Suggested Topics

Reminder: you need to have a chosen topic by Friday April 9.

Here are some suggested topics:

How the crisis unfolded/impacted other countries:

• Iceland
• United Kingdom
• Eastern Europe: especially Latvia and Estonia
• Spain
• China
• Japan
  

Policy taken in the aftermath of the crisis:

Treasury/Federal Government Programs

• TARP: give us more detail and the subsequent results than we have seen in class so far
• HAMP: the program to prevent foreclosures
• The stimulus bill
• The bailout of the auto industry
• Cash for Clunkers
• First-time Home Purchases
  

US Federal Reserve Actions

• TAF: Term auction facility
• Commercial Paper actions
• TALF: Fed purchases of asset backed securites (non-mortgage)
  
• Mortgage Purchases

The FDIC and all of the bank closings

Actions taken in the UK.

Actions take in China.

The impact of the crisis on International Trade.

Some possible causes that we did not cover in class:

• China and Savings Glut
• Did the Fed keep rates too low for too long in 2002-2005
• Regulation of Derivatives market (there is a good Frontline episode on this)
  

Earlier Crises:

• Great Depression
• Japan 1990s
• Asian Crisis late 1990s
  
• Scandinavian Bank Crisis 1989-1991
• 1907 Banking Panic
• Savings and Loan Crisis
• Latin American Crises (there are a lot, see "This time..."

Proposals being put forth now to change regulation:

• Plans from the UK
• Current proposals from Senator Dodd
• Volcker proposals
  

There are some ideas, of course you can also suggest something yourself.