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 deals with the transformation of the Polish centrally-planned system to a western-type market system. Poland represents the most interesting case to study as it runs an unprecedentedly radical and fast course of reform. The book provides insights in the theoretical foundations of the transformation of an economic system as well as a critical assessment of first experiences in Poland. As the authors develop theoretical approaches as well as study the empirical situation, thebook offers valuable insights both to the reader who is rather theoreticallyinterested and to a pragmatically orientated audience. One of the main features of the book is the broad variety of the subjects chosen for analysis and of the respective approaches taken by the authors who mostly specialize in the fields they worked on for this book.