This short paper revisits two questions that were central to Joel Mokyr's Why Ireland Starved (2nd edition, 1985). These are, first, what determined the variation in population change across Ireland during the Great Famine decade of 1841-1851 and, second, whether and in what sense can pre-famine...

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. The Political Economy of Financial Crises -- 2. Information and Crises -- 3. Crises and the Middle Class -- 4. What Happens after Crises -- 5. Financial Intermediaries and the Demand for Change -- 6. Governments and the Demand for Reform...

Listen to a short interview with Philip T. Hoffman Host: Chris Gondek ] Producer: Heron & Crane Financial disasters often have long-range institutional consequences. When financial institutions--banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms, stock exchanges--collapse, new ones take their place,...