The Causes and Ramifications of the 2008- 2009 Meltdown of the Financial Markets on the Global Economy

Abstract

The sub- prime mortgage crisis of the summer of 2007 was the first salvo of the impending global meltdown of the financial markets. This study presents a brief review of the factors that led to the collapse of the financial markets and the magnitude of the damage it caused around the globe. It then discusses the measures that need to be taken to stabilize the markets and to create conditions for the resumption of growth. It examines the prospects for financial markets recovery and economic growth in the emerging economies of Asia, Europe and Latin America, with a special reference to BRIC countries, Turkey, and the Middle East. It emphasizes the linkages between nations’ economies and asserts that economic growth cannot be sustained by individual or block of countries, without an overall global effort, to reign in greed and unethical conduct by the operatives of financial markets.