Every day brings another gloomy economic statistic. Countries heading for bankruptcy; banks running out of money; production down; shop prices up: and no end seems to be in sight. Newspapers and TV news shows dwell on the troubled times and report on the inability of politicians to present a coherent way for Britain and the rest of Europe to pull out of a long and seemingly never-ending depression. Nothing seems to give employers the confidence to hire more people, pay them an inflation-proof wage rise and reverse a long decline in living standards.

In The Financial Crisis: How Did We Get Here?, Phillip Inman explains what economic levers are available to policymakers, which ones are being pulled and which are being left idle. It examines why certain approaches are adopted, not just by politicians, but also by businesses, investors and workers, to give you a rounded, informed view of the current crisis.

• The Euro Crisis For Dummies
• The Origin of Financial Crises: Central banks, credit bubbles and the efficient market fallacy
• The Making of the Greek Crisis (Penguin Specials) (Penguin Shorts/Specials)
• US Debt: The American economy in crisis (Guardian Shorts Book 10)
• The Economist: The Future of Jobs (Penguin Specials): The Great Mismatch (Penguin Shorts/Specials)