A Great Deal of Ruin Financial Crises since 1929

A Great Deal of Ruin provides an accessible introduction to the enduring problem of financial crises. Illustrated with historical analysis, case studies, and clear economic concepts, this book explains in three parts what financial crises are, how they are caused and what we can learn from them. It begins with a taxonomy of crises and a list of factors that increase the risk for countries experiencing a financial crisis. It then examines five of the most important crises in modern economic history, beginning with the Great Depression and ending with the subprime crisis in the United States and its evolution into a debt crisis in the Eurozone. The book concludes with a set of lessons that can be learnt from the crises of the past. It will appeal to university students as well as general readers who are curious to learn more about the recent subprime crisis and other financial crises.

Introduction; Part I. Financial Crises: 1. Financial crises: categories and risk factors; 2. Growth, globalization, and financial crises; Part II. Five Case Studies: 3. The Great Depression, 1929–1939; 4. The Latin American Debt Crisis, 1982–1989; 5. The Asian Crisis, 1997–1999; 6. The Subprime Crisis in the United States; 7. The financial crisis in Europe; Part III. Lessons: 8. Markets do not self-regulate; 9. Shadow banks are banks; 10. Banks need more capital, less debt; 11. Monetary policy does not always work; 12. Fiscal multipliers are larger than expected; 13. Monetary integration requires fiscal integration; 14. Open capital markets can be dangerous; 15. Not all debt is created equal; Conclusion.

James Gerber is a Professor of Economics, Emeritus at San Diego State University. He is the author of International Economics (2018), a best-selling textbook now in its 7th edition, and numerous works on US-Mexico economic relations, including Fifty Years of Change on the US-Mexico Border: Growth, Development, and Quality of Life (with Joan Anderson, 2008) which won the Association of Borderlands Studies Book Award.