This book discusses the relationship between democracy and the financial order from various legal perspectives. Each of the nine contributions adopts a unique perspective on the legal and political challenges brought to the fore by the Global Financial Crisis. This crisis and the ensuing sovereign debt crisis in Europe are only the latest in a long series of financial crises around the globe in recent decades. By their very existence, but also as a result of the political turmoil they have created, these financial crises testify to the well-known tensions between democracy and a market-based economic and financial order. However, what is missing in this debate is an analysis of the role of law for reconciling democracy with a market-based financial order. To fill this lacuna, the book focuses on the controversy surrounding the concept of law, thereby adding another variable to the debate on the relation between democracy and capitalism. Each chapter addresses the concept of law from a particular theoretical angle, be it a full-grown legal theory or an approach in political economy that has a particular view of the law.

The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2009 has highlighted the resilience of the financial markets and broader economies from the developing world. This outcome owes much to the bitter experience and economic strategies developed and implemented at both a national and international level following the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998. The objective of this volume is to investigate and assess the impact and response to the crisis from an emerging markets perspective including asset pricing, contagion, financial intermediation, market structure and regulation. Our hope is that the assembled papers will offer clear insights into the complex financial arrangements that now link emerging and developed financial markets in the current economic environment. The volume spans four dimensions: first, a series of background studies offer explanations of the causes and impacts of the crisis on emerging markets more generally; then, implications are considered. The third and final sections provide insights from regional and country-specific perspectives.

Most people have believed that corporate social responsibility (CSR) played a significant role in the 2008 global financial crisis. However, little research has been done to reflect on the underlying issues of CSR in connection to the financial crisis. This collection brings together leading scholarly thinking to understand why CSR failed to prevent the global financial crisis, how corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) contributed to the financial crisis, and how we may reframe CSR or improve CSR frameworks to help prevent or mitigate any future financial and economic crises. This volume concentrates on three key themes: A critical review of the role of CSR played in the financial crisis and its underlying theses; A unique understanding of the institutionalization of CSR in codified rules and the application of CSR into business and management; and; An in-depth exploration of the future direction of CSR as post-crisis agenda.

This book presents the complete and pioneering works of the great Spanish economist, German Bernacer (1883-1965), to an English audience for the first time. Bernacer, the first director of the Research Service of the Bank of Spain (1930-55), inspired Keynes' theory but was also a major critic and opponent of it. A macro economist by trade, Bernacer's major theory related to recurring crises, which he believed were inherent in the existence of speculative markets such as property, works of art, long term currency markets, commercial trading, materials, and energy. Bernacer believed that these speculative markets generate unearned income and hoarding,they abound in financial capital and, when such capital is captured, it then lacks in production industries where real value is created, draining their financing. The author shows how history has repeated itself in this manner in 1929, 2007, 2008, 2014 and 2016. The author derives his content from Bernacer's Spanish publications and his private correspondence with his contemporary economists, providing an historical and thematic insight into his thinking. It is well-timed to contribute to current worldwide debates on monetary,financial and budgetary policies needed to implement an economic order that can restore economic stability, providing readers with rare and important insights into the deep roots of crises. The book will be of interest to all readers interested in the history of economic thought, history of financial crises, Keynesian approaches to economics and criticism to Keynesian approaches.

Understanding money's nature as political, institutional, and material answers today's big money questions. Money remains a foundational question of social theory. What is money? Why does something so insubstantial have value? How do money systems make promises function like valuable things? Why are money systems always hierarchical yet variable? The answer, the book argues, is politics. Money is institutionalised social power. Politics generates institutions that differentially lock into the future product of political and economic collectives. Money emerges from the institutionalisation of social antagonisms to encapsulate a collective's productive potential in a flexible, tradable instrument. This takes a system. Money is built in hierarchical layers out of the inherently variable material of politics and at various economic scales. This book outlines these variable processes theoretically and through case studies.

This book explores methods and techniques to predict and eventually prevent financial distress in corporations. It analyzes the effects of the global financial crisis on Italian manufacturing companies and, more specifically, whether the crisis has increased the number of firms that are likely to fail. In the first chapter, the authors widely discuss the Corporate Financial Distress as well as the process and costs incurred. The second chapter is based on a review of the most used statistical models, splitting them into accounting-based and market-based models. The following chapter is dedicated to the methodology and the empirical analysis on Italian manufacturing companies from different industries. The last chapter presents practical evidence from Italian manufacturing companies during the recent financial crisis.

