Book description
Why the global recession is in danger of becoming another Great
Depression, and how we can stop it
When the United States stopped backing dollars with gold in 1968, the
nature of money changed. All previous constraints on money and credit
creation were removed and a new economic paradigm took shape. Economic
growth ceased to be driven by capital accumulation and investment as
it had been since before the Industrial Revolution. Instead, credit
creation and consumption began to drive the economic dynamic. In
The New Depression: The Breakdown of the Paper Money Economy,
Richard Duncan introduces an analytical framework, The Quantity Theory
of Credit, that explains all aspects of the calamity now unfolding:
its causes, the rationale for the government's policy response to the
crisis, what is likely to happen next, and how those developments will
affect asset prices and investment portfolios.
In his previous book, The Dollar Crisis (2003), Duncan
explained why a severe global economic crisis was inevitable given the
flaws in the post-Bretton Woods international monetary system, and now
he's back to explain what's next. The economic system that emerged
following the abandonment of sound money requires credit growth to
survive. Yet the private sector can bear no additional debt and the
government's creditworthiness is deteriorating rapidly. Should total
credit begin to contract significantly, this New Depression will
become a New Great Depression, with disastrous economic and
geopolitical consequences. That outcome is not inevitable, and this
book describes what must be done to prevent it.
- Presents a fascinating look inside the financial crisis and how
the New Depression is poised to become a New Great Depression
- Introduces a new theoretical construct, The Quantity Theory of
Credit, that is the key to understanding not only the developments
that led to the crisis, but also to understanding how events will
play out in the years ahead
- Offers unique insights from the man who predicted the global
economic breakdown
Alarming but essential reading, The New Depression explains
why the global economy is teetering on the brink of falling into a
deep and protracted depression, and how we can restore stability.
Richard Duncan
is the author of two earlier books on the global economic crisis.
The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures
explained why a worldwide economic calamity was inevitable given the
flaws in the post-Bretton Woods international monetary system. It was an
international bestseller. The Corruption of Capitalism described the
long series of US policy mistakes responsible for the crisis. It also
outlined the policies necessary to permanently resolve it.
Since beginning his career as an equities analyst in Hong Kong in 1986,
Richard has served as global head of investment strategy at ABN AMRO
Asset Management in London, worked as a financial sector specialist for
the World Bank in Washington, D. C., and headed equity research
departments for James Capel Securities and Salomon Brothers in Bangkok.
He also worked as a consultant for the IMF in Thailand during the Asia
Crisis. He is now chief economist at Blackhorse Asset Management in Singapore.
Richard studied economics and literature at Vanderbilt University and
international finance at Babson College, and, between the two, spent a
year travelling around the world as a backpacker.
