The global financial crisis and economic recession spurred national governments to boost fiscal expenditures to stimulate economic growth. Government measures included asset purchases, direct lending through national treasuries and government-backed guarantees for financial sector liabilities. The severity and global nature of the economic recession raised the rate of unemployment, increased the cost of stabilising the financial sector and limited the number of policy options that were available to national leaders. This book focuses on how major developed and emerging-market country governments, particularly the G-20 and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries have dealt with the current global recession and debt crisis.