With the evolution of information technologies, mobile devices, and social media, educators must learn to build and utilize new forms of content delivery, new teaching methodologies for academics, and special learning environments tailored to the needs of adult students. Impact of Economic Crisis on Education and the Next-Generation Workforce provides comprehensive coverage on the complexities and challenges of the learning process in the context of higher education and the role information technologies can play in mobile and distance learning. Through this book, professors, students, politicians, policymakers, corporate leaders, senior general managers, managing directors, information technology directors, and managers will understand the evolution and needs of new labor markets, including challenges for education, higher education and reforms, mobile and distance learning in higher education, problems in the current labor market, and the role of faculty with respect to workforce training.

This book investigates the changing nature of economic policies following the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-9. Well-respected, international scholars come together to discuss the level of economic growth following the crisis, concerns over inequality in industrialised countries, and labour market policies.

Exchanges play an essential and central role in the world's economy. They epitomize transparency in the price-formation process, informing investors and disseminating vital information for the functioning of financial markets, and in so doing they represent an important source of capital for nascent and established companies alike. Even during the recent crisis, exchanges remained open and liquid in the face of extreme volatility-thus the trust investors place in regulated exchanges when confronted with uncertainty is beyond doubt.
Since the inception of the World Federation of Exchanges in the 1960s, the operational and competitive landscape for organized exchanges has changed radically. Technology and globalization have allowed financial flows to move freely across borders, and burgeoning competition and lower regulatory barriers have spurred far-reaching transformations in the way securities are traded.
Against this background, and on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the World Federation of Exchanges, the WFE has partnered with Larry Harris and the Centre for European Policy Studies to produce a definitive volume of essays to take a look at the historic role exchanges have played in the global economy, highlighting pivotal innovations that shaped this role, and to lay out prospective ways in which exchanges will continue to shape the global economy in the future. Opening with key conceptual essays by leading academics, Regulated Exchanges examines the historical contribution of exchanges to the world's economic growth, exchanges' economic importance, and the regulatory characteristics of the space in which exchanges operate. The volume then presents essays on several defining milestones in the history of exchanges written by leading figures that took part in that very history, showing the interaction between the founding of exchanges, local cultures, and world financial markets. The book appropriately closes with a look forward, examining the competitive landscape and the exciting and promising future of regulated exchanges.
Offering an unparalleled collection of perspectives from leading academics and practitioners involved in the history of exchanges, Regulated Exchanges sheds a brilliant and welcome light on how exchanges have influenced and fostered successful financial markets, and how they will do so for many years to come.

What is the link between the financial cycle -financial booms, followed by busts - and the real economy? What is the direction of this link and how salient is this connection? This unique book examines these fundamental questions and offers a paramount contribution to the debate surrounding the recent financial and economic crisis.With contributions from eminent academics and policy makers, this multi-disciplinary collection ascertains the policy challenges perpetuated by financial cycles in the real economy. Prominent macroeconomic models are challenged as experts question the nexus between financial deepening and growth, and assess the contribution of real estate bubbles to financial crises. Focusing on Europe, and in particular on Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, the collection provides country-specific accounts, suggesting policy initiatives for dealing with financial cycles. The book concludes that financial cycles are leading indicators for financial crises and calls for economists to integrate financial factors into macroeconomic modeling. The multi-faceted nature of this book will be invaluable to researchers and students interested in the post financial crisis debate. Policy makers and practitioners will find the expert insight into lessons learned in Europe in the wake of the financial crisis and the proposal for dynamic policy initiatives to be invaluable. Contributors: J. Asmussen, M. Belka, D. Bernhofer, C. Borio, C.M. Buch, G. M. Caporale, K. D'Hulster, M. Dumi i , O. Fernandez-Amador, M. Gachter, U. Herman, O. Holtemoeller, B. Jazbec, M. Lozej, D. Mihaljek, B. Mijailovi , E. Nowotny, E. Ortega, J. Penalosa, C. Rault, F. Sindermann, V. o i , A. Sova, R. Sova, A. Subelyte, J.W. van den End, P. van den Noord, A. Winkler, E. Zamrazilova, V. arek

