Mark Copelovitch is Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He is author of The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy: Banks, Bonds, and Bailouts. David A. Singer is Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is author of Regulating Capital: Setting Standards for the International Financial System.

'This book is really interesting, and potentially very important for our understanding of crises and for public policy. Copelovitch and Singer advance a thesis that is quite different, and considerably more subtle, than the standard accounts of why legislators tolerate fragile financial systems. This survives its own tests. I hope others pick up the challenge.' Paul Tucker, Harvard University

• 1. The politics and economics of financial instability; 2. Banking crises, capital flows, and financial market structure; 3. Capital inflows, market structure, and banking crises: empirical evidence; 4. O Canada? Unraveling the mystery of Canadian bank stability; 5. Finanzplatz Deutschland: German bank stability and its decline; 6. Policy responses: what to do (and not to do) about financial instability.

Mark Copelovitch is Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He is author of The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy: Banks, Bonds, and Bailouts. David A. Singer is Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is author of Regulating Capital: Setting Standards for the International Financial System.

'This book is really interesting, and potentially very important for our understanding of crises and for public policy. Copelovitch and Singer advance a thesis that is quite different, and considerably more subtle, than the standard accounts of why legislators tolerate fragile financial systems. This survives its own tests. I hope others pick up the challenge.' Paul Tucker, Harvard University

• 1. The politics and economics of financial instability; 2. Banking crises, capital flows, and financial market structure; 3. Capital inflows, market structure, and banking crises: empirical evidence; 4. O Canada? Unraveling the mystery of Canadian bank stability; 5. Finanzplatz Deutschland: German bank stability and its decline; 6. Policy responses: what to do (and not to do) about financial instability.