Debt, Financial Fragility, and Systemic Risk [Paperback]

E. Philip Davis (Author)

Book Description

A remarkable feature of the period since 1970 has been the patterns of rapid and turbulent change in financing behavior and financial structure in many advanced countries. This book explores, in theoretical and empirical terms, the nature of the relationships between the underlying phenomena--levels and changes in debt, vulnerability to default in the corporate and household sectors, and systematic risk in the financial sector. The book focuses on the generality of this phenomena--whether similar patterns are observable in certain countries, as well as in the international capital markets themselves. Emphasis is placed to the importance of the nature and evolution of financial structure to the genesis of instability. Given the international scope of the analysis, the work is germane to the study of the development of financial systems in all advanced countries, as well as the euromarkets.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It will constitute the beginning point of most future research efforts in the financial disorder field."--Journal of Economic Literature

About the Author

E. Philip Davis is at European Monetary Institute, Frankfurt.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Rev Sub edition (November 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198233310
• ISBN-13: 978-0198233312
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,189,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overrated, August 29, 2001

By 

Hans Tietmeyer (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Debt, Financial Fragility, and Systemic Risk (Paperback)

Having re-read this book for the second time,I have to confess that I still have severe doubts about the validity of the underlying assessments. The fundamental problem of the book is its pre-occuptation with the anglo-saxon shorttermist mentality which leads to ultimately misleading conclusions regarding monetary policy. Ultimately a firm orientation of monetary policy towards the medium-term objective of price stability - in the context of an 'ordnungspolitische' well-based broader economic and social framework - it the best guarantor of the financial and economic stability which is essential to reap the full fruits of economic progress. The experience of Germany over the last 30 years - which, in contrast to the poor record of the anglo-saxon economies, is characterised by a solid track record of price stability combined with the absence of notable financial fragility - is powerful evidence of the enduring truth of this proposition. While this view may not be en vogue with many financial commentators - especially those in the anglo-saxon presse - I am convinced that this will change radically in the near future, as events unfold in the US and reveal the inherent weakness of monetary policies orientated to cyclical fine-tuning and the support of stock marktes.

5.0 out of 5 stars A tour de force of economic analysis, April 30, 1998

By 

G. Fagan ([e-mail]) (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Debt, Financial Fragility, and Systemic Risk (Paperback)

This book - authored by E.P. Davis the foremost expert in the study of financial crises - provides a comprehensive overview of the theory of financial fragility together with a review of a detailed review of a number of case studies. These range from the Herstatt crisis of the 1970s to the housing booms/busts in the UK and Scandanavia in the 1980s/1990s. It is essential reading for all economists seeking to understand the underlying factors at work in generating financial fragility. It should be required reading for those responsible for the supervision of financial institutions.