Lars Jonung

Jaakko Kiander

Pentti Vartia

The Nordic financial crisis had it all: a botched liberalization, a huge boom followed by an even bigger bust, massive taxpayer-financed bailouts and, finally, deep long-run gains. The first-class team of scholars mobilized in this book convincingly tell a story that should be carefully studied by economists, bankers and policymakers. After this book, no one should be able to say: If we only knew ! Charles Wyplosz, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland The financial crisis in Scandinavia in the early 1990s was a forerunner of the later world-wide crisis in 2007/8. Although the initial causation was different, the impact on their banks, though more localised, was just as severe. So we can benefit, and already policymakers have done so, from learning the lessons in this book on how to restore shattered banking systems to health. For this we owe a debt of gratitude to the editors, who have put together a series of key papers that emerged from a much larger exercise on the crisis that was earlier reported in four volumes in Swedish and Finnish. Amongst the many studies on current and past financial crises, this is a classic must-read . Charles A.E. Goodhart, London School of Economics, UK The Nordic experience with financial crisis resolution could not be more timely. Everyone cites it as an example of how it should be done , but rarely does one find careful and detailed analysis. Now policymakers and others searching for guidance will know where to look. Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley, US Following World War II, Nordic countries were commonly regarded as successful and stable economies. This perception was, however, shattered in the early 1990s when Finland and Sweden encountered severe financial crises. Here, the authors explore the symptoms of financial crisis decreasing real income, soaring unemployment and exploding public deficits and their devastating effects. The book compares and contrasts the experiences of Finland and Sweden, then adopts an international perspective, encompassing the experiences of Asia, Latin America, Denmark and Norway. Lessons from the 1990s crisis are drawn, and possible solutions prescribed. The conclusion is that long-term effects of financial crises financial liberalization and integration are not as dramatic as the short-term effects, but may prove to be of greater importance over time. Only the future will show whether these long-term benefits will balance or even outweigh the enormous short-term costs of the crises. Highly relevant to the current international financial crisis currently afflicting the world economy, this timely book will prove invaluable to economists and other social scientists with a general interest in financial crises, and to those with a more specific interest in the evolution and models of Scandinavian economies.

The Nordic Experience of Financial Liberalization

The Great Financial Crisis in Finland and Sweden

Ronald Findlay

Professor Research Advisor Lars Jonung

Ragnar Nurkse Professor of Economics Ronald Findlay

Mats Lundahl

Bertil Ohlin, international trade theorist, winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Economics, and leader of the Swedish Liberal Party for more than twenty years, is considered to be the major single influence on the development of international economics in the twentieth century. This volume, celebrating the centennial of Ohlin's birth, examines his life and his influence on modern economic thought. It also contains the first English translation of his licentiate thesis, in which he first set out his theory of international trade.

A Centennial Celebration, 1899-1999

Bertil Ohlin

Which Model Do People Carry in Their Minds when They Forecast Inflation Rates?

The income velocity of money-an inverse measure of the demand for money balances-is the ratio of the money value of income to the average money stock that the public (excluding banks) holds in a given period. Why the magnitude of that ratio has changed over time is the subject of Michael D. Bordo and Lars Jonung's classic study, originally published as The Long-Run Behavior of the Velocity of Circulation. Supported by statistical data, econometric estimation techniques, and meticulous historical analysis, this work describes, in an international setting, how slow-moving economic, social, and political forces interact with the decisions households and firms make about how much money to hold. Annual time series of velocity for several countries from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century display a U-shaped pattern. Existing theories can explain each section of the velocity curve-the falling, flat, and rising parts-but the overall pattern is not consistent with any one theory. Here the authors put forth a comprehensive explanation for this behavior over time. Their theory is largely an extension of the approach of Knut Wicksell, the Swedish economist who stressed the role of substitution between monetary assets. This approach, which emphasizes institutional variables, is incorporated into the arguments for the traditional long-run money demand (velocity) function. Four types of empirical evidence strongly support the authors' theory: econometric studies of the long-run velocity function for several countries; a cross section study of approximately eighty countries in the postwar period; a case study of the Swedish monetization process in the fifty years before World War I; and an examination of the time series properties of velocity. Demand for Money suggests that institutional factors, as opposed to real income, play a greater role in velocity than previously thought. And these institutional factors have a major impact on monetary policy. This is a book that will prove of great value to economists, monetary strategists, and policymakers.

An Analysis of the Long-run Behavior of the Velocity of Circulation

Demand for Money

Craufurd D. Goodwin

Handelshögskolan i Stockholm

Papers from a conference held Aug. 31-Sept. 1, 1987 outside Stockholm, Sweden. Includes bibliographical references (p. 467-471).

The Stockholm School of Economics Revisited

Lars Jonung

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