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Foundation Damage: The 2008 Subprime-Mortgage Meltdown
Publication Date: January 2008
Publisher(s): Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace
Author(s): Gary S. Becker
Series: Hoover Digest
Topic: Economics (Economic policy, planning, and development)
Government (Public administration)
Keywords: Mortgage Crisis; Economy
Type: Report
Coverage: United States
Abstract:
People who succeed in shifting the responsibility for bad decisions onto others, and to society more generally, create a “moral hazard” in behavior. A foundation of the philosophy behind the arguments for private enterprise, free economies, and free societies is that these societies rely on and require individual decision making and responsibility.
What, if anything, should governments do to help out in this crisis, staying aware of the many kinds of moral hazards that lurk but also noting that the financial structure is delicately balanced? Interventionist policies might be justified to help the economy recover more quickly and ensure that the recession is neither prolonged nor deep.