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This book provides a uniquely comprehensive explanation of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and resulting scholarly research in the context of building an agenda for reform. With the clarity provided by almost a decade of hindsight and a careful eye toward planning for prevention, Elson guides readers through both historical fact and scholarly interpretation, highlighting areas where careful critique of and changes in the international financial architecture and the mainstream macroeconomic paradigm can promote greater financial stability in the future. Given the great public concern over growing income and wealth inequality, the book examines their links to the increased financialization of the economy, both prior to and since the crisis. Finally, the book identifies a number of lessons that need to be recognized if adequate and effective reforms are to be introduced to avoid a financial crisis of similar magnitude in the future.

Comprehensive enough for university students and sufficiently innovative for financial policymakers, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers interested in understanding not just where the crisis has brought us, but what key economists have said about it and how we can strengthen our financial system oversight to deal with the continuing challenges of globalization.

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1. Introduction 2. The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009: Fragile Banking, Economic Bust, and Deflationary Consequences 3. Why Did Economists Get It So Wrong? 4. The Challenge for Macroeconomic Policy in the Wake of the Crisis 5. The Role of the International Financial Architecture Prior to and Since the Crisis 6. The Global Financial Crisis and Inequality 7. The Quest for Financial Stability at the National and Global Levels 8. Towards a Rethinking of Macroeconomics 9. Conclusions and Lessons for the Future

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"Elson ... offers a study of the aforementioned crisis, which was triggered by the subprime mortgage market. ... the book ably reflects a technocrat´s vision of progressively integrated international financial systems and governance. ... A thorough, authoritative postmortem, highly recommended for professional economists, scholars, and university students." (Kirkus Reviews, kirkusreviews.com, March, 2017)

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Anthony Elson is an international economist, writer, and university lecturer in the Washington, DC, area. For a number of years, he was a senior staff member of the International Monetary Fund and consultant with the World Bank. He has also taught at the Duke Center for International Development, the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University.

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