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Financial Innovation, the Discovery of Risk, and the U.S. Credit Crisis

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  • Enrique G. Mendoza
  • Emine Boz

Abstract

Uncertainty about the riskiness of new financial products was an important factor behind the U.S. credit crisis. We show that a boom-bust cycle in debt, asset prices and consumption characterizes the equilibrium dynamics of a model with a collateral constraint in which agents learn 'by observation' the true riskiness of a new financial environment. Early realizations of states with high ability to leverage assets into debt turn agents optimistic about the persistence of a high-leverage regime. The model accounts for 69 percent of the household debt buildup and 53 percent of the rise in housing prices during 1997-2006, predicting a collapse in 2007.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by International Monetary Fund in its series IMF Working Papers with number 10/164.

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Length: 59
Date of creation: 01 Jul 2010
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:10/164

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  1. Marco E. Terrones & Enrique G. Mendoza & Ceyhun Bora Durdu, 2008. "Precautionary Demand for Foreign Assets in Sudden Stop Economies: An Assessment of the New Mercantilism," 2008 Meeting Papers 56, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  2. Bianchi, Javier, 2009. "Overborrowing and Systemic Externalities in the Business Cycle," MPRA Paper 16270, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  3. Jeffrey R. Campbell & Zvi Hercowitz, 2006. "Welfare implications of the transition to high household debt," Working Paper Series WP-06-27, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
  4. Javier Bianchi & Emine Boz & Enrique G. Mendoza, 2012. "Macro-prudential Policy in a Fisherian Model of Financial Innovation," IMF Working Papers 12/181, International Monetary Fund.
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  10. Emine Boz & Christian Daude & C. Bora Durdu, 2011. "Emerging Market Business Cycles Revisited: Learning about the Trend," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 1110, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
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  21. Enrique G. Mendoza, 2010. "Sudden Stops, Financial Crises, and Leverage," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 1941-66, December.
  22. Emine Boz, 2009. "Can Miracles Lead to Crises? The Role of Optimism in Emerging Markets Crises," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(6), pages 1189-1215, 09.
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Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Financial Innovation, the Discovery of Risk, and the U.S. Credit Crisis
    by Christian Zimmermann in NEP-DGE blog on 2010-08-03 03:20:21
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Cited by:
  1. Enrique G. Mendoza & Marco E. Terrones, 2012. "An Anatomy of Credits Booms and their Demise," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 15(2), pages 04-32, August.
  2. Sudipto Bhattacharya & Charles Goodhart & Dimitrios Tsomocos & Alexandros Vardoulakis, 2011. "Minsky’s Financial Instability Hypothesis and the Leverage Cycle," FMG Special Papers sp202, Financial Markets Group.
  3. Pei Kuang, 2013. "Imperfect Knowledge about Asset Prices and Credit Cycles," Discussion Papers 13-02, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
  4. Vincenzo Quadrini, 2011. "Financial frictions in macroeconomic fluctations," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue 3Q, pages 209-254.
  5. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2012. "The Research Agenda: Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh on Housing and the Macroeconomy," EconomicDynamics Newsletter, Review of Economic Dynamics, vol. 13(2), April.
  6. Alejandro Justiniano & Giorgio E. Primiceri & Andrea Tambalotti, 2013. "Household Leveraging and Deleveraging," NBER Working Papers 18941, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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