Gerald A. Epstein - Böcker

The Great Financial Crisis that began in 2007 reminds us with devastating force that financial instability and crises are endemic to capitalist economies, and that it is only strong and dynamically-changing financial regulations that can keep the damage caused by these crises within bounds. The international financial system and individual national economies, including that of the United States, are suffering from the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Economists are struggling to understand the origins and implications of the crisis. The Handbook of the Political Economy of Financial Crises uses a political economy theoretical framework to analyze the crisis.After an opening chapter that describes the dimensions of the current crisis, the next section provides relevant theoretical frameworks. Subsequent sections apply these theoretical frameworks to analyze the background, dimensions, and implications of the crisis for the world economy. Leading scholars push forward our understanding of how and why our international and domestic economies are susceptible to financial breakdown and what can be done to mitigate this problem in the future. The methodology throughout applies theoretical concepts in the context of an historical and institutional understanding of the real world. By emphasizing the historical and institutional aspects of financial crises, the authors advance economic knowledge and provide insights into how we can manage our financial system to improve the lives of ordinary people.

The Great Financial Crisis that began in 2007-2008 reminds us with devastating force that financial instability and crises are endemic to capitalist economies that lack powerful and dynamically changing financial regulations that can keep the powerful forces of leverage and credit within sustainable bounds. Economists from Marx to Keynes, and Minsky to Kindleberger have well understood this profoundly important fact, yet the dominant mainstream economics of "rational expectations", "efficient markets" and "laissez-faire" that rationalized widespread financial liberalization and still dominates the economics profession has gotten it, literally, "dead wrong". This Handbook of The Political Economy of Financial Crises describes the theoretical, institutional, and historical factors that can help us understand the forces that create financial crises - with an emphasis on the crisis of 2007- 2008 - and the strengths and weaknesses of varying theoretical perspectives and policy approaches that have tried to comprehend and limit these financial tsunamis.

A conservative approach to economic growth has dominated policy circles for close to two decades. This approach holds that the key to restoring economic growth lies in reducing the size and role of government in the market economy through deregulation of the financial sector, privatization, and lower taxes. The contributors to this 1995 book argue that the principles of 'trickle down' economics are of dubious validity, and have led to economic stagnation, high unemployment, and increasing inequality. They develop a fresh perspective on macroeconomic policy, one affirming that egalitarian and democratic economic structures are not only compatible with economic revival, but in fact offers sustainable growth of living standards. Their alternative recognizes that markets have an important role to play, but only within the framework of macroeconomic stability, corrections of market failures, and egalitarian rules of the game.

A conservative approach to economic growth has dominated policy circles for close to two decades. This approach holds that the key to restoring economic growth lies in reducing the size and role of government in the market economy through deregulation of the financial sector, privatization, and lower taxes. The contributors to this 1995 book argue that the principles of 'trickle down' economics are of dubious validity, and have led to economic stagnation, high unemployment, and increasing inequality. They develop a fresh perspective on macroeconomic policy, one affirming that egalitarian and democratic economic structures are not only compatible with economic revival, but in fact offers sustainable growth of living standards. Their alternative recognizes that markets have an important role to play, but only within the framework of macroeconomic stability, corrections of market failures, and egalitarian rules of the game.

'The thoroughgoing disaster inflicted on the global economy in 2008 by the gambling of the financial system should have resulted serious sanctions for financial actors and the jettisoning of any belief in the efficacy and fairness of the neoliberal regime. But the tepid action of policy makers has allowed the system to muddle through and undermined any remaining trust and faith among the polity. It is not hard to see the breakdown of political stability across the world in the last two to three years as resulting direct from the justified belief that the rules of the global economy favor the very few. In this book, a group of critical scholars painstakingly identify and illuminate key  aspects of the global financial system that continue to reinforce global inequalities of power and that contribute to dangerous political and economic instability. Through a series of thorough case studies ranging from the macroeconomic instability engendered by untrammeled capital flows, to the way sovereign debt restructuring favors northern creditors, to the hierarchy of the monetary system that concentrates enormous power in the hands of a few central banks, these studies throw light on the ways global financial neoliberalism and political and social power work to undermine macroeconomic stability and social justice. It will be read by serious scholars of the political economy of finance with great interest.'- Arjun Jayadev, Azim Premji University, India and Institute for New Economic ThinkingThe essays in this book describe and analyze the current contours of the international financial system, covering both developed and developing countries, and focusing on the ways in which the current international financial system structures and is affected by profound inequalities in the international system. This keen analysis of key topics in international finance takes a heterodox perspective, with focus on the role of inequalities in power in shaping the structure and outcomes in the international sphere.The Political Economy of International Finance in an Age of Inequality begins with a discussion of capital flows and financial crisis, moves into an up-to-date discussion of the political economy of currency unions, and then focuses on analysis of capital flows and economic crises. New and established academics present a broad variety of special case studies within that general framework focusing on understudied yet important up to date cases from understudied regions and countries for a unique and important exploration of the field.This book will be of interest to students and specialists in international finance, who will benefit from the combination of the strong general framework and illustrative case studies. Its approach will appeal both to generalists and specialists.Contributors include: M. Arora, E. Braunstein, H. Comert, D. Dutt, N. Eichacker, G. Epstein, I. Grabel, S. Khalil, M. Majd, F. Perez, L.D. Rosero, Z. Ybrayev

