A History of Financial Crises: Dreams and Follies of Expectations (Economics as Social Theory)

＂＂Once-in-a-lifetime＂ financial crises have been a recurrent part of life in the last three decades. It is no longer possible to dismiss or ignore them as aberrations in an otherwise well-functioning system. Nor are they peculiar to recent times. Going back in history, asset price bubbles and bank-runs have been an endemic feature of the capitalist system over the last four centuries. The historical record offers a treasure trove of experience that may shed light on how and why financial crises happen and what can be done to avoid them - provided we are willing to learn from history. This book analyses divergent interpretations of the historical record in relation to how markets function, the significance of market imperfections, economic decision-makingprocess, the role of the government, and evolutionary dynamics of the capitalist system. It is written for university students and demonstrates that the discipline of economics is far more diverse than standard textbooks may convey. The theoretical and historical content of this book complements economics, history and political science curriculum＂--