Time to look back in order to move forward

Abstract

This chapter revisits major financial and health crises occurred a century ago and compares them with the global 2008 financial crisis and the current COVID19 pandemic. In spite of each crisis’ specificities, many triggers and the major consequences are similar, especially in the case of financial crises. The analysis suggests that ignoring previous experiences may lead to the repetition of avoidable errors, for no matter how distinct current troubles may seem, similar ones have occurred before. The past is thus a relevant reference when searching for solutions to solve present problems and to avoid future ones.