Setting macroeconomic policy is especially difficult in fragile states. Political legitimacy concerns are heightened, raising issues such as who the policymakers are, what incentives they face, and how the process of policymaking is likely to work under limited legitimacy and high uncertainty both about the macroeconomic environment as well as policy effectiveness. In addition, fragility expands the range of policy objectives in ways that may constrain the attainment of standard macroeconomic objectives. Specifically, in the context of fragility policymakers also need to focus on measures to mitigate fragility itself - i.e., they need to address issues such as regional and ethnic economic disparities, youth unemployment, and food price inflation. Socio-political developments around the world have thus pushed policymakers to broaden their toolkit to improve the effectiveness of macroeconomic management in the face of these constraints. The chapters in Macroeconomic Policy in Fragile States address these issues, both by giving an analytical context from which policymakers can build to answer the questions they face in fragile situations as well as by providing lessons drawn from empirical analyses and case studies. The first section of the volume discusses the interactions between political economy considerations and macroeconomic policymaking. The second section covers the private sector environment in fragile states. The third section focuses on macroeconomic policy, especially fiscal policy, monetary policy, exchange rate policy, external flows, and aid effectiveness. The last section explains the role of the IMF in fragile states and concludes by presenting case studies from the Middle East and from Sub-Saharan Africa. The contributors to the volume are economists and political scientists from academia as well as policymakers from international organizations and from countries affected by fragility.

This innovative book analyses the role played by real estate markets in global financial stability and examines the fragile link between the two.Through what transmission channels do housing market cycles influence broader economic systems? How has the Global Financial Crisis shifted our view and understanding of these linkages? This detailed book answers these questions in an international comparative perspective. Specific topics covered include macroeconomic transmission channels of the housing cycle, the role of housing in the finance system, construction financing as a cycle amplifier, and various related public policy issues such as the policy remedies needed to deal with housing and mortgage-driven crises. Eminent scholars in the field provide insightful and original contributions, which will appeal to academics in the areas of macroeconomics, policy analysis and financial regulation. Practitioners involved in real estate and the mortgage market will also find it to be of interest. Contributors: C.-O. Chang, M.-C. Chen, M. Cho, G. Dell'Ariccia, H.-J. Dubel, M. Hwang, M. Iacoviello, D. Igan, K. Kim, K.-H. Kim, Y.I. Kim, C.-M. Lee, Y.-M. Lee, J.-y. Son, I. Song, S.H. Suh, M.J. Tcha, S. Wachter, T.T. Yang, J.Y. Zhang

In the years since the subprime financial crisis of 2007-2011, we have learned a number of important lessons about the crisis, and have subsequently applied appropriate legislation, such as increased capital ratios and systematic stress testing, in order to combat it. However, it would be naive to suggest that such measures have put an end to the possibility of future crises. In this book, senior figures in economics, risk Management, and the banking sector use active research and policy debates to offer a wide perspective on what the next financial crisis may look like and what can be done about it from a regulatory point of view. By first exploring issues of macroeconomic policy, and then studying cutting-edge methodologies, challenging important aspects of testing financial practice, this book will be an essential read for all those studying and researching financial crises, financial regulation and macroprudential policy-making.

​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.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the business model of international banks is under pressure. Regulators across the world are retrenching to national lines by applying restrictions on cross-border banking. Applying game theory, this book develops a model of the financial trilemma to understand the co-ordination failure among regulators. It also provides governance solutions to overcome this co-ordination failure. The goal is to offer a long-term perspective on international banking for regulators and academics. The book combines academic insights and policy issues.

During the Great Depression, young radicals centered in New York City developed a vision of and for America, molded by their understanding of recent historical events, in particular the Great War and the global economic collapse, as well as by the events unfolding both at home and abroad. They worked to make their vision of a free, equal, democratic society based on peaceful coexistence a reality. Their attempts were ultimately unsuccessful but their voices were heard on a number of important issues, including free speech, racial justice, and peace. A major contribution to the historiography of the era of the Great Depression, Fighting Authoritarianism provides a new and important examination of U.S. youth activism of the 1930s, including the limits of the New Deal and how youth activists continually pushed FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, and other New Dealers to do more to address economic distress, more inclusionary politics, and social inequality. In this study, author Britt Haas questions the interventionist versus isolationist paradigm in that young people sought to focus on both domestic and international affairs. Haas also explores the era not as a precursor to WWII, but as a moment of hope when the prospect of institutionalizing progress in freedom, equality, and democracy seemed possible. Fighting Authoritarianism corrects misconceptions about these young activists' vision for their country, heavily influenced by the American Dream they had been brought up to revere: they wanted a truly free, truly democratic, and truly equal society. That meant embracing radical ideologies, especially socialism and communism, which were widely discussed, debated, and promoted on New York City college campuses. They believed that in embracing these ideologies, they were not turning their backs on American values. Instead, they believed that such ideologies were the only way to make America live up to its promises. This study also outlines the careers of Molly Yard, Joseph Lash, and James Wechsler, how they retracted (and for Yard and Lash, reclaimed) their radical past, and how New York continued to hold a prominent platform in their careers. Lash and Wechsler both worked for the New York Post, the latter as editor until 1980. Examining the Depression decade from the perspective of young activists highlights the promise of America as young people understood it: a historic moment when anything seemed possible.

