Includes bibliographical references and index.

An introduction to the evolution of financial fragility -- Illustrations of manias, panics, and crises -- Capitalism : a culture of accumulation as the context for innovation -- The impact of uncertainty on (in)forming behaviour -- Conventional approaches : speculation as a fool's paradise -- Justifications and means : the institutional organization of speculation -- The other side of the coin : the influence of credit creation and banks on speculation -- Recoil in crisis : from peak to panic -- Societies in transition : time-space comparisons of financial instability -- The bottom line : towards institutional indicators of financial fragility -- Evolving financial crises: reflections and projections.

Also available in print edition. CRC Press (http://www.crcpress.com)

Mode of access: World Wide Web.