The government support of financial firms through direct assistance and programs to improve market liquidity during the worldwide financial crisis of 2007-2008 is unprecedented since the Great Depression. Whether a given firm is ex-ante ‘Too Big To Fail' in the mind of government agents is not...

At the time they occurred, the savings and loan insolvencies were considered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Contrary to what was then believed, and in sharp contrast with 2007-09, they in fact had little macroeconomic significance. S&L remediation cost between 2 and 3...

This paper is concerned with the allegation that fair value accounting rules have contributed significantly to the recent financial crisis. It focuses on one particular channel for that contribution: the impact of fair value on actual or potential failure of banks. The paper compares four...

The collapse of Lehman in mid September 2008 was a momentous event. Yet whether Lehman really had to fail is an issue that has not received the kind of scrutiny it deserves. The reason for that seems to be the public statement made by then Treasury Secretary Paulson and then Fed Chairman...

We investigate the role of private equity (PE) in the resolution of failed banks after the 2008 financial crisis. Using proprietary failed bank acquisition data from the FDIC combined with data on PE investors, we find that PE investors made substantial investments in underperforming and riskier...

This paper presents two views of the European sovereign debt crisis. The first is that the South in the euro zone has been fiscally irresponsible, and has failed to implement supply-side policies such as liberalizing labor markets and the market for services. The second view holds that the...

Collapsing credit markets have been blamed for the depth and persistence of the Great Depression in the United States. Could similar mechanisms have played a role in ending the East Asian economic miracle - and in creating fragility in global financial markets? After a brief account of the...

This article uses a crisis index based on an average of the variations in currency and financial crises indicators, referred to as “twin crises”, adjusting them to the same volatility. Thus, the objective is to measure the degree of vulnerability to twin crises within a group of 19 countries...