This title surveys contributions to the economics of bankruptcy. It offers a comprehensive compilation of work by both legal scholars and economists working in the fields of corporate and consumer finance beginning with Baird, Jackson and Rea before showcasing papers that extend, test and revise their theories.

The International Papers in Political Economy (IPPE) series explores the latest developments in political economy. This twelfth volume presents a collection of eight papers, analysing the emergence and economic problems of the emerging economies during and after the international financial crisis of 2007-8 and the subsequent Great Recession. The contributions range from an analysis of the international financial crisis of 2007-8 in general terms to an analysis of the same but concentrating on the emerging economies, before turning to groups of economies, Arab, African and Eastern European countries, and two relevant but individual countries, namely China and Turkey. This book offers students, scholars, researchers and policy-makers detailed analysis and informed commentary on the origins of the international financial crisis of 2007-8 and the great recession by focusing on its effect on emerging countries.

This provocative look at the global financial crisis argues that the United States, the European Union and Japan have intentionally and unwittingly adopted wrong-headed economic policies in a futile attempt to deal with sovereign debt resulting from the global financial crisis. It offers persuasive evidence of how the politics of austerity fail to encourage economic recovery, and proposes instead a number of alternative ideas and solutions. The book begins with a detailed breakdown of the financial crisis and the government response in the United States, with particular focus on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The author then puts forth a basic three-part plan calling for (1) fundamental tax and entitlement reform; (2) massive economic stimulus in the form of public and private investment to modernize the country's aging infrastructures; and (3) mortgage relief to revitalize the nation's housing markets. The book concludes with specific policy proposals designed to achieve these goals and return the US economy to a state of full employment and robust economic growth. This timely and insightful volume will appeal to students and scholars of economics, public policy and finance, as well as anyone with an interest in the recent economic history of the United States.

This timely book utilizes the tools of politics, economics and public policy to explore the causes of the recent global financial crisis, which, the author argues, can be explained as the absence of a public interest perspective in policy making. Maurice Mullard points out that recessions are not collective shared experiences. Recessions create winners and losers. Furthermore, recessions are not an external event but reflect the outcomes of the policy process. The author looks beyond economic explanations for the economic crisis, and instead points towards a structural explanation. He explores the concept of social structures, the effects of the relationships between power and influence, and the role of ideology and income inequalities as contributory factors. The commitment to deregulated financial markets created an over the counter derivatives market worth some $640 trillion dollars compared to a global GDP worth $65 trillion dollars. The growth of derivatives markets, the role of credit rating agencies, major shifts in policy making and growing income inequalities are described as major factors explaining the present economic recession. The absence of a public interest perspective, the breakdown of trust in institutions, policy makers dependence on financial contributions, the housing bubble, and the increased concentration of income have distorted the democratic process. Thought provoking and stimulating, this book will provide a fascinating study for students and academics with an interest in politics, economics, political economy and public policy.

Against the backdrop of the financial crisis that unfolded in 2008, this book deals with policy challenges going forward, focusing in particular on the ongoing catching-up process in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European (CESEE) countries. While having emerged relatively unscathed from the crisis, the CESEE economies nonetheless need to adjust to the new external conditions they will encounter. In this respect, decision-makers are faced with multiple sources of uncertainty: will post-crisis growth be the same as pre-crisis growth? What will be the future role of financial integration, growth financing and exports? What are the particular challenges facing monetary policy-makers and the banking sector in the region? On these issues and related topics, the book provides a multi-disciplinary assessment, combining the views of high-ranking central bankers and other policy makers, commercial bankers and academics. Economists and students of economic policy and European integration from central, commercial and investment banks, governments, international organizations, universities and research institutes will find this book of great interest and importance, especially those working on Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.

