During the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, the government bailed out numerous corporations, including banks, investment banks, and automobile manufacturers. While the bailouts helped end the financial crisis, they were intensely controversial at the time, and were marred by the...

In this article, I attempt to clarify the appropriate government tools for responding to different forms of market distress in times of crisis. I provide my analysis in the context of the United States responses to market distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic.With the exception of measures...