The book is based on the papers and proceedings of a conference held in Bad Homberg, West Germany, in May 1979.

1. Introduction Charles P. Kindleberger and Jean-Pierre Laffargue; Part I: Theory: 2. The financial-instability hypothesis: capitalist processes and the behaviour of the economy Hyman P. Minsky; Part II. History: 3. The 1907 financial crisis in Italy: a peculiar case of the lender of last resort in action Franco Bonelli; 4 Central banking and foreign trade: the Anglo-American cycle in the 1830s Maurice Levy-Leboyer; 5. Domestic and foreign expectations and the demand for money during the German inflation 1920-1923 Carl L. Holtfrerich; 6. The sterling system and financial crises before 1914 L. S. Pressnell; Part III. Policy: 7. Policy in the crises of 1920 and 1929 D. E. Moggridge; 8. Central banks and foreign-exchange crises today Paul Coulbois; 9. Less developed countries' rising indebtedness and the lender of last resort in international context Joel Metais; 10. On the lender of last resort Robert M. Soloit; 11. Financial fragility and instability: monetary authorities as borrowers and lenders of the last resort Warren D. McClam.