In the first decade of the twenty-first century the biggest event of worldwide proportion was
the 2008 global financial crisis which was caused primarily by ineffective governance failed
surveillance systems and implementation flaws. While fiscal and monetary policies succeeded in
pulling many countries out of a financial freefall most economies have performed beneath
pre-recession levels as governments continued to struggle with their finances. Examining the
financial crisis from the viewpoint of intangible assets provides a different perspective from
traditional economic approaches. National Intellectual Capital (NIC) comprised mainly of human
capital market capital process capital renewal capital and financial capital is a valuable
intangible asset and a key source of national competitive advantage in today's knowledge
economy. The authors-pioneers in the field-present extensive data and a rigorous conceptual
framework to analyze the connections between the global financial crisis and NIC development.
Covering the period from 2005 to 2010 across 48 countries the authors establish a positive
correlation between NIC and GDP per capita and consider the impact of NIC investment for
short-term recovery and long-term risk control and strategy formulation. Each volume in a
series of SpringerBriefs on NIC and the financial crisis provides in-depth coverage of the
impact of the crisis the aftermath future prospects and policy implications for a regional
cluster. This volume focuses on Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary Romania and Poland.
