Financial crises have occurred throughout history, resulting in the loss of national and international public and personal wealth, creating political uncertainty and shaking the foundations of the national, regional and international economic and social order. This text provides answers to the basic questions of what could have caused some of the more recent regional financial crises, what their key characteristics were, how they could have been prevented, what lessons national governments, central bankers and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have learned and how such crises could be prevented in the future. The authors include current and former cabinet members of national governments, central bankers, IMF officials, scholars and practicing economists in both national and multilateral organizations, all of whom have either participated in the management of the various types of financial crises they analyze and discuss and/or have made contributions to their understanding, including recommendations of how they could be avoided in the future.

Table of Contents

Part I: History and Background. 1. Managing Financial Crises: Who's in Charge? H.C. Reed. Part II: European Union and Other Regional Exchange Rate Arrangements. 2. Monetary Unions in Europe; A. Walters. 3. Financial Crisis Management in the EU/ERM; H. Tietmeyer. 4. Italy: Two Foreign Exchange Crises; R. Rinaldi, C. Santini. 5. The Single Currency as a Stabilizing Factor in International Relations: A French View; A. de Lattre. 6. EMU and the Swiss Franc; K. Villiger. 7. Exchange Rate and Economic Policy in Three Regional Blocs: The EU, the GCC and the CFA; F. Modigliani, H. Askari. Part III: The Mexican Crises and the Tequila Effect. 8. The Mexican Financial Crisis of 1994-95: An Asymmetric Information Analysis; F.S. Mishkin. 9. The Argentine Banking Panic After The `Tequila' Shock: Did "Convertibility" Help or Hurt? R.B. Fernandez, L. Schumacher. Part IV: The Transforming Economies. 10. The Consolidation of Russian Banking: The Big Picture; J. Nell. 11. Managing Financial Turbulence: Czech Experience; J. Tosovsky. 12. Stabilization without Recession: The Success of a Long Awaited Financial Adjustment in Hungary; L. Bokros. Part V: Special Topics: Public Debt and War. 13. Self-Fulfilling Public Debt Crises; D. Gros. 14. The Impact of the Iraqi Invasion on the Kuwaiti Banking and Financial System: Lessons Learned from a Financial Crisis; S.A.A. Al-Sabah. Part VI: The Role of the IMF. 15. Financial Crisis Management and the Role of the IMF: 1970-1995; A.F.P. Bakker, A.J. Kapteyn. 16. The Role of the International Monetary Fund in Promoting Stability in the Global Economy; P. Maystadt. Part VII: Summary and Conclusions. Scheherazade S. Rehman.