Are Derivatives the cause of a Financial Crisis?

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2009 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, Eastern Illinois University, language: English, abstract: This paper looks into the pros and cons of financial derivatives while at the same time glancing into past derivative-related crisis to explore the dangers of financial derivatives. It also seeks to explore and investigate the role of credit default swaps in the recent credit crisis. Overall, the paper seeks to analyze the current economic situation and past events to see if financial derivatives are the cause of a financial crisis.