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The purpose of this paper is to provide a cohesive review of the major findings in the literature concerning the Global Financial Crisis.

Papers published in top-rated finance and economics journal since the crisis up to the present were reviewed. A large number of these were selected for inclusion, primarily based on the number of citations they had received adjusted for the amount of time elapsed since their publication, but also partly based on how well they fit in with the narrative.

Much has been done to investigate the causes of the Global Financial Crisis, its effects on various aspects of the financial system, and the effectiveness of regulatory measures undertaken to restore the financial system. While more remains to be done, the existing body of research paints an interesting picture of what happened and why it happened, describes the interrelationships between the mortgage markets and financial markets created by the large scale securitization of financial assets, identifies the problems created by these inter-linkages and offers possible solutions, and assesses the effectiveness of the regulatory response to the crisis.

This study summarizes a vast amount of literature using a framework that allows the reader to quickly absorb a large amount of information as well as identify specific works that they may wish to examine more closely. By providing a picture of what has been done, it may also assist the reader in identifying areas that should be the subject of future research.

By 2003, there was a total of 176 Islamic banks around the globe with their total assets close to $147 billion. This article shows that this form of specialized banking may help in promoting growth in these developing economies. During the transition phase of a developing growth economy to a full fledged market based economy many structural changes are required in its financial institutions, especially since the role of a financial intermediary in supplying funds to growing new industries is crucial. At the same time, the potential for destabilization resulting from improper resource allocation, due to either faulty risk assessment or the design of the contract, could be significant. Also, this article examines the implementation of an Islamic banking system and how Islamic banks can provide liquidity and aid in the money creation process through offering transactions accounts with compensation for inflation to risk‐avoiding depositors.

The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature on the causes of and regulatory reactions to the financial crisis of the last decade, popularly known as the “Global Financial Crisis (GFC)” or the “Housing Crisis” in the USA.

This review primarily focuses on the four main causes of the crisis, namely, excessive household leverage, securitization, corporate governance and credit ratings. The main reaction vis-à-vis recovery measures taken by most governments were quantitative easing (QE), bailouts and more stringent regulations of banks, though the discussion mainly focuses on QE.

In this paper, the authors summarize the literature on the causes and regulatory reactions to the GFC and propose future avenues of research for various topics.

Research on the GFC spans multiple disciplines as well as multiple facets of financial economics. A review paper such as this should help future researchers in generating ideas and gathering information for their research. Given that no review uncovers all worthy papers, the authors apologize in advance to the authors of any papers that the authors have inadvertently not reviewed in this paper.

This paper aims to compare products traded in secular and Islamic banking environments prior to the credit crunch of 2007–2008; to locate the comparison in a Schumpeterian model of creative destruction of dynamic innovation in the capital markets; and to evaluate the implications for diversity of investor product choice.

Financial products are critiqued using qualitative criteria, including underestimation of risk implicit in mortgage-backed securities and securitisation, excessive speculative activity in credit default swaps and the magnification of leverage and volatility. Comparable Islamic products are considered for the extent to which they facilitate the same precursors of market crises.

Innovation in secular financial markets has traditionally led to asset bubbles, underestimation of risks and market exuberance. Islamic banking constrains creativity by prohibiting risk transference and disconnection of financing activity from social context and economic purpose. As such, the latter reduces Schumpeterian creative destruction but at the cost of reduced investor choice and market liquidity. Restriction of the reallocation of risk between those who do not wish to hold it and those who do dampens innovation but would have prevented the trading of products which contributed to the credit crunch.

The constraining effect of Islamic banking upon creativity and innovation is considered alongside its capacity to reduce market volatility, speculation and systemic instability. Schumpeterian theory deepens the analysis in terms of the drivers of innovation and market collapse.

This paper aims to review major changes on real estate markets in Europe and to analyse the impacts of such changes.

The paper provides an overview of the various equity real estate investment vehicles available to investors, with particular focus on the pros and cons of each type of vehicle. The paper also includes an analysis of the impacts of product innovation on real estate markets and on portfolio strategy.

The changes on real estate markets have led to considerable amounts of capital being allocated to the asset class. Portfolio strategies should be substantially more flexible.

As many of the new products have been created in bullish real estate markets, it is important to assess the impacts of a market downturn on portfolio performance.

A good understanding of available products with their pros and cons is necessary for a sound investment strategy.

The paper is one of the very few papers that discuss the major institutional changes that have occurred on European real estate markets.

Conflict in various forms is a natural consequence of the power of one party to take actions and decisions that affect others. It can be studied from many different standpoints. In policy conflict, the relative complexity or simplicity depends very much on whose interests are being considered as new measures are debated. Many policy issues are more complex than most people thought. They are simplified for public debate. Some interests are marginalized while others remain central to the discussion. Realizing the inherent trade-offs, knowing what elements of debate are present and absent, and what are the causes of the policy structure that we observe are all central to understanding the representative nature of policy conflicts. This is what the book is all about.

To expand understandings of conflict, this chapter offers a detailed assessment of how exchange is enacted within local heroin markets. Addressing drug dealing and heroin users’ buying drugs for their peers (i.e., brokering), this research expands how illegal drug markets are commonly understood. A generalized framework is presented that highlights patterns of exchange.

Findings come from a 36-month study of a demographically diverse sample of 38 heroin users in Cleveland, OH. Methods involved open-ended, semi-structured interviewing and participant observation, conducted by the author and a team of graduate students.

Instead of framing exchange as either an economic or social act, this chapter shows how trade in heroin markets is often both. Here Gudeman’s (2001) dialectic between market and community is embodied in inter-subjectivities of traders, promoting both trust and conflict. In this context, conflict is the result of perpetual ambiguity all market participants can experience.

Applying a blended notion of exchange as both social and economic offers new insight on conflict and expands its orientation beyond narratives of political economy. Here, in addition to the economics that often promote conflict, the social elements of exchange (e.g., reciprocity) are emphasized.

Research has understood conflicts in drug market operations through trader characteristics (e.g., poverty, race, class, privilege). This chapter emphasizes opportunities for conflict irrespective of individualized characteristics by outlining structural elements of exchange.

This chapter explores the origins, development, and organization of the main Portuguese capitalist groups throughout the fascist dictatorship, the Carnation Revolution, and the neoliberal European integration until the onset of the financial crisis of 2008. The Portuguese experience confirms that, far from the usual neoliberal view that presents the process of accumulation and concentration of capital as the result of fair market mechanisms, large capitalist groups emerge as a combination of three factors: privileged access to finance, State protection, and family inheritance. Furthermore, it is argued that, if capital is considered as embodiment of power relations and not as factor of production, the link between concentration/accumulation of capital and economic growth is appropriately lost. Concentration strategies can have a detrimental effect on the economy. In Portugal, the dominance of these large economic groups contributed to the development of a rentist economic structure that was contrary to the goals of productive and economic development.