Section A: Overview, Long Run Questions Flashcards
What did Bordo (2008) say about financial crises?
“Financial crises are an old problem. They go back to the origins of capitalism and beyond”
How many crisis did Kindleberger say there has been, and between what years?
38 from 1636 to 1997
Why were tulips valuable in 1636 in Holland?
Tulips, Asian wild flowers, cultivated for Dutch gardens to show wealth. 17th Century Holland was rich (nouveau riche) this fuelled demand. Very rare bulbs, with at times only 12 tulips in the whole of Holland. High demand and low supply increased prices.
What emerged to facilitate the purchase of tulips?
People bought tulips as an investment. Derivatives, forward contracts, borrowing etc all emerged to facilitate trade
How much was one tulip worth in 1637?
Same a luxury Amsterdam City House
When did the Tulipmania bubble burst?
February 1937, bubble bursts at an auction in Haarlem, prices decline dramatically in days!
What type of company did John Law set up and when?
Sets up a joint stock company (innovation in France) to exploit the riches of the Mississippi valley in 1719
Share prices of Law’s Mississippi company 1719/20?
1719: Shares at 500 livers. 1720: Shares at 18,000 livres
Why did the Mississippi bubble burst?
Bad news came back from the USA that the project was a failure, Law tried to stem to the news but the bubble burst in 1720.
Similarities between Mississippi bubble and Tulipmania?
- Exogenous event, highly profitable investment
- Commodity turned into an investment
- Over indebtedness and financial innovation
- Inexperienced investors
- Euphoria pushes up prices
- Innovations technical and difficult to understand
What did Kindleberger say about crashes?
“Whenever the outsiders go in, the insiders go out and the crash follows”
Definition of a bubble?
A financial asset exhibits a bubble when its price exceeds the present value of the future income (e.g. interest or dividends).
What is the problem with understanding bubbles?
hey appear to undermine key assumptions of economics, as the price should equal the PV
What did Greenspan, governor of the FED say about bubbles?
Cannot predict bubbles, CB can only clean up afterwards. PV, uses expectations and therefore bubbles can only be seen with hindsight
Why did Shiller suggest bubbles occur?
Irrational Exuberance: Stock markets are overvalued as psychologically driven volatility is an inherent characteristic of all markets. Predicted housing crash/tech bubble.
Possible solutions to the bubbles paradox?
- Give up rationality assumption
- Principal-agent relations/asymmetric info might explain bubbles
Why did Mill/Marx say bubbles occur?
Mill “Of the tendency of profits to a minimum”;
Marx “Law of the tendency for the rate of profit to fall”
What is Wallerstein’s theory to explain bubbles?
World Systems Theory, all have ups/downs but return moving equilibrium, this is not what it was before the crash. This equilibrium cannot be maintained, the system will collapse- structural crisis. Capitalism causes crises.
Why did people believe the market wouldn’t collapse in 2007?
Globalisation Tech Boom US Financial System Monetary policy Securitized debt
Who wrote the famous paper, “This time is different”?
Reinhart and Rogoff, 2009
What is a financial crisis?
Financial market volatility marked by serious illiquidity and insolvency amongst financial market participants
What is a banking crisis?
Financial distress resulting in erosion of most/all aggregate banking system capital
What is a currency crisis?
Forced change in parity, international rescue, abandonment of pegged exchange rate (IMF, a drop of 10%+ over 3 months is classified as a currency crisis)
What is a twin crisis?
When currency and banking crisis occur in the same or immediately adjoining years
Example of appreciation causing currency problems in Switzerland
During Eurozone crisis, investors used CHF as it has been historically most stable (150 years). CB only defended the peg in one direction (shouldn’t pay less than 1.2 for 1 Euro). 15% appreciation forced the removal of the peg, due to concern with lax EU monetary policy.
Was the Swiss currency appreciation a currency crisis?
NOT A CURRENCY CRISIS, as it didn’t undermine financial stability.
Why would Greece face a currency crisis if they left the Euro?
Greece would have a currency crisis without the Euro as their own currency would depreciate rapidly.
Why could a Greek currency crisis lead to contagion?
2/3 of Greek debt held abroad, 1/3 held domestically. Greek banking crisis, can spread beyond the borders due to the debt being held abroad- needed the IMF rescue.
What is a government debt crisis?
Struggle to pay back the debt, not on wider question of meeting obligations. Withhold payment of salaries, delay paying suppliers etc to carry on paying debt back.
Overview of what Bordo published about the frequency of crises?
- 21 countries examined
- 0 banking 1945-71, due to the fixed peg system of Bretton woods.
- Currency crisis, linked to democratisation and capital controls.
- Banking and twin crisis on the rise.
- Majority occur in emerging countries
Features of the Gold Standard
Monetary Autonomy
Stability
NO capital mobility
Features of Bretton Woods (1944-71)
Monetary Autonomy
Capital mobility
LACK OF Stability
Features of the modern system of monetary exchange? Since 1973
NO Monetary Autonomy
Capital mobility
Stability
Who termed the trilemma?
Obstfeld and Rogoff (2005):
How is severity of a crash measured
Measured by the difference between pre-crisis trend growth and actual growth over the years prior to full recovery (GDP loss).
Have crisis become more severe?
No evidence of this according to Bordo
Kindleberger (2005) quote on manias and collapse?
“Speculative manias gather speed through expansion of money and credit… every mania has been associated with the expansion of credit”
Who controls the monetary base?
The central bank (sum of all liquid CB liabilities e.g. bank notes)
Kindleberger theory on why crises occur?
- Lax monetary policy
- Inadequate regulation
- Global imbalances