Accountability after Economic Crisis reconstructs the captivating story of how different nations responded to the 2008 economic crisis, one of the most challenging economic downturns in modern history. The book focuses on puzzling cross-country variations in policies of accountability. Why did some countries look for explanations of the economic failure and seek to hold those responsible to account, while others looked the other way? And among those countries looking for the truth, were some more successful than others? If so, were certain methods more effective than others? Is there, in fact, a best way? Iosif Kovras introduces an innovative framework to explain the varied political responses to an economic crisis, pushing the boundaries of traditional analysis by drawing on political economy, comparative politics, public administration, economic history, criminal law, and criminology. To test this framework, he draws on five post-2008 case studies, Ireland, Iceland, Greece, and