Loop of Financial Doom

November 13, 2009 at 6:06 pm (Economics) (, , )

For the authorities, [excessive risk-taking by the financial sector] poses a dilemma. Ex-ante, they may well say “never again.” But the ex-post costs of crisis mean such a statement lacks credibility. Knowing this, the rational response by market participants is to double their bets. This adds to the cost of future crises. And the larger these costs, the lower the credibility of “never again” announcements. This is a doom loop.

Banking on the State, Piergiorgio Alessandri & Andrew G Haldane

H/T: The Baseline Scenario

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