The Theory and Practice of Bailouts

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Host: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Bailouts are the order of the day. The current series started in England with the British government bailing out Northern Rock, a mortgage lender experiencing a run. Then, in this country, came Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and AIG, followed by a plan for a gigantic Treasury Department hedge fund of mortgage-backed securities.
Conceptually and historically, how should we think about government bailouts in times of financial panic or crisis? Are there patterns of successful versus unsuccessful interventions? What are the practical problems to consider? How will we get the bailout interventions to end? These and other relevant questions will be discussed by AEI economists Adam Lerrick and John H. Makin; Allan Mendelowitz, a director of the Federal Housing Finance Board; and Carmen M. Reinhart, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland. AEI’s Alex J. Pollock will moderate.