Financial crises have been pervasive phenomena throughout history. Bordo et al. (2001) find that their frequency in recent decades has been double that of the Bretton Woods Period (1945-1971) and the Gold Standard Era (1880-1993), comparable only to the Great Depression. Nevertheless, the...

The thesis studies three pivotal episodes in the evolution of what became the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09. These three events - the collapse of the US housing market, the breakdown of the repo money market, and the banking crash - are indispensable for understanding some of the key...