In The Financial Crisis Reconsidered, Aronoff challenges the conventional view that reckless credit produced the US housing boom and the financial crisis, explaining how the large current account deficit, and its mercantilist origin, was a more fundamental cause. He also demonstrates that the decision to provide relief for bank creditors rather than underwater homeowners was responsible for the prolonged recession that followed the crisis. Aronoff proposes a novel theory to account for the ultimate origins of secular stagnation and economic volatility. He shows how accumulation, which occurs when a person or country earns more than it ever plans to spend, generates both an excess of saving and a deficiency in demand. While savings provide the funds to promote booms, under-consumption ensures that these booms will turn bust and that the economy will fall short of its potential growth rate. Aronoff argues that mercantilists and top income earners engage in accumulation, and that the influence of both types has grown in recent decades. Combining economic theory and historical narrative, this book offers a new perspective of the housing boom and the financial crisis, concluding with innovative policy proposals to reduce accumulation without compromising the benefits of a market economy.

This unique and fascinating book illustrates that the 'credit crunch' and the ensuing financial and economic crisis of 2007-2009 did not only strike hard at the economy in the Western world, but also at its policymakers, at economics as a scientific discipline and, more specifically, at the process of European integration itself. In a series of theoretical and empirical papers, the expert contributors discuss the impact of the financial crisis on European integration in detail, considering issues including governance, sovereign debt crises, global economic imbalances, and post-crisis perspectives from Central and East European countries. The conclusion is that there is an urgent need for political integration in Europe as a necessary tool to facilitate economic integration. This book will prove invaluable to both academics and practitioners with a special interest in the economics of European integration, international financial markets, economics and international business. Contributors include: F.C. Bagliano, H. Berger, N.D. Coniglio, P. De Grauwe, S. Dumitrescu, M. Heipertz, A. Horobet, D. Ioannou, A.M. Lejour, J. Lewis, J. Lukkezen, K.-S. Lee, C. Morana, V. Nitsch, M. Pirovano, F. Prota, Z. Qian, S. Sarisoy Guerin, A. Van Poeck, J. Vanneste, P. Veenendaal

Killing Bugs for Business and Beauty examines the beginning of Canada’s aerial war against forest insects and how a tiny handful of officials came to lead the world with a made-in-Canada solution to the problem. Shedding light on a largely forgotten chapter in Canadian environmental history, Mark Kuhlberg explores the theme of nature and its agency. The book highlights the shared impulses that often drove both the harvesters and the preservers of trees, and the acute dangers inherent in allowing emotional appeals instead of logic to drive environmental policy-making. It addresses both inter-governmental and intra-governmental relations, as well as pressure politics and lobbying. Including fascinating tales from Cape Breton Island, Muskoka, and Stanley Park, Killing Bugs for Business and Beauty clearly demonstrates how class, region, and commercial interest intersected to determine the location and timing of aerial bombings. At the core of this book about killing bugs is a story, infused with innovation and heroism, of the various conflicts that complicate how we worship wilderness.

`Peter van Bergeijk has written a fascinating book on the recent trade collapse, that in size can only be compared to the (trade) crises of the 1930s. There are at least two reasons to read the book. The first is to get a better understanding why the world has witnessed a dramatic decline of international trade. Peter van Bergeijk systematically analyzes the standard explanations that are given for this collapse, for example those put forward by the WTO, and concludes that most are wrong or unconvincing, and provides his own thought provoking explanation: risk and uncertainty. The second reason to read the book is that it provides all those interested in international trade with a clear and interesting introduction to understand the world of international trade and learn a great deal along the way, and not only about the recent trade collapse.' - Steven Brakman, University of Groningen, The Netherlands On the Brink of Deglobalization addresses the breakdown of international trade and capital flows in 2008/09 and challenges the mainstream narrative for the world trade collapse. Detailed chapters on international finance, fragmentation of production, protectionism and earlier episodes of collapsing trade reveal data that contradicts conventional explanations and demonstrates that the trade collapse was driven by the shock of (perceived) trade uncertainty. Peter van Bergeijk discusses why trade barriers and import substitution are seen as solutions during depressions while presenting empirical evidence demonstrating the risks of such policies. This book provides a broad, historical and statistical analysis relevant to understanding the recent world trade collapse. Being the first comprehensive analysis of the risks and drivers of deglobalization, this unique and challenging book will appeal to trade economists, trade policymakers and analysts as well as those involved in international business.