The financial crisis of 1825 and the restructuring of the British financial system

Banks and banking - History ; Banks and banking - Great Britain ; Great Britain ; Financial crises - Great Britain

Crises in the Global Economy from Tulips to Today: Contagion and Consequences

This paper examines the historical record of the financial crises that have often accompanied surges of globalization in the past. The issue of contagion, the spread of financial turbulence from the crisis center to its trading partners, is confronted with historical and statistical evidence on the causes and consequences of well-known crises. In general, contagion seems often confused with prior interdependence, and crises are less widespread and shorter in duration than anecdotal evidence would indicate. Special attention is given to the gold standard period of 1880-1913, which we find useful to divide into the initial period of deflation, 1880-1896, and the following period of mild inflation, 1897-1913. We find evidence of changes in the pattern of 'contagion' from core to periphery countries between the two periods, but in both periods apparent contagions can more readily be interpreted as responses to common shocks. Lessons for the present period can only be tentative, but the similarities in learning experiences are striking.

The Highest Price Ever: The Great NYSE Seat Sale of 1928–1929 and Capacity Constraints

During the 1920s the New York Stock Exchange's position as the dominant American exchange was eroding. Costs to customers, measured as bid-ask spreads, spiked when surging inflows of orders collided with the constraint created by a fixed number of brokers. The NYSE's management proposed and the membership approved a 25 percent increase in the number of seats by issuing a quarter-seat dividend to all members. An event study reveals that the aggregate value of the NYSE rose in anticipation of improved competitiveness. These expectations were justified as bid-ask spreads became less sensitive to peak volume days

Crises in The Global Economy from Tulips to Today: Contagion and Consequences

We examine the historical record of the financial crises that have often accompanied surges of globalization in the past. The issue of contagion, the spread of financial turbulence from the crisis center to its trading partners, is confronted with historical and statistical evidence on the causes and consequences of well-known crises. Special attention is given to the gold standard period of 1880-1913, which we find useful to divide into the initial period of deflation, 1880-1896, and the following period of mild inflation, 1897-1913. We find evidence of changes in the pattern of "contagion" from core to periphery countries between the two periods, finding that apparent contagions can more readily be interpreted as responses to common shocks. Lessons for the present period can only be tentative, but the similarities in learning experiences are striking.contagion; gold standard

The Highest Price Ever: The Great NYSE Seat Sale of 1928-1929 and Capacity Constraints

A surge in orders during the stock market boom of the late 1920s collided against the constraint created by the fixed number of brokers on the New York Stock Exchange. Estimates of the determinants of individual stock bid-ask spreads from panel data reveal that spreads jumped when volume spiked, confirming contemporary observers complaints that there were insufficient counterparties. When the position of the NYSE as the dominant exchange became threatened, the management of the exchange proposed a 25 percent increase in the number of seats in February 1929 by issuing a quarter-seat dividend to all members. While such a "stock split" would be expected to leave the aggregate value of the NYSE unchanged, an event study reveals that its value rose in anticipation of increased efficiency. These expectations were justified as bid-ask spreads became less sensitive to peak volume days after the increase in seats.

The economy of Spain in the eurozone before and after the crisis of 2008

In common with the other periphery countries that joined the euro-zone in 1998-2000, Spain enjoyed ten years of economic prosperity, essentially debt-financed. The financial crisis of 2008 has revealed deep structural problems in the euro-zone, but also among Spain’s fiscally autonomous regions, which differ from the financial problems faced by the other European periphery countries. But the Spanish problems with de-leveraging suggest further difficulties for the euro-zone as it attempts to implement sterner budgetary controls over member states.autonomous regions; Balassa-Samuelson effect; de-leveraging; euro; sovereign bonds

The high-frequency backscattering angular response of gassy sediments: Model/data comparison from the Eel River Margin, California

A model for the high-frequency backscatter angular response of gassy sediments is proposed. For the interface backscatter contribution we adopted the model developed by Jackson et al. @J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 79, 1410–1422 ~1986!#, but added modifications to accommodate gas bubbles. The model parameters that are affected by gas content are the density ratio, the sound speed ratio, and the loss parameter. For the volume backscatter contribution we developed a model based on the presence and distribution of gas in the sediment. We treat the bubbles as individual discrete scatterers that sum to the total bubble contribution. This total bubble contribution is then added to the volume contribution of other scatters. The presence of gas affects both the interface and the volume contribution of the backscatter angular response in a complex way that is dependent on both grain size and water depth. The backscatter response of fine-grained gassy sediments is dominated by the volume contribution while that of coarser-grained gassy sediments is affected by both volume and interface contributions. In deep water the interface backscatter is only slightly affected by the presence of gas while the volume scattering is strongly affected. In shallow water the interface backscatter is severely reduced in the presence of gas while the volume backscatter is only slightly increased. Multibeam data acquired offshore northern California at 95 kHz provides raw measurements for the backscatter as a function of grazing angle. These raw backscatter measurements are then reduced to scattering strength for comparison with the results of the proposed model. The analysis of core samples at various locations provides local measurements of physical properties and gas content in the sediments that, when compared to the model, show general agreement

Crises in The Global Economy from Tulips to Today: Contagion and Consequences

We examine the historical record of the financial crises that have often accompanied surges of globalization in the past. The issue of contagion, the spread of financial turbulence from the crisis center to its trading partners, is confronted with historical and statistical evidence on the causes and consequences of well-known crises. Special attention is given to the gold standard period of 1880-1913, which we find useful to divide into the initial period of deflation, 1880-1896, and the following period of mild inflation, 1897-1913. We find evidence of changes in the pattern of 'contagion' from core to periphery countries between the two periods, finding that apparent contagions can more readily be interpreted as responses to common shocks. Lessons for the present period can only be tentative, but the similarities in learning experiences are striking