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The international propagation of the financial crisis of 2008 and a comparison with 1931

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  • William A. Allen
  • Richhild Moessner

Abstract

We examine the international propagation of the financial crisis of 2008, and compare it with that of the crisis of 1931. We argue that the collateral squeeze in the United States, which became intense after the failure of Lehman Brothers created doubts about the stability of other financial companies, was an important propagator in 2008. We identify some common features in the propagation of the two crises, the most important being the flight to liquidity and safety. In both crises, deposit outflows were not the only important sources of liquidity pressure on banks: in 1931, the central European acceptances of the London merchant banks were a serious problem, as, in 2008, were the liquidity commitments that commercial banks had provided to shadow banks. And in both crises, the behaviour of creditors towards debtors, and the valuation of assets by creditors, were very important. However, there was a very important difference between the two crises in the range and nature of assets that were regarded as liquid and safe. Central banks in 2008, with no gold standard constraint, could liquefy illiquid assets on a much greater scale.

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  • William A. Allen & Richhild Moessner, 2011. "The international propagation of the financial crisis of 2008 and a comparison with 1931," BIS Working Papers 348, Bank for International Settlements.
  • Handle: RePEc:bis:biswps:348
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen Quinn & William Roberds, 2015. "Responding to a Shadow Banking Crisis: The Lessons of 1763," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(6), pages 1149-1176, September.
    2. Rakesh Padhan & K. P. Prabheesh, 2019. "Effectiveness Of Early Warning Models: A Critical Review And New Agenda For Future Direction," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 22(4), pages 457-484, December.
    3. William A Allen, 2012. "Government debt management and monetary policy in Britain since 1919," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Threat of fiscal dominance?, volume 65, pages 15-50, Bank for International Settlements.
    4. William A. Allen & Richhild Moessner, 2013. "The Liquidity Consequences of the Euro Area Sovereign Debt Crisis," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 14(1), pages 103-126, January.
    5. Paraschiv, Florentina & Qin, Minzi, 2013. "Extreme Spillover Between Shadow Banking and Regular Banking," Working Papers on Finance 1312, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.

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    Keywords

    financial crisis; liquidity; international monetary system; Great Depression;
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