The Global Financial Crisis and Austerity

Book excerpt: Given the far-reaching impact of both the 2008 financial crash and postcrash austerity policies on so many people's lives, there exists a need for a succinct, straightforward guide to the situation's causes and its long-term significance. The Global Financial Crisis and Austerity fulfills that need. Written by an expert in political science, this book spans the fields of finance, economics, and politics to demystify the sometimes arcane world of global finance, such as the shadow banking system, and put the recent financial crisis in its historical context. Addressing a number of themes that economists writing on the crisis tend to neglect, David Clark not only outlines the policy responses of Western governments to the crash, the ensuing recession, and in their turn to austerity, but also reviews the crash's larger legacy and asks if the crisis is really over. Supplementing his discussion with a glossary of key terms, processes, and institutions, Clark provides an invaluable overview for all of us affected by the crash, offering a range of possible scenarios for the future.