"From the chief economic commentator for the Financial Times, a brilliant tour d'horizon of the new global economy and its trajectory There have been many books that have sought to explain the causes and courses of the financial and economic crisis which began in 2007-8. The Shifts and the Shocks is not another detailed history of the crisis, but the most persuasive and complete account yet published of what the crisis should teach us about modern economies and economics. The book identifies the origin of the crisis in the complex interaction between globalization, hugely destabilizing global imbalances and our dangerously fragile financial system. In the eurozone, these sources of instability were multiplied by the tragically defective architecture of the monetary union. It also shows how much of the orthodoxy that shaped monetary and financial policy before the crisis occurred was complacent and wrong. In doing so, it mercilessly reveals the failures of the financial, political and intellectual elites who ran the system. The book also examines what has been done to reform the financial and monetary systems since the worst of the crisis passed. "Are we now on a sustainable course?" Wolf asks. "The answer is no." He explains with great clarity why "further crises seem certain" and why the management of the eurozone in particular "guarantees a huge political crisis at some point in the future." Wolf provides far more ambitious and comprehensive plans for reform than any currently being implemented. Written with all the intellectual command and trenchant judgment that have made Martin Wolf one of the world's most influential economic commentators, The Shifts and the Shocks matches impressive analysis with no-holds-barred criticism and persuasive prescription for a more stable future. It is a book no one with an interest in global affairs will want to neglect. "--

Roughly once a year, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the US treasury secretary and in some cases the finance ministers of other G-7 countries will get a call from the finance minister of a large emerging market economy. The emerging market finance minister will indicate that the country is rapidly running out of foreign reserves, that it has lost access to international capital markets and, perhaps, that is has lost the confidence of its own citizens. Without a rescue loan, it will be forced to devalue its currency and default either on its government debt or on loans to the country's banks that the government has guaranteed. This book looks at these situations and the options available to alleviate the problem. It argues for a policy that recognizes that every crisis is different and that different cases need to be handled within a framework that provides consistency and predictability to borrowing countries as well as those who invest in their debt.

"Essential reading for understanding the international economy--now thoroughly updated Lucid, accessible, and provocative, and now thoroughly updated to cover recent events that have shaken the global economy, Globalizing Capital is an indispensable account of the past 150 years of international monetary and financial history--from the classical gold standard to today's post-Bretton Woods 'nonsystem.' Bringing the story up to the present, this third edition covers the global financial crisis, the Greek bailout, the Euro crisis, the rise of China as a global monetary power, the renewed controversy over the international role of the U.S. dollar, and the currency war. Concise and nontechnical, and with a proven appeal to general readers, students, and specialists alike, Globalizing Capital is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand where the international economy has been--and where it may be going"--

"This book will come to be known as the one that challenged the old, winner-takes-all view of international currency competition and established the new view. Barry Eichengreen and his coauthors present thorough and telling evidence that the historical reality is that multiple currencies play consequential roles in international trade and finance--and that lock-in effects and persistence are not as strong as traditionally assumed. In short, this is a must-read for all economists interested in international macroeconomics and finance." --Richard Baldwin, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva "Barry Eichengreen, our pre-eminent international monetary historian, and his coauthors have written a great book around the central theme that there have almost always been multiple rival international currencies and that the advantages of being the world's lead currency are not as marked as traditionally argued. The book is lucidly written, eschewing mathematical technicalities, though the background scholarship is deeply impressive. It should be read by everyone interested in the monetary history of the past two centuries." --Charles Goodhart, London School of Economics and Political Science "This eloquent and learned book will become the standard--perhaps one should say the gold standard--for discussions of international currency regimes, and for the analysis of the uncertainties that accompany changing global leadership." --Harold James, Princeton University "The authors put the plural back into global currencies, for good reason. As their historical but highly topical research establishes, there can be more than one global (or 'reserve') currency at any one time, as has often been the case in the modern world. This is an important corrective to the recurring oversold yen then euro then yuan will rival the dollar litany. But it is also a reminder that there is more to a stable global financial system than how many currencies there are, but how the leaders of those currencies take responsibility and interact." Adam S. Posen, President, Peterson Institute for International Economics "Drawing on new data, this book provides a rich contextual and historical analysis of reserve currencies in the global economy. This is very welcome, indeed." --Sebastian Edwards, University of California, Los Angeles

The Asian crisis and the global financial turmoil that followed it have highlighted the need to improve the way financial crises are averted and managed. This text provides a practical guide to reforming the international financial architecture. It suggests a number of limited reforms that could realistically be implemented in the short and medium run. The recommendations are based on the belief that financial markets can malfunction, creating a compelling case for a financial safety net, but at the same time creating problems of moral hazard that must be addressed.