The current crisis has triggered significant debate concerning economic theory and policy. Largely absent from this debate is an informed discussion of the methods used by economists in analysing the economy and formulating their proposals. But method matters. Here I argue that current academic...

The 1920s often called the “Golden 20s” because the equity markets were booming but there were a series of structural issues. Only a few years after the 1st World War the global economy was still suffering from the consequences of the brutal war. The market crash of 1929 came unexpected and...

This paper analyses the monetary policy of the Most Serene Republic of Venice in the years of calamities using a modern equivalent of helicopter money, namely an extraordinary issue of (base) money, coupled with capital losses for the issuer. We treat the 1629 famine and the 1630-1631 plague as...

Bank distress was a defining feature of the Great Depression in the United States. Most banks, however, weathered the storm and remained in operation throughout the contraction. We show that surviving banks cut lending when depositors withdrew funds en masse during panics. This panic-induced...

The economic crisis of 2001-2002 in Argentina caused a large increase in unemployment. Policy responses have been imperfect. This paper discusses the roots and character of the crisis, the policies implemented to address the resulting social situation, and the quality of early warning indicators...

Interconnections between banking crises and fiscal crises have a long history. We document the long-run evolution from classic banking panics toward modern banking crises where financial guarantees are associated with crisis resolution. Recent crises feature a feedback loop between bank...

We compare the banking crises in 2008-09 and in the Great Depression, and analyse differences in the policy response to the two crises in light of the prevailing international monetary systems. The scale of the 2008-09 banking crisis, as measured by falls in international short-term indebtedness...

This paper creates a simple model to describe the relationships between, banks, mortgage agencies, mortgage arrangers, and aspiring home owners. Using this model, the author illustrates how slight changes in real estate appreciation assumptions would reverberate through the collateralized debt...

Questo numero speciale della Rivista trimestrale PSL comprende alcuni articoli apparsi nel corso degli anni nella prima serie della nostra rivista (allora intitolato BNL Quarterly Review: vedi Roncaglia 2008). Gli articoli pubblicati di seguito sono stati selezionati tra quelli che possono...

We identify similarities and differences in the scale and nature of the banking crises in 2008-2009 and the Great Depression, and analyse differences in the policy response to the two crises in light of the prevailing international monetary systems. We find that the scale of the banking crisis,...