In June 2008, Justin Yifu Lin was appointed Chief Economist of the World Bank, right before the eruption of the worst global financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. Drawing on experience from his privileged position, Lin offers unique reflections on the cause of the crisis, why it was so serious and widespread, and its likely evolution. Arguing that conventional theories provide inadequate solutions, he proposes new initiatives for achieving global stability and avoiding the recurrence of similar crises in the future. He suggests that the crisis and the global imbalances both originated with the excess liquidity created by US financial deregulation and loose monetary policy, and recommends the creation of a global Marshall Plan and a new supranational global reserve currency. This thought-provoking book will appeal to academics, graduate students, policy makers, and anyone interested in the global economy

Preface
Overview
Part I. What Caused the 2008–9 Global Crisis?:
1. The world economy and the 2008–9 crisis
2. The real causes of the crisis
3. Financial deregulation and the housing bubble
4. What’s wrong with the Eurozone
5. Why China’s reserves rose so much
Part II. A Win-Win Path to Recovery:
6. Infrastructure investments - beyond Keynesianism
7. A massive global infrastructure initiative
Part III. How Poor Countries Can Catch up: Flying Geese and Leading Dragons:
8. The mystery of the great divergence
9. The mechanics and benefits of structural change
10. Lessons from the failures and successes of structural transformation
11. Unique opportunities for poor countries
Part IV. Toward a Brave New World Monetary System:
12. The evolution of the international monetary system
13. Emerging pressures and policy challenges
14. (In)stability of the emerging multiple reserve currency system
15. The thinking behind the main reform proposals
16. Costs and benefits of major reform proposals
17. A proposal for a new global reserve currency - paper gold (’p-gold’)
18. Why it still matters
References
Index.