research topics on financial crisis

Financial Crisis

The Financial Crisis

Financial Data Tools

Articles and Papers

Monetary Policy and the Crisis
Historical Perspectives on the Crisis
What Caused the Crisis
The Role of Subprime Mortgages
Possible Solutions

Find relevant information and resources about the major financial events and policy actions during the financial crisis of 2007-2009. View a financial crisis timeline , financial crisis data , and references to relevant articles and papers .

155 Financial Crisis Essays & Examples

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🏆 top financial crisis essay examples, 💰 financial crisis essay topics, 👍 financial crisis research paper topics, 🏧 exciting financial essay topics, 📑 financial crisis topics for essays, ❓ research questions about financial crisis.

A financial crisis means massive depreciation of financial assets. It usually happens in the forms of banking, currency, and debt crises. Though the issue is studied well, financial crises still occur in various parts of the world.

In your finance crisis essay, you might want to focus on financial management in turbulent periods. Another idea is to discuss what it takes to survive a global financial crisis. One more option is to compare various types of financial crises. Whether you are assigned an argumentative essay, analytical paper, or research proposal, this article will be helpful. Here we’ve collected financial crisis research paper topics, current essay titles, writing tips, and financial crisis essay samples.

The financial system and its components
The role of investors in the financial system
Personal, corporate, and public finance
Financial risk management
Quantitative finance and financial engineering
Behavioral finance: the psychology of investors
Early history of finance
History and development of money
Experimental finance and its goals
Mathematical modeling in financial markets analysis
2008 Financial Crisis in Dubai In order to address the collapse in the real estate market observed in Dubai in 2008, the Emirate’s authorities focused on elaborating stricter regulations on developers of the housing projects and on the buyers. 26 […]
Impact of World Financial Crisis on the UAE Economy The decline in economic growth was reflected in the significant reduction in the country’s GDP. However, the profitability and growth of the sector reduced substantially in 2009 due to the following factors.
Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 in ‘The Big Short’ Movie Michael predicted that it would devaluate mortgage bonds and, therefore, decided to short the housing market, that is, to bet on the market crash.
General Electric and the Financial Crisis of 2008 Although GE’s success is often attributed to the significant amount of financial assets that the company has, it owes its survival through the 2008 crisis to the careful and well-thought-out plan of investing in the […]
Apple and Hewlett Packard During 2008 Financial Crisis Though the general demand has not reached the level it was before the crisis, many companies have taken advantage of the rising demand and have made tremendous sales. However, the company has increased its spending […]
Causes and Solutions of the 2008 Financial Crisis The current essay describes the causes of the Financial Crisis of 2008 and the solutions suggested by the Keynesian school of thought.
British Airways Performance and Global Financial Crisis This paper analyzes the performance of British Airways’ leadership in the wake of the global financial crisis. BA CityFlyer, which is a subsidiary of the British Airways, dominates operations in the London municipality airport.
Argentina’s Financial Crisis: A Critical Review of Causes and Effects The unprecedented expansion in the country’s markets and economy at large was attributed to the rise in agricultural exports. The country’s economy was heading in the right direction following the introduction of the convertibility system.
Global Financial Crisis Causes and Impacts After a number of years since the first occurrence of the crisis, it is still not possible to explain fully the impact of the global financial crisis because the economic emergency keeps on hindering and […]
Social Distancing, Financial Crisis and Mental Health The lockdown leads to the inability of people to go to the hospital for mental health consultation and treatment due to the anti-COVID measures. It is possible to talk about the spread of mental health […]
Aspects of the 2008 Financial Crisis According to Eisinger, none of the participants in the story in the film had any idea of the coming crisis. One of the connections between the film and the textbook is that of corporate social […]
Essential Points From the Financial Crisis The first important point on slide 10 is the failure to penalize the originator for passing the mortgage to the provider.
Argentina and Russia’s Financial Crisis Investors’ loss of faith in the Russian economy caused them to sell their Russian holdings, lowering the value of the Russian rouble and raising fears of a financial crisis.
Ethical Questions in the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis What followed was an investigation of the genesis of the crisis, which revealed that catastrophic failure in oversight, the systemic weakening of usury laws, and outright thuggery by banks and mortgage salespeople were the major […]
The 2008 Financial Crisis and Housing Policies Under the State Department of Housing and Urban Development, the government introduced the Section 8 Voucher. The function of this voucher was to meet the gap between what the renters would get and the actual […]
2008 Financial Crisis from a Neoliberal Perspective While such a position seems reasonable, the overall adherence of the financial system, including accounting and auditing, contributed to the crisis due to the unbearable level of loans and fictitious assets dominating the business.
Corporate Social Capital During Financial Crisis The credit crisis related to the mortgage problem in 2008 has been one of the massive financial issues of the world since the times of the Great Depression.
2008 Global Financial Crisis in Andrew Sorkin’s “Too Big to Fail” The book Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System from Crisis and Themselves, written by Andrew Ross Sorkin, explores the events and consequences […]
Financial Crisis in Greece It is doubtless that the value of money is essential in determining a number of factors like the stability of the economy and inflation.
The Euro Financial Crisis Causes and Outcomes The involvement of the central banks of is an attempt to demonstrate that all the central bankers are collaborating. The Euro crisis has exarcebated the currency swap process as it is now more expensive to […]
The 2007 Financial Crisis: Development of the Prices of Shares, Corporate Bonds and Loans The crippling of the financial system in the US and the UK in the period beginning late 2007 was a product of crippling loans.
