Book reviews
# Euro Crash: The Implications of Monetary Failure in Europe
Brendan Brown, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
The book 'Euro Crash: Implications of Monetary Failure in Europe’ addresses the number one issue in international economics and finance: the causes of the global credit bubble and bust. Among the current investigations to apportion blame and come up with remedies, European Monetary Union (EMU) and the European Central Bank (ECB) have hitherto remained outside the target areas for research. The book, a sequel to the well-received Euro on Trial (hailed by International Business Review as 'the euro-sceptic's bible'), corrects that omission, arguing that the launch of a deeply-flawed EMU, together with subsequent grave policy errors by the ECB, played key roles in providing fuel for the looming economic and financial disasters. Brown explores the possible remedies to improve the functioning of EMU, including a complete re-vamp of the ECB's monetary framework. In Brown’s opinion, the ordo-liberal order as expressed in total independence from the ECB has become a passport for monetary incompetence and should be replaced by the classical liberal tradition of the central bank residing within the democratic political process but with the aim of monetary stability established as a constitutional principle. Such transformation would require a Second Treaty of Maastricht creating a greater degree of political union between the countries belonging to EMU.
BRENDAN BROWN is Director and Head of Economic Research, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International plc. Based in the City of London, Dr. Brown has authored many previous books on international financial topics, including monetary problems in the USA, Europe and Japan and asset market pricing (including exchange rates) in a global context. The books have treated both contemporary trends and historical topics. The author’s postgraduate degrees are from the University of Chicago and London School of Economics. Dr. Brown is a regular contributor to the Japanese and European financial media.
# Asia and the Subprime Crisis: Lifting the Veil on the Financial Tsunami
Chi Lo, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
This is not a normal crisis. World growth may experience a structural downward shift for the next decade. Asia's export-led growth model is shattered, and has not changed fast enough to take on the new post-subprime paradigm. China is liberalising its insurance sector (seen as the 'goldmine' in the future of world financial development) and trying to develop financial derivatives for insurance products. Many analyses on the subprime crisis so far have insufficiencies, including a lack of integrated analysis from the Asian perspective, misunderstandings about the Asian and Chinese aspects of the subprime crisis, misplaced views on the nature of the crisis, ignorance of Asia’s contribution to the root of the subprime crisis, and erroneous analyses of the macro-policy impact on the global system in the aftermath of the crisis.
This book seeks to remedy these misconceptions, and is the first to place Asia - in particular China - and the developed world together in the subprime crisis context. Its integrated approach uses both macro (systemic) and micro (corporate) analysis to draw valuable conclusions from the disaster. The author uses a critical approach, questioning conventional wisdom at times, to assess the subprime crisis's causes and impact and to debunk misconceptions. Cutting through hype and bias, Chi Lo discusses Asia's contribution to the root of the crisis, traces the regulatory and policy lessons to be learned and predicts the economic and financial aftermath. Combining research thoughts, data, facts and economic logic with real world examples and anecdotes to elaborate on the arguments, this thought-provoking book lifts the veil on the 'financial tsunami' to expose Asia's economic life in the post-subprime world.
CHI LO is an economic strategist and head of investment research at a major asset management company based in Hong Kong. His previous roles include China Director Research at HSBC, Asian Chief Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, Economic Advisor at the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation, and senior research positions at blue-chip investment banks and regulatory bodies in North America, the UK and Asia. In 2000 and 2006, he was listed as a member of the International Who's Who Professionals. Chi Lo has written several books on Asian and Chinese economic transformation, and highly acclaimed research publications in the international media and periodicals. He has taught applied economics, macro-economics and banking and finance at various universities in Asia and North America, and spoken at international seminars such as the Asian Development Bank and United Nations conferences.
