We will focus on the causes of financial crises and attempts to alleviate their effects and prevent future crises. Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff’s This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly will provide the basis for this course. You’ll complete readings from this book before classes.
By looking at the long history of financial crises, this book helps us better understand the current crisis. We will also discuss the criticism of some of its findings and consider the current controversy over whether “austerity” helps resolve financial crises or, in fact, can prolong them. We’ll place special emphasis on policies in Europe and the US, but we will also draw comparisons with Canada.