Clark Center Forum

Freakonomics blog – October 15, 2008 When the financial crisis was just beginning to appear, I did one of the smartest things I’ve ever done: I asked my colleagues Doug Diamond and Anil Kashyap to explain to me what was happening. What they said was so enlightening that I begged them to write it up […] 

The idea that the government would move in to take over some banks in the U.S. goes against the principles of many free market economists. Hollywood producer Samuel Goldwyn once said, “Nobody knows anything.” So now who knows anything in the world of economics and what are the truths? Listen now > 

Op-ed The Wall Street Journal – October 9, 2008 Until last week, the conventional wisdom in Europe was that the financial crisis originated in the U.S. and that therefore the U.S. had to be first in line to respond to it. Now that the crisis has become a much more serious threat to Europe and […] 

Testimony of Luigi Zingales on “Causes and Effects of the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy” before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, United States House of Representatives – October 6, 2008 Read PDF > 

Credit Crisis Solutions: An Overview of Each Plan’s Main Features Download Word document > 

Financial markets are in panic. Central banks are willing to lend against all manner of collateral.  Yet inter-bank credit markets are freezing up. Why? Have central banks contributed to the problem? And what do we do now? View PDF > 

Op-ed The Wall Street Journal – Sept. 29th, 2008 The White House and Congress appear to have reached an agreement on a bailout plan that restricts executive pay at companies that participate in the bailout. The plan limits CEO compensation that encourages “unnecessary and excessive” risk-taking, creates a tax disadvantage for CEOs who are paid […] 

Like a monster from an old horror movie, the Treasury plan keeps coming back from the dead. Yes, we are in a financial crisis that needs urgent, determined, and clear-eyed help from the Government. But this plan is fundamentally flawed. It won’t even work, leaving aside its horrendous cost and long-lasting damage to the financial […] 

Some faculty perspectives from the Chicago GSB “lunchroom” Four faculty members from the Chicago GSB’s Initiative on Global Markets chat informally about the latest events in the housing and credit crisis — and about the government’s efforts to deal with it. Watch video > 

The Wall Street Journal – Sept. 26th, 2008 The American financial system is in deep trouble. Regulatory moves to guarantee money market funds, the conversion of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs into bank holding companies, and the Treasury’s asset purchase proposal have staved off a crisis for now. These hurried actions have also bought us […]