We argue that the present crisis and stalling economy continuing since 2007 have clear origins, namely in the … October 1987, the savings and loans crisis of the 1980s, the burst in 1991 of the enormous Japanese real estate and stock … market bubbles and its ensuing “lost decades”, the emerging markets bubbles and crashes in 1994 and 1997, the LTCM crisis of …

most recent financial crisis. We find that while prior to August 2007 returns were indeed close to zero, afterwards returns … borrowers by banks started to play a lesser role, while during the crisis the banks' role was revitalized. Consistent with this …