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A Retrospective Look at Rescuing and Restructuring General Motors and Chrysler

Author

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  • Austan D. Goolsbee
  • Alan B. Krueger

Abstract

The rescue of the US automobile industry amid the 2008-2009 recession and financial crisis was a consequential, controversial, and difficult decision made at a fraught moment for the US economy. Both of us were involved in the decision process at the time, but since have moved back to academia. More than five years have passed since the bailout began, and it is timely to look back at this unusual episode of economic policymaking to consider what we got right, what we got wrong, and why. In this article, we describe the events that brought two of the largest industrial companies in the world to seek a bailout from the US government, the analysis that was used to evaluate the decision (including what the alternatives were and whether a rescue would even work), the steps that were taken to rescue and restructure General Motors and Chrysler, and the performance of the US auto industry since the bailout. We close with general lessons to be learned from the episode.

Suggested Citation

  • Austan D. Goolsbee & Alan B. Krueger, 2015. "A Retrospective Look at Rescuing and Restructuring General Motors and Chrysler," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(2), pages 3-24, Spring.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:29:y:2015:i:2:p:3-24
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.29.2.3
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    Cited by:

    1. Fazel-Zarandi, Mohammad M. & Horstmann, Ignatius & Mathewson, Frank, 2021. "Can Firms Benefit From Competition?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Nelly Exbrayat & Thierry Madiès & Stéphane Riou, 2020. "A Simple Model of Corporate Bailouts in a Globalized Economy," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(4), pages 1575-1605, October.
    3. David Rezza Baqaee, 2018. "Cascading Failures in Production Networks," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 86(5), pages 1819-1838, September.
    4. Adam R. Fremeth & Guy L. F. Holburn & Brian K. Richter, 2016. "Bridging Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Organizational Research: Applications of Synthetic Control Methodology in the U.S. Automobile Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 462-482, April.
    5. Efraim Benmelech & Ralf R. Meisenzahl & Rodney Ramcharan, 2017. "The Real Effects of Liquidity During the Financial Crisis: Evidence from Automobiles," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(1), pages 317-365.
    6. Peter Temin, 2015. "The American Dual Economy: Race, Globalization, and the Politics of Exclusion," Working Papers Series 26, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    7. Doremus, Jacqueline & Helfand, Gloria & Liu, Changzheng & Donahue, Marie & Kahan, Ari & Shelby, Michael, 2019. "Simpler is better: Predicting consumer vehicle purchases in the short run," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1404-1415.
    8. Howes, Cooper, 2022. "Why does structural change accelerate in recessions? The credit reallocation channel," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(3), pages 933-952.
    9. A.V. Govorova, 2023. "History and Paradoxes of the Chinese Car Market: Eastern Strategies and the Asian Regulator," Studies on Russian Economic Development, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 150-158, February.
    10. Metrick, Andrew, 2022. "The Rescue of the US Auto Industry, Module Z:Overview," Journal of Financial Crises, Yale Program on Financial Stability (YPFS), vol. 4(1), pages 300-367, April.
    11. Ryan A. Decker & Robert J. Kurtzman & Byron F. Lutz & Christopher J. Nekarda, 2021. "Across the Universe: Policy Support for Employment and Revenue in the Pandemic Recession," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 267-271, May.
    12. Martin Krzywdzinski, 2021. "Automation, digitalization, and changes in occupational structures in the automobile industry in Germany, Japan, and the United States: a brief history from the early 1990s until 2018 [Managing fle," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 30(3), pages 499-535.
    13. Nye, Alexander, 2022. "The Rescue of the US Auto Industry, Module A: Automotive Bridge Loans," Journal of Financial Crises, Yale Program on Financial Stability (YPFS), vol. 4(1), pages 49-92, April.
    14. Lyndon Moore & Gertjan Verdickt, 2022. "Railroad Bailouts in the Great Depression," Papers 2205.13025, arXiv.org, revised May 2023.
    15. Bo Xiong, 2017. "The implications of US punitive tariffs on Chinese tires for rubber exports from South-East Asia," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 575-586, October.
    16. Sima M. Fortsch & Jeong Hoon Choi & Elena A. Khapalova, 2022. "Competition can help predict sales," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(2), pages 331-344, March.
    17. Jonathan Doh & Pawan Budhwar & Geoffrey Wood, 2021. "Long-term energy transitions and international business: Concepts, theory, methods, and a research agenda," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(5), pages 951-970, July.
    18. David Leuwer & Bernd Süssmuth, 2018. "Assessing Temporary Product-Specific Subsidies: A Time Series Intervention Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 6946, CESifo.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • H81 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Governmental Loans; Loan Guarantees; Credits; Grants; Bailouts
    • L62 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Automobiles; Other Transportation Equipment; Related Parts and Equipment

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