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