Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market - Softcover

Bagehot, Walter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1614275785 ISBN 13: 9781614275787

Publisher: Martino Fine Books, 2014

Synopsis

2014 Reprint of 1962 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. With an introduction by Frank C. Genovese. "Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market" (1873) remains to this day an influential book in the field of economics and trade. Bagehot was one of the first writers to describe and explain the world of international and corporate finance, banking, and money in understandable language. Lombard Street is known for its analysis of the Bank of England's response to the Overend-Gurney crisis. Bagehot's advice for the lender of last resort during a credit crunch ("Bagehot's dictum") is often summarized as follows: 1. Lend freely. 2. At a high rate of interest. 3. On good banking securities.

About this title

Review:

People panicked during a credit crunch or economic downturn on London's Lombard Street of the 1800s just as they do on Wall Street today. That's only one reason this reprint of the classic book by famed 19th-century economist Walter Bagehot offers lessons even now. First published in 1873, the book is a compilation of 11 essays that Bagehot wrote as the editor of The Economist, and includes his advice to banks for dealing with financial crises: "We must keep a great store of ready money always available, and advance out of it very freely in periods of panic, and in times of incipient alarm. Any notion that money is not to be had, or that it may not be had at any price, only raises alarm to panic and enhances panic to madness."

In terms of the U.S. savings-and-loan crisis and the Asian economic meltdown of the 1990s, Bagehot's words still ring as timely, even with the dated references to British politics of the time. For example, he proposed allowing unstable banks to collapse and advocated creating an independent finance professional to run the nation's central bank. Lombard Street, named after London's financial district and the birthplace of the money market, will be an eye opener for students and others interested in the history and workings of financial systems. --Dan Ring

Book Description:

Published originally in 1873, this work is a masterpiece of economics, described by J. M. Keynes as 'an undying classic'. It explains the world of banking and finance, particularly financial crisis management. The ideas remain relevant today, especially in view of the global financial crisis that started in 2007.

About this edition

• Publisher: Martino Fine Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1614275785
• ISBN 13: 9781614275787
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 196