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Actions are networks centered around nationally funded research projects in fields that are of interest to at least five COST countries. The financial support averages EUR 100 000 per year for a four-year period. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which legally established the network was approved by the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) at its 174th meeting on 26-27 May 2009.

The network’s membership is as international as it is interdisciplinary. As of July 2010, the following countries have accepted the MoU: Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. There are two researches from each country on the management committee (MC). A list of its individual members is available here. While most network members come from political science, sociology or economics, the membership covers a wide variety of perspectives and approaches within these disciplines (see ‘Members’ in the navigation above).

The main objective of the Action is to provide comprehensive documentation and state of the art analysis of the current Subprime Crisis and its consequences. What started as a burst of a speculation bubble in the US real estate market has developed into the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression. Characteristic of the Subprime Crisis was the tight connection between the American real estate credit market and the structures and processes of global markets. The slicing and dicing of subprime was made possible by modern financial instruments like derivates, modern practices like securitization, and new actors like Credit Rating Agencies who provided first class ratings and thereby suggested what turned out to be false security, and Hedge funds that generated demand. The crisis is therefore as much a crisis of the modern capitalist system as it is of finance. It has led to greater transformation of the American and European financial markets than any planned reform. Discursively, the crisis has challenged core ideas of monetarism and led to a revival of Keynesian monetary and fiscal policies.

In brief, this interdisciplinary Action critically assesses sources, dynamics and consequences of the global financial crisis. It aims to develop a completely new approach to financial stability, reach a better understanding of financial crises in general, and formulate specific policy goals to make financial markets more secure.