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...

Das Leistungsbilanzdefizit der Vereinigten Staaten ist in seiner gegenwärtigen Höhe von 6½ Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts dauerhaft nicht tragfähig. Verschiedene weltwirtschaftliche Entwicklungen wirken allerdings darauf hin, dass sich das Defizit langfristig auf ein tragfähiges Niveau...

In this paper the author attempts an analysis of the current financial/economic crisis that is wider ranging and more fundamental than he has been able to find. For this purpose he reviews some social science literature that views the current crisis as an episode in the secular decline of the...

A healthy financial system encourages the efficient allocation of capital and risk. The collapse of the house price bubble led to the financial crisis that started in 2007. There is a large empirical literature concerning the relation between asset price bubbles and financial crises. I evaluate...