Accountability after economic crisis : retribution, thruth, or acknowledgement?

"The chapter introduces the central themes and theoretical puzzles of post-crisis accountability. In particular, it explores why some countries implement a proactive accountability agenda after economic crises, while others do not. It focuses on three distinct approaches to accountability: retributive justice through prosecutions, truth recovery via commissions of inquiry, and official acknowledgment through public apologies. Despite the growing demand for accountability following the 2008 financial crisis, responses varied significantly across countries. The chapter sets up a novel analytical framework to analyze these variations, drawing on insights from political economy, comparative politics, public administration, and transitional justice. The core puzzles addressed include why certain nations pursue proactive accountability measures, why some truth recovery mechanisms succeed while others fail, and how cultural contexts influence the likelihood and form of official apologies. It also outlines the book's methodological approach, which includes in-depth case studies of the 'most crucial' cases, with cross-country comparative analysis coupled with rich empirical data from a survey and a conjoint experiment to assess the impact of these accountability mechanisms."