The Worst Article Title by an Economist about the Crisis

[Jefferson23]

Posted on February 20, 2015 by William Black

This column discusses the most embarrassing title of an economic study of the U.S. financial crisis. It rivals the most embarrassing title of an economic study of the Icelandic crisis.

“The 2010 Academy Award-winning documentary Inside Job tells how [Frederic] Mishkin changed the name of the study from ‘Financial Stability in Iceland’ to ‘Financial Instability in Iceland’ on his curriculum vitae.”

Geetesh Bhardwaj of AIG Financial Products and Rajdeep Sengupta, a St. Louis Fed economist, entitled their September/October 2008 article: “Where’s the Smoking Gun? A Study of Underwriting Standards for US Subprime Mortgages.”

Earth to AIG Financial Products: You are the “Smoking Gun”

Indeed, you’re the billowing trench mortar that was about to blow up the global economy by defaulting on hundreds of billions of dollars in Credit Default Swaps (CDS) at the time your economist finished the article.

in full: http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2015/02/the-worst-article-title-by-an-economist-about-the-crisis.html

[leveymg]

1. As an editor at Barrons explained to me, "It doesn't matter if you're right. What's important

is making the reader believe he learned something without discomforting his preconceptions too much." This was right after the 2000 dot.com blowout, which I had written several months before was a bubble waiting to happen in another financial publication.

Wall Street doesn't want to be discomforted. But, crises and loss is perfectly okay for the rest of us. Makes us work harder for less.

[Jefferson23]

2. For all the bogus things we crminalize, this area of deceipt gets a pass.

Standards are abominable and costly to a democracy, too often.

[leveymg]

3. Little lies between people are Fraud; Big Lies taught to millions are Economics.

[Jefferson23]

4. Yes, unfortunately. I was not aware Axelrod takes shots at Summers and Geithner in his book,

that was a pleasant surprise.

[hatrack]

5. That's a really good article - too long for tonight, but will return!

Thanks!

[Jefferson23]

6. You're most welcome.