Reading About the Financial Crisis: A 21-Book Review

Andrew Lo

Research

41 Pages

This paper reviews 21 books on the financial crisis to show how dramatically credible observers can disagree about the same events. Andrew Lo finds no single explanation that fits neatly, arguing that conflicting narratives make establishing a common set of facts essential before drawing broader conclusions.

Key Takeaways

Competing Crisis Narratives: The 21 books reviewed offer sharply different explanations, reinforcing how difficult it is to identify one definitive account of the financial crisis.
Consensus Remained Elusive: 18 months, more than 700 witness interviews, and 19 days of hearings, the 10 member Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission produced 3 conclusions.
Leverage Story Complicated: 3 major broker dealers had leverage ratios of at least 28 to 1 in 1998, exceeding their respective levels in 2006.
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