The role of central banks as a hinge on which the financial system rests has returned to the top of the political agenda in recent years. The global financial crisis has resulted in many changes for central banks, including renewed power in financial supervision and reduced restrictions in their implementation of monetary policies. This book argues that central banks play a key role in financial systems, presenting the European Central Bank as a specific example of an institution that uses its uniquely independent position and wide margins of discretion to provide an array of important functions. It illustrates how central banks promote the security and efficiency of payment systems, pursue price stability, and accommodate the optimal utilization of the resources, labour and capital available to an economy. Stabilising Capitalism demonstrates how these institutions also aid in dealing with the risk of financial collapse and permit the continuity of public expenditure when the government is unable to place securities in the bond market. The author concludes by suggesting that although many consider the idea of this role for central banks to be outdated, these institutions form the root of the capitalist market economy and act as a bastion against financial instability.

“Mr. Minsky long argued markets were crisis prone. His 'moment' has arrived.” -The Wall Street Journal In his seminal work, Minsky presents his groundbreaking financial theory of investment, one that is startlingly relevant today. He explains why the American economy has experienced periods of debilitating inflation, rising unemployment, and marked slowdowns-and why the economy is now undergoing a credit crisis that he foresaw. Stabilizing an Unstable Economy covers: The natural inclination of complex, capitalist economies toward instability Booms and busts as unavoidable results of high-risk lending practices “Speculative finance” and its effect on investment and asset prices Government's role in bolstering consumption during times of high unemployment The need to increase Federal Reserve oversight of banks Henry Kaufman, president, Henry Kaufman & Company, Inc., places Minsky's prescient ideas in the context of today's financial markets and institutions in a fascinating new preface. Two of Minsky's colleagues, Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Ph.D. and president, The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, and L. Randall Wray, Ph.D. and a senior scholar at the Institute, also weigh in on Minsky's present relevance in today's economic scene in a new introduction. A surge of interest in and respect for Hyman Minsky's ideas pervades Wall Street, as top economic thinkers and financial writers have started using the phrase “Minsky moment” to describe America's turbulent economy. There has never been a more appropriate time to read this classic of economic theory.

CNBC regular Robert J. Barbera offers a crystal clear explanation of the financial market crisis of 2008 While mainstream financial analysts are stringing together ad hoc explanations for the financial crisis of 2008, a relatively small group of economists saw this coming. In The Cost of Capitalism, Robert J. Barbera explains why. Barbera makes the case that investors and policy-makers can reduce the risk of truly gruesome outcomes if they better plan for the violent economic storms, which history confirms are always over the horizon. Investors will learn how to gird themselves for the roller-coaster ride that is free market capitalism; policy makers will find out how to plan for crises they know will occur at some point; and academic economists will rethink their pursuit of ever more elaborate mathematical models that bear no resemblance to the real world. The message is simple: Stop pretending that people are always rational and that markets are always efficient—and be prepared for market mayhem.

Can capitalism have moral foundations? Though this question may seem strange in today's world of vast economic disparities and widespread poverty, discussions originating with the birth of capitalism add a critical perspective to the current debate on the efficacy and morality of capitalist economies. Authors Daniel Halliday and John Thrasher use this question to introduce classical political philosophy as a framework by which to evaluate the ethics of capitalism today. They revisit and reconstruct historical eighteenth- and nineteenth-century defenses of capitalism, as written by key proponents such as Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill. They ask what these early advocates of market order would say about contemporary economies, and argue for the importance of connecting these foundational defenses to discussions of economic systems and the roles they play in economic justice and injustice today. The textbook covers longstanding problems that are as old as the discussion of capitalism itself, such as wage inequality, global trade, and the connection between paid labor and human flourishing. It also addresses new challenges, such as climate change, the welfare state, and competitive consumption, and provides topical global case studies. Additionally, it includes study questions at the end of each chapter and an author-created companion website to help guide classroom discussion.

In 'The Cost of Capitalism, ' CNBC regular Robert J. Barbera offers a crystal-clear explanation of the financial market crisis of 2008. Barbera argues that investors and policy-makers can reduce the risk of truly gruesome outcomes if they plan for violent economic storms, which history confirms are always just over the horizon

The book considers the historical origins of the current wave of market-oriented reform, reviews existing controversies on the design of economic reforms, and offers alternative criteria to evaluate policy performance. In particular it focuses on issues of macroeconomic adjustment and stabilization, liberalization policies, reform of the state, and interactions between economic and political transformation during the course of systemic transformation.