This time is different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly by Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff

Miscellaneous History
, ,
1

I just got done reading the book a few days ago and I would recommend it too anyone who is interested in economics or history.

http://www.economics.harvard.edu/files/faculty/51_Aftermath.pdf

I bought the book after reading this essay.

The book covers various kinds of financial crisis that range from currency debasement to hyper inflation, but I focused mainly on sovereign default.

Sovereign Default is an interesting economic crisis because it only occurs when one nation fails to pay back another nation. Most of these episodes in modern times are only partial defaults because if a nation defaults their creditors will just simply help them restructure their payment schedule. Another interesting point is that such a default is considered apart of the graduation process for emerging markets.

2

Also If a government can not collect tax’s or borrow it will simply roll out the printing press in order to inflate their way out of debt. I forget which country did that,but I am looking it up right now.

3

I received that book as a birthday present a while back, but I haven’t read it yet – I wasn’t sure how good it would be.

4

Revolutionary U.S., Confederate U.S., Zimbabwe, Argentina, France, Germany, and on, and on, and on…

5

I am talking about sovereign debt in the context of government loosing the ability to collect tax’s and borrow.

6

In another thread a forum member suggested that that country was revolutionary Russia during the civil war.

7

That was me,but i am not so sure.