The 2007-09 global financial crisis saw colossal disruptions in asset and credit markets, massive erosions of wealth, and unprecedented numbers of bankruptcies. Its lingering effects are still visible in advanced economies and emerging markets alike. Filling a critical gap in the literature on the subject, this volume provides a broad overview of the current research, reviews typical patterns that precede crises, analyzes the evolution of crisis episodes, examines various policy responses, and studies crisis aftermaths. Featured are contributions from scholars in the field and researchers at IMF.--Adapted from publisher description.