What Went Wrong? David Wessel Weighs In
Over the next few months, Big Think is rolling out a series of interviews with leading economics experts to analyze the financial crisis and answer some pressing questions: Who’s to blame? Where do we go from here? Today’s interview is with David Wessel, economics editor of the Wall Street Journal and author of the recent bestseller, In Fed We Trust: Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic.
He talks about the culprits behind the crisis, Ben Bernanke’s performance, what might have been, and the role of the media in provoking and analyzing the crisis. We’ve asked a network of top economics bloggers to provide some questions for the interviews, as well as weigh in on the answers each week:
Economist’s View – Mark Thoma, Professor of Economics, University of Oregon
Economics One – John B. Taylor, Professor of Economics, Stanford University and former Undersecretary for International Affairs, U.S. Treasury Department
The New Republic’s The Stash– Noam Scheiber
The New Yorker’s The Balance Sheet –James Surowiecki – Columnist, and author of bestseller The Wisdom of Crowds
Marginal Revolution – Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics, George Mason University
Reuters Finance, Felix Salmon
The American Prospect’s Beat the Press – Dean Baker, Professor of Economics, Bucknell University and Co-Director, Center for Economic Policy Research
The Money Illusion – Scott Sumner, Professor of Economics, Bentley University
Café Hayek – Russ Roberts, Professor of Economics, George Mason University and a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution
The Atlantic’s Atlantic Business Channel– Dan Indiviglio
The Fly Bottle – Will Wilkinson, Research Fellow, Cato Institute
The Big Questions – Steven Landsburg – Professor of Economics, University of Rochester and Columnist, Slate
Econlog – Arnold Kling, Adjunct Professor of Economics, George Mason University and former employee of both Freddie Mac and the Federal Reserve
The Atlantic’sAsymmetrical Information – Megan McArdle, Managing Editor, The Atlantic
Causes of the Crisis – Jeff Friedman, Visiting Professor of Political Science, University of Texas and Founding Editor, Critical Review,
National Review’sThe Corner/The American Scene – Jim Manzi – Chief Executive Officer, Applied Predictive Technologies
The Economist’sFree Exchange/The Bellows – Ryan Avent, Online Editor, The Economist
Naked Capitalism – Yves Smith, President of Aurora Advisors, and former employee of both Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Co.
