This book was prompted by the current lingering financial crisis which has its basis in the
disorderly financial practices of the United States. These practices have resulted in an
accumulated debt which now requires the United States to run financial policies at artificially
low interest rates. In principle these low interest rates should flood the markets with ready
money. Since the spread for banks is very thin however and they must carefully discriminate
between available risks and finance only those propositions with no risk credit is not
abundantly available. With staggering foreign debt and a myriad of other perils looming this
great nation is at peril for sure. In the tradition of the Heilbronn Symposium the authors
look at historical cases as a means of understanding the current situation and informing
possible solutions to a problem that continues to affect the global economy. The volume
analyzes cases such as Prussia Greece Italy Estonia and the European Union. This book will
be of interest to scholars and students of economic history as well as policy makers who may
benefit from an historical understanding of the economic challenges their countries currently
face.
