markets. The ultimate consequencesofthis nancialearthquakeare hardto predictin termsof theirimpact on the global economy and its monetary order in the years to come. Nevertheless, throughoutour book the reader will nd plenty of analyses of the factors and events which may have sown the seeds of the current crisis. With this book we want to provide students with an integrated overview about themajor buildingblocksof monetaryeconomics¿ that are monetarytheory,capital market theory and monetary policy theory. In doing so, we will draw heavily on the work of many leading scholars. On top of that, we will provide numerous graphs and econometric examples, which may help illustrating, and thereby improving the understanding of, the theoretical issues under review.