Robert Aliber discusses the reasons for bank failures and financial crises. He makes three main points. First, US macroeconomic stability would be increased if the US Congress established a government agency to provide capital to individual banks after a systemic crisis causes large loan losses....

Foreword -- Robert M. Solow -- Introduction -- Financial crises: a hardy perennial -- The anatomy of a typical crisis -- Speculative manias -- Fueling the flames : the expansion of credit -- The critical stage : when the bubble is about to pop -- Euphoria and paper wealth -- Bernie madoff :...

The classic on crashes and financial crises Manias, Panics, and Crashes, Fifth Edition is a scholarly and entertaining account of the way that mismanagement of money and credit has led to financial explosions over the centuries. Covering such topics as the history and anatomy of crises,...