'The thoroughgoing disaster inflicted on the global economy in 2008 by the gambling of the financial system should have resulted serious sanctions for financial actors and the jettisoning of any belief in the efficacy and fairness of the neoliberal regime. But the tepid action of policy makers has allowed the system to muddle through and undermined any remaining trust and faith among the polity. It is not hard to see the breakdown of political stability across the world in the last two to three years as resulting direct from the justified belief that the rules of the global economy favor the very few. In this book, a group of critical scholars painstakingly identify and illuminate key  aspects of the global financial system that continue to reinforce global inequalities of power and that contribute to dangerous political and economic instability. Through a series of thorough case studies ranging from the macroeconomic instability engendered by untrammeled capital flows, to the way sovereign debt restructuring favors northern creditors, to the hierarchy of the monetary system that concentrates enormous power in the hands of a few central banks, these studies throw light on the ways global financial neoliberalism and political and social power work to undermine macroeconomic stability and social justice. It will be read by serious scholars of the political economy of finance with great interest.'- Arjun Jayadev, Azim Premji University, India and Institute for New Economic ThinkingThe essays in this book describe and analyze the current contours of the international financial system, covering both developed and developing countries, and focusing on the ways in which the current international financial system structures and is affected by profound inequalities in the international system. This keen analysis of key topics in international finance takes a heterodox perspective, with focus on the role of inequalities in power in shaping the structure and outcomes in the international sphere.The Political Economy of International Finance in an Age of Inequality begins with a discussion of capital flows and financial crisis, moves into an up-to-date discussion of the political economy of currency unions, and then focuses on analysis of capital flows and economic crises. New and established academics present a broad variety of special case studies within that general framework focusing on understudied yet important up to date cases from understudied regions and countries for a unique and important exploration of the field.This book will be of interest to students and specialists in international finance, who will benefit from the combination of the strong general framework and illustrative case studies. Its approach will appeal both to generalists and specialists.Contributors include: M. Arora, E. Braunstein, H. Comert, D. Dutt, N. Eichacker, G. Epstein, I. Grabel, S. Khalil, M. Majd, F. Perez, L.D. Rosero, Z. Ybrayev

Financialization - the increasing importance of financial markets, institutions and motives in the world economy - is described and analyzed in this rigorously researched volume. The contributors, top scholars in their fields, explore the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of financialization and tally its costs and benefits for society as a whole. They explore the puzzling promotion of financial liberalization by governments despite its enormous costs, and describe what can be done to alter the destructive path toward excessive financialization that most countries are taking.The book begins by presenting basic data on the distributional implications of financialization. Part two focuses on financialization in the context of the US economy, with discussion of the relationship between financialization and non-financial corporations, the stock market bubble, and the evolution of derivatives markets. The international dimensions of financialization are explored in part three, with particular attention paid to the evolution of the international monetary system. Part four presents five case studies of financialization and financial crises in emerging markets in the 1980s and 1990s: Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, and South Korea. The final section offers ideas for policy responses, including capital controls and securities transaction taxes.Researchers and students of international economics and finance will find this provocative volume an important part of the debate surrounding this multi-faceted phenomenon.

Capital flight - the unrecorded export of capital from developing countries - often represents a significant cost for developing countries. It also poses a puzzle for standard economic theory, which would predict that poorer countries be importers of capital due to its scarcity. This situation is often reversed, however, with capital fleeing poorer countries for wealthier, capital-abundant locales. Using a common methodology for a set of case studies on the size, causes and consequences of capital flight in developing countries, the contributors address the extent of capital flight, its effects, and what can be done to reverse it. Case studies of Brazil, China, Chile, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the Middle East provide rich descriptions of the capital flight phenomena in a variety of contexts. The volume includes a detailed description of capital flight estimation methods, a chapter surveying the impact of financial liberalization, and several chapters on controls designed to solve the capital flight problem. The first book devoted to the careful calculation of capital flight and its historical and policy context, this volume will be of great interest to students and scholars in the areas of international finance and economic development.

Capital flight - the unrecorded export of capital from developing countries - often represents a significant cost for developing countries. It also poses a puzzle for standard economic theory, which would predict that poorer countries be importers of capital due to its scarcity. This situation is often reversed, however, with capital fleeing poorer countries for wealthier, capital-abundant locales. Using a common methodology for a set of case studies on the size, causes and consequences of capital flight in developing countries, the contributors address the extent of capital flight, its effects, and what can be done to reverse it. Case studies of Brazil, China, Chile, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the Middle East provide rich descriptions of the capital flight phenomena in a variety of contexts. The volume includes a detailed description of capital flight estimation methods, a chapter surveying the impact of financial liberalization, and several chapters on controls designed to solve the capital flight problem. The first book devoted to the careful calculation of capital flight and its historical and policy context, this volume will be of great interest to students and scholars in the areas of international finance and economic development.

