This important volume presents key contributions to the study of financial crises from many different areas of economics. The book offers an economic history of financial crises, empirical studies of crises in the modern era, and classic works on the theory of banking crises. It also covers...

1. 'Destruction ... and misery' : the First World War -- 2. The Great Depression, 1929-33 -- 3. The Second World War as an economic disaster -- 4. The rise, fall and rise again of OPEC -- 5. Inflation in the twentieth century -- 6. Financial crises -- 7. Stock market crashes -- 8. The demise of...