The global financial crisis and the ensuing sharp downturns in economic activity around the world have rekindled interest in the question of the circumstances under which a "recession" can be appropriately labelled a "depression." The differences are more profound than simply depth and duration,...

The global financial crisis was not wholly caused by 'greed' or 'market fundamentalism' but had many causes. Fortunately, governments and central banks have absorbed the lessons of mistakes made in the 1930s. Australian policy responses to the crisis have been particularly effective, although we...