Planet Money; NPR, Sept 10, 2009
The dramatic collapse of financial markets in the fall of 2008 captivated the world’s attention and sent the stock market reeling. But the collapse of financial markets was a symptom of a more troubling underlying condition: U.S. households dramatically increased their leverage, or debt, from 2001 to 2007. Our research suggests that the historic growth in household debt preceding the financial crisis was the primary driver of the onset and deepening of the current recession.
