Contents

Tables

Foreword
Robert M. Solow

1  Financial Crisis: a Hardy Perennial

2  The Anatomy of a Typical Crisis

3  Speculative Manias

4  Fueling the Flames: the Expansion of Credit

5  The Critical Stage – When the Bubble Is About To Pop

6  Euphoria and Paper Wealth

7  Bernie Madoff: Frauds, Swindles, and the Credit Cycle

8  International Contagion 1618–1930

9  Bubble Contagion: Mexico City to Tokyo to Bangkok to New York, London and Reykjavik

10  Policy Responses: Benign Neglect, Exhortation, and Bank Holidays

11  The Domestic Lender of Last Resort

12  The International Lender of Last Resort

13  The Lehman Panic – An Avoidable Crash

14  The Lessons of History

15  Epilogue 2010–2020

Appendix

Notes

Index