Three narratives about the financial crisis
Peter J. Wallison | The Cato Institute
October 28, 2011

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Article Highlights

  • The most important lesson we can learn from the financial crisis is what caused it. 3 narratives about the crisis:

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  • If we don't attribute the crisis to the right cause, we could stumble into another crisis; the Dodd-Frank Act was directed at the wrong cause

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  • There are several competing narratives about the financial crisis

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Three Narratives About the Financial Crisis

Download PDF The most important lesson we can learn from the financial crisis is what caused it. Even though the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) has been signed into law, this is still an important question. If we do not attribute the crisis to the right cause, we could well stumble into another crisis in the future; and if the DFA was directed at the wrong cause, we should consider its repeal. There are several competing narratives. One of them will eventually be accepted, and will determine how the great financial crisis of 2008 is interpreted, and thus how it affects public policy in the future.

Peter J. Wallison is the Arthur F. Burns Fellow in Financial Policy Studies at AEI.

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