes will guide the analysis of this book; first, an examination of "accumulating global deadlocks," which provide a framework of the functional deficiencies plaguing the global system; and second, "incremental institutional innovations," which will detail the patchwork of reforms to the institutions of global governance that led into the transformation of the G20's role. The book will explore a variety of major debates, including; governance by clubs versus multilateralism; the legitimacy of informal leadership; the issue of the G20's composition of both solution' countries and problem' countries; the role of the emerging powers; and, new conceptions of North-South relationships. It will address the array of functional challenges at the core of the global system. This book will provide insight and analysis on the G20 beyond its composition, offering a detailed examination of the ongoing shift in economic power and the momentum toward global institutional reform. This book takes into account the technical orientation of the G20 Finance and its financial agenda but will drill deeper on contextual issues. This book will also be produced very timely, following the early incarnations of the G20 at the leaders' level. It will draw from experiences of the initial four summits; Washington (Nov'08),

It has been four years since the financial crisis of 2008, and the global financial system still is experiencing malaise caused by high rates of unemployment; a lingering, unresolved supply of foreclosed properties; the deepening European debt crisis; and fear of a recurrence of the bank turmoil that brought about the Great Recession. All of these factors have led to stagnant economic growth worldwide.

In "Rocky Times," editors Yasuyuki Fuchita, Richard J. Herring, and Robert E. Litan bring together experts from academia and the banking sector to analyze the difficult issues surrounding troubled large financial institutions in an environment of economic uncertainty and growing public anger. Continuing the format of the previous Brookings- Nomura collaborations, Rocky Times focuses largely on developments within the United States and Japan but looks at those in other nations as well.

This volume examines two broad areas: the Japanese approach to regulating financial institutions and promoting financial stability and the U.S. approach in light of the Dodd-Frank Act. Specific chapters include "Managing Systemwide Financial Crises: Some Lessons from Japan since 1990," "The Bankruptcy of Bankruptcy," "The Case for Regulating the Shadow Banking System," "Why and How to Design a Contingent Convertible Debt Requirement," and "Governance Issues for Macroprudential Policy in Advanced Economies."

Contributors: Gavin Bingham (Systemic Policy Partnership, London), Charles W. Calomiris (Columbia Business School), Douglas J. Elliott (Brookings Institution), Kei Kodachi (Nomura Institute of Capital Markets Research), Morgan Ricks (Vanderbilt Law School).

Some analysts looked at the 1997/98 East Asian crisis not as one crisis but as a combination of crises, beginning with a crisis of confidence and evolving into a currency crisis, a financial crisis, an economic crisis, a social crisis and a political crisis. This book is a multidisciplinary study of financial crises, in particular, the Asian crisis of 1997 and the more recent global financial crisis of 2008. Looking at financial crises not as one crisis, but as a combination of crises beginning with a crisis of confidence, this study steps out of the traditional mould and examines financial crises from novel perspectives. The book highlights that since the origin of a financial crisis is a confidence crisis, either in the whole economy or a particular sector, the Asian and recent global crises could have backward and forward linkages to political regimes and institutions, culture and tradition, the role of the media, society and societal evolution and development processes of regulatory regimes. Through contributions by authors in fields ranging from sociology and political science, media and Islamic banking, to law and regulation, this study adopts a broad framework for understanding financial crises, and sheds light on the interwoven and complex structures and often overlooked aspects which contribute to the holistic understanding of this topic.

At first, it seemed as if the international financial crisis that broke out in 2008 would have little effect in Russia and the other post-Soviet states. But, by the end of the year, growth was slowing, banks were reluctant to lend, share values had collapsed and unemployment was rising inexorably. The stability of the Putin leadership, it appeared, had been built on the turnaround in economic performance that it had managed to achieve over more than a decade. How would it cope with a sudden reversal? In Ukraine, living standards fell even more sharply. In Belarus, there were fewer obvious signs of economic difficulty, but it could hardly be unaffected by the performance of its major trading partners. Drawing on a wide range of evidence, an international group of scholars address the impact of the international financial crisis in the post-Soviet states and the continuing implications of the crisis for these countries themselves and for the wider world. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, now known as East European Politics.

All Fall Down traces the ways in which changes in financial structure and regulation eroded monetary control and led to historically high levels of debt relative to GDP in both developed and emerging economies. Rising stocks of debt drove the global financial system into crisis in 2008 when households, businesses, financial institutions and the public sector in some countries strained to generate sufficient income for debt service. The stagnation and fall in asset prices that followed began the process of unwinding that led to a run on the financial sector by the financial sector. This engaging examination describes critical developments that changed the structure of US financial markets as well as developments and innovations in US credit markets that created the context for crisis. It discusses the advent of dollar hegemony, the critical role of international reserves in generating credit, the emergence of the debt bubble in the 1980s and the mounting risks of debt in the new millennium. The author also proposes a systemic approach to monetary control, offering two new reform proposals. The analysis concludes that reforms are needed in order to support sustainable economic activity in the US and global economies. This volume will appeal to students and scholars of economics interested in international finance and banking, financial regulation and monetary policy implementation. It will also be of interest to business economists, lawyers, policymakers and journalists concerned with the effects of financial instability and involved in ongoing debates on financial and monetary reform.

The book analyzes the nature of Chinese economy which enables it to go through the financial tsunami pretty unscathed. It discusses the stimulus package designed by the Chinese government to keep the economy on course, as well as its results - both positive and negative aspects in the middle and long term.The 2008-09 financial crisis makes it very clear that we need a two-pronged approach to deal with the situation, namely governments need a) to take quick and decisive actions to stem any further deterioration in financial systems; b) to revamp their economies by refitting existing engines in the real economy. China, as the third largest economy in the world, and with its robust domestic consumption and a healthy financial system, is one of the most important drivers to pull the world out of recession.According to the Chinese leadership, China's main contribution is to keep its own economy running smoothly. In response to the crisis, the Beijing government has poured money into the following sectors: public housing, earthquake reconstruction, physical infrastructure, social security, education and healthcare. So far, the results have helped China to maintain the targeted high growth. Given the open nature of its economy, its high growth has also benefited other countries, thereby contributing to the global economy.The current crisis strengthens a trend that has emerged since the Asian financial crisis of 1997. And that is the enhanced economic integration of China with its East Asian neighbours and Southeast Asia. This augurs well for East Asian regionalism which may include the birth of Asian Monetary Fund.The global environment in the wake of the crisis poses new challenges to China, for example, in the form of shrinking size of its traditional export market in the USA and Europe. China needs to modify its strategy from previous export-oriented and investment-driven strategy into one with more emphasis on consumption. There is a lot of scope for China to embark on productive consumption such as cleaning up the environment, physical infrastructure, social security, education and healthcare. If done well, they will lay a firm basis for long-term economic development. It represents an occasion for China to embark on a nation-wide effort to upgrade its economy in the key sectors. At the same time, attention needs to be paid to improving economic-legal institutional framework to support China's role as a major global player.

The City has long been the main generator of London's wealth and, needless to say, the impact of the Economic Crisis in the recent years on the City has greatly affected the wider urban and surrounding region, not to say country as a whole. This book examines the impact of the recession and discusses London's future trajectory as an entrepreneurial city and capital of the United Kingdom. While recognising the enduring capacity of London to 'reinvent' itself - from being the centre of a vast Empire to becoming a global centre for financial and business services - contributors evaluate different dimensions of the city's current and future development through analyses derived from sociological, economic, cultural and urban studies perspectives.