Financialization - the increasing importance of financial markets, institutions and motives in the world economy - is described and analyzed in this rigorously researched volume. The contributors, top scholars in their fields, explore the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of financialization and tally its costs and benefits for society as a whole. They explore the puzzling promotion of financial liberalization by governments despite its enormous costs, and describe what can be done to alter the destructive path toward excessive financialization that most countries are taking.The book begins by presenting basic data on the distributional implications of financialization. Part two focuses on financialization in the context of the US economy, with discussion of the relationship between financialization and non-financial corporations, the stock market bubble, and the evolution of derivatives markets. The international dimensions of financialization are explored in part three, with particular attention paid to the evolution of the international monetary system. Part four presents five case studies of financialization and financial crises in emerging markets in the 1980s and 1990s: Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, and South Korea. The final section offers ideas for policy responses, including capital controls and securities transaction taxes.Researchers and students of international economics and finance will find this provocative volume an important part of the debate surrounding this multi-faceted phenomenon.

The people of South Africa, and the African National Congress-led government, have made extraordinary social and economic advances since ending apartheid and beginning the transition to democracy in 1994. But the country still faces severe problems of mass unemployment, underemployment and poverty. This study, sponsored by the United Nations Development Program, presents a detailed economic program designed to produce major reductions in unemployment and poverty, and a general spreading of economic well-being, and to achieve these ends in a manner that is sustainable over a longer-term framework. The 'employment-targeted' program developed here builds from standard policy tools and initiatives already undertaken by the government in the areas of macroeconomic policy, development banking and large-scale credit subsidies, labor-intensive public investments, and social welfare expenditures. The authors introduce these measures alongside specific proposals in the areas of fiscal budgetary control, inflation control and exchange rate management. Students and scholars of development economics will find this analysis of South Africa's economy, and the authors' plan for stimulating job growth, of great interest.

This book, written by an international team of economists, develops concrete, country specific alternatives to inflation targeting, the dominant policy framework of central bank policy that focuses on keeping inflation in the low single digits to the virtual exclusion of other key goals such as employment creation, poverty reduction and sustainable development. The book includes thematic chapters, including analyses of class attitudes toward inflation and unemployment and the gender impacts of restrictive monetary policy. Other chapters propose improved monetary frameworks for Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam. Policy frameworks that are explored include employment targeting, and targeting a stable and competitive real exchange rate. The authors also show that to reach a larger number of targets, including higher employment and stable inflation, central banks must use a larger number of instruments, including capital management techniques.This volume offers concrete, socially valuable alternatives that economists, policy makers, students and interested laypeople should consider before adopting one size fits all, often inadequate, policies that have become a virtual policy making fad.

The many forces that led to the economic crisis of 2008 were in fact identified, analyzed and warned against for many years before the crisis by economist Jane D'Arista, among others. Now, writing in the tradition of D'Arista's extensive work, the internationally renowned contributors to this thought-provoking book discuss research carried out on various indicators of the crisis and illustrate how these perspectives can contribute to productive thinking on monetary and financial policies.Topics addressed include monetary policy, financial markets, financial history, liquidity, institutions and global finance, with an emphasis on the ways in which theory and policy can be applied toward the goal of a more equitable and civilized society. The book s contributors hail from across the globe and offer a range of both academic and policy-making perspectives.This fascinating book will appeal to students and scholars of economics, particularly those with an interest in international finance and banking, financial regulation, and political economy.Contributors: R.A. Blecker, P. Bond, J. Crotty, G.A. Dymski, G.A. Epstein, K. Ertürk, J.K. Galbraith, R.N. McCauley, P. Mehrling, D.H. Nielson, G. Özgür, T. Palley, E. Pérez Caldentey, C. Rada, E.D. Russell, T. Schlesinger, M. Seccareccia, L. Taylor, M. Vernengo, R.H. Wade, M.H. Wolfson

This book, written by an international team of economists, develops concrete, country specific alternatives to inflation targeting, the dominant policy framework of central bank policy that focuses on keeping inflation in the low single digits to the virtual exclusion of other key goals such as employment creation, poverty reduction and sustainable development. The book includes thematic chapters, including analyses of class attitudes toward inflation and unemployment and the gender impacts of restrictive monetary policy. Other chapters propose improved monetary frameworks for Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam. Policy frameworks that are explored include employment targeting, and targeting a stable and competitive real exchange rate. The authors also show that to reach a larger number of targets, including higher employment and stable inflation, central banks must use a larger number of instruments, including capital management techniques.This volume offers concrete, socially valuable alternatives that economists, policy makers, students and interested laypeople should consider before adopting one size fits all, often inadequate, policies that have become a virtual policy making fad.