Economic Linkages, Spillovers, and the Financial Crisis—1

T devastating impact of the global financial crisis on the world economy has been well documented by now: the crisis led to the deepest and most synchronized global recession over the past 70 years. This singular and dramatic event generated many questions. One of them has been particularly challenging for researchers and policymakers: What are the mechanisms by which the U.S. financial crisis of 2007 morphed into a global economic downturn in 2008–09? In early 2009, we asked this question to a select group of outstanding researchers. They presented their findings at a conference, titled “Economic Linkages, Spillovers, and the Financial Crisis,” held in Paris on January 28–29, 2010. The conference was organized jointly by the Paris School of Economics, the Banque de France, and the International Monetary Fund. The second and third issues of the IMF Economic Review feature eight excellent papers from the conference. The papers went through a rigorous refereeing process. In addition, they benefited from extensive feedback provided by the discussants, conference participants, and members of the Editorial