Nevertheless, it does seem both sensible and necessary to look forward. Their specific causes are extremely varied . Nevertheless, they do have some features in common. The IMF, in an interesting analysis in the latest World Economic Outlook, points out that serious turbulence in the financial markets is frequently caused by unsustainable economic imbalances and misalignments of asset prices or exchange rates accompanied by rigidities in the financial system. According to this study, whether these undesirable developments actually lead to a financial crisis depends on the scale of the imbalances themselves, on a credible policy for a timely removal of the imbalances, and on the robustness of the country's financial system.
Precautions are therefore necessary.
The key to every type of crisis prevention and crisis management lies in the history leading up to financial crises. Policymakers must give a prompt and decisive response to macroeconomic imbalances before their scale triggers abrupt reversals of sentiment in the markets. The financial system must be healthy and stable so that it does not itself become a source of crisis in the event of a change in the underlying conditions. The build-up of macroeconomics imbalances must be identified at as early a stage as possible. This is ultimately the crucial rationale for surveillance by the international community.