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Curated by Project Syndicate

The Lehman Legacy

11 commentaries

The collapse in 2008 of US investment bank Lehman Brothers triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, with millions still suffering from the economic downturn and high unemployment that followed. Why, five years later, has regulatory reform lagged and economic recovery remained elusive?

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  1. Did Capitalism Fail?
    People walk past the New York Stock Exchange Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    Did Capitalism Fail?

    Sep 13, 2013 Roman Frydman & Michael D. Goldberg argue that 2008's near-meltdown was a failure of contemporary economic models' understanding of the role of financial markets in capitalist economies.

  2. Five Years of Financial Non-Reform
    pa3437c.jpg Paul Lachine

    Five Years of Financial Non-Reform

    Sep 13, 2013 Anat R. Admati on the politics of banking regulation.

  3. Learning from Lehman
    pa1422c.jpg Paul Lachine

    Learning from Lehman

    Sep 11, 2013 Liu Mingkang

  4. The Failure of Free-Market Finance
    pa3850c.jpg Paul Lachine

    The Failure of Free-Market Finance

    Sep 4, 2013 Adair Turner

  5. Lehman’s Morbid Legacy
    tb0439c.jpg Tim Brinton

    Lehman’s Morbid Legacy

    Aug 27, 2013 Mohamed A. El-Erian

  6. The Global QE Exit Crisis

    The Global QE Exit Crisis

    Aug 26, 2013 Stephen S. Roach

  1. gelfand4_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_trump_gesture Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    It’s Time to Abandon Trump’s Flawed Negotiation Playbook

    Michele Gelfand points out that the best dealmakers strive for win-win outcomes, not zero-sum Pyrrhic victories.
  2. bajraktari3_NICOLAS TUCATAFP via Getty Images_fusionreactor Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

    America’s Last Chance to Lead in Fusion Energy

    Ylli Bajraktari warns that China's domination of the sector would give it massive economic and geopolitical leverage.
  3. rogoff260_ STRAFP via Getty Images_chinarealestate STR/AFP via Getty Images

    China Can’t Spend Its Way Out of Trouble

    Kenneth Rogoff

    China’s prolonged reliance on fiscal stimulus has distorted economic incentives, fueling a housing glut, a collapse in prices, and spiraling public debt. With further stimulus off the table, the only sustainable path is for the central government to relinquish more economic power to local governments and the private sector.

    argues that the country’s problems can be traced back to its response to the 2008 financial crisis.
  4. mohieldin33_Xie EXinhuaGettyImages_guterres_debt_report Xie E/Xinhua/Getty Images

    This UN Debt Initiative Is Different

    Mahmoud Mohieldin, et al. tout an Expert Group’s efforts to prevent a full-blown solvency crisis in developing countries.
  5. fbirol4_UCGGettyImages_south_africa_power_grid UCG/Getty Images

    What African Electrification Requires

    Fatih Birol & Alain Ebobissé highlight the need for greater private-sector participation to boost investments in power grids.
  6. nye268_John MooreGetty Images_trumpUN John Moore/Getty Images

    How World Order Changes

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

    World order is a matter of degree: it varies over time, depending on technological, political, social, and ideological factors that can affect the global distribution of power and influence norms. It can be radically altered both by broader historical trends and by a single major power's blunders.

    examines the role of evolving power dynamics and norms in bringing about stable arrangements among states.
  7. buruma226_Picture AllianceGettyImages_tel _aviv_antiwar_protests Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Israel’s Blind Spot

    Ian Buruma explains the lack of sympathy, even among the country’s many anti-war protesters, for Palestinian suffering.
  8. sirimanne1_Visual China Group via Getty ImagesVisual China Group via Getty Images_robotelderly Visual China Group via Getty Images

    Will AI Close or Widen the Development Gap?

    Shamika Sirimanne & Xiaolan Fu call for multilateral action and grassroots pressure to ensure that the technology serves all countries.
  9. dickinsongoodman1_DrAfter123Getty Images_datasurveillance DrAfter123/Getty Images

    Don’t Let Governments Break Encryption

    Jessica Dickinson Goodman & Ezequiel Passeron Kitroser urge citizens and lawmakers to fight for the privacy that previous generations took for granted.

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