Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the Uses—and Misuses—of History By Barry Eichengreen

Abstract

In Hall of Mirrors, Barry Eichengreen provides an outstanding example of comparative history to demonstrate the parallels between the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Recession, which began in 2008. Eichengreen is a knowledgeable and well-respected economic historian, whose command of economic theory, empirical evidence, and the tools of economic history make Hall of Mirrors an essential interpretation of the Great Recession. Beyond mere comparison, Eichengreen seeks to leverage historical analogy to further explicate the policy framework that ultimately rendered the global responses to the Great Recession only partially successful.