They did not need a pro-cyclical fiscal policy to stave off default or devaluation.

ECONOMIST: Petri-dish economies: Poland

As a result, provisions have become more pro-cyclical, says CreditSights, rising more sharply from low levels when markets turn.

ECONOMIST: Bank losses: A Citi situation | The

The ECB effectively addressed contracyclical vs pro-cyclical issues while reducing credit risk and aiding the banks in tightening their balance sheets.

FORBES: Quantitative Easing in the Eurozone:Enter the ECB

Financial-sector reform was essential, but the G-20 went too far: In seeking perfection, policy makers have delivered a profoundly pro-cyclical shock, resulting in a deflationary credit squeeze.

WSJ: What Will New World Order Look Like?

While abiding by IMF-crafted pro-cyclical policies which included cutting spending, poverty and unemployment soared as the recession deepened. (Read Weakening Euro And Oil Stock Piles Drive Dollar Higher).

FORBES: Greece: Preemptive Debt Restructuring Or Eurozone Exit

But many worry that, at a time of widespread crisis, such pro-cyclical rules risk imposing too much austerity too widely, thus darkening the spectre of recession and making it even harder to balance budgets.

ECONOMIST: European politics

From 1929 to 1932 the main government in the firing line - America - operated a pro-cyclical policy of deflation: that is, making the downturn worse in the belief that it would "cleanse the system".

BBC: Thinking outside the 1930s box

Pro-cyclical regulation exacerbated the credit crunch.

ECONOMIST: Reining in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

It is an angry book because Bill Isaac is by no means pleased with the string of policy blunders (mark-to-market accounting, pro-cyclical regulatory regimes from FASB and the SEC, the repeal of Glass-Steagall, etc.) that led to a global financial meltdown in the fall of 2008.

FORBES: Booked: Bill Isaac's Senseless Panic