Challenges Facing College Sports After Financial Crisis When the housing bubble caused financial depression in the national economy, colleges and universities were some of the most affected institutions, especially because the state and federal legislatures were forced to cut funding, the major […]
How Money Market Mutual Funds Contributed to the 2008 Financial Crisis While how the prices of shares fell below the set $1 per share was a complex process, it became one of the greatest systemic risks posed by the MMMF to the investors and the economy […]
How Quantitative Models Contribute to the Financial Crisis The motivation behind this study lies in the desire to understand why and how the economies of many countries around the world, especially in the Middle East, have been shaken to the core by the […]
South Africa’s Response to Global Financial Crisis Desire to the achieve objective that duly fulfils the needs of an individual while being disadvantageous to the majority of individuals led to the crisis.
Manifestations of the Financial Crisis in Greece The bank which is also affected by the crisis will also exaggerate the cost of this operation and this leads to a loss on my side.
Global Financial Crisis Impact on Multi-Nationals The credit crisis was linked to the sub-prime mortgage business. So as to encourage lending, the interest rates were also lowered credibly.
Qantas’ Actions in the Financial Crisis Context The actions taken by Qantas in reducing their costs can be said to be influenced by the global financial crisis, where the decline of the number of passengers in September 2009 was 0.
Prospects for Chindia After 2008 Global Financial Crisis According to the Australian business press, the recent economic growth achieved was a result of the relationship between itself and the two countries i.e. However, China experienced a hitch on its international markets especially in […]
The Global Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Australia The collapse of key institutions in the US and other economies in the world has people scurrying back to the drawing board in a bid to rethink economic policy and regulation strategies.
The Investment Industry in Kuwait Today (During Financial Crisis) One of the confessions was that the investment authority of Kuwait otherwise known as would not be in a position to provide financial support that would assist in the restoration of confidence that was already […]
The Financial Crisis on the UK Economy Analyze the causes and the impact of the current financial crisis on the UK economy. Due to the above-trend growth in 2006 and 2007, activity needs to be slow.
Financial Crisis Management in the United Nations A crisis can be defined as the perception of an abnormal situation that is beyond the capability of the business and its scope to deal with.
Lehman Brothers and the 2008 Financial Crisis As a result, when the management of the bank expected assistance from other firms and the Bank of America, it did not receive the help it needed.
Global Financial Crisis and Real Estate Issues The central point of the argument is that the real estate market in the US and the policy called “trailer park lending” was the main reason for the worldwide economic crisis.
2008 Global Financial Crisis: Crises of Capitalism? Although I had an idea of the possible catalysts of the 2008 global financial meltdown before watching the video, Harvey presented a clear report of the events that occurred before the crisis and put them […]
Corporate Government During the World Financial Crisis The chairman is the leader of the board of directors while the CEO is the person who oversees the day to day activities of the company; each of them performs a distinct and critical role […]
Corporate Governance During the Global Financial Crisis The chairman of the board of directors is the leader of both the board and the company whereas the CEO is the person who oversees the day-to-day activities of the company.
Nucor Corporation After Financial Crisis in the US However, in 2009, the company made the largest loss in its history of $299 million; the loss was the first annual loss since 1966. The depreciated purchasing power parity of the people in 2009 is […]
Global Financial Crisis and Its Ethical Causes The reason for this is simple the analysis of what had brought about this particular financial crisis and what accounted for the subtleties of its extrication points out to an undeniable fact that it was […]
Economic Shocks and Financial Crisis in Kuwait At the year 2008, the intensity of the crisis was at the peak, causing oil prices which led to a decrease in production and drop in GDP of Kuwait.
Financial Crisis of 2008 Economics specialists have argued that the global financial crisis of 2008 was caused by a combination of factors, including the abundance of cheap credits in the macroeconomic environment as well as counterproductive decision-making in governments […]
Banking Instability During the Global Financial Crisis Though the combination of aspects that resulted in the banking instability in the course of the global financial crisis had never been witnessed previously, the shift from extreme risk-taking to fiscal chaos was a common […]
Rotana Company’s Financial Crisis and Culture This statement can be seen as being true to the values of the company and how it addressed the issues caused by the 2008 financial crisis.
British and Dutch Banks After 2008 Financial Crisis Many countries utilised the opportunity of the crisis to work on improving corporate governance and leadership to avoid similar crises in the future.
The Global Financial Crisis and Its Impacts In addition, a case of a company is studied to evaluate the impact of GFC on a particular firm, and consider the capability of the firm to survive the crisis.
The Global Financial Crisis and Its Effect The latest global financial crisis managed to restart a debate on the value of both the stakeholder as well as shareholder theories. This led to the managers being more attentive to the prices of the […]
Australian Banks in the Global Financial Crisis To understand how Australian banks managed the GFC, it is essential to pay attention to the very structure of its banking.
Financial Crisis and Great Recession Causality The financial crisis is typically viewed as a primary factor behind the development of the Great Recession. Instead, the financial crisis of 2008 can be deemed a prerequisite of the Great Recession as well as […]
Financial Crisis in Ferguson’s “The Ascent of Money” By Ferguson, the main purpose of the historian is to relieve humanity from the financial illusions on the examples of the past.
Global Financial Crisis and Regulatory Responses In the aftermath of the crisis, the government through the Federal Reserve embarked on a mission to restore these financial institutions to their original position.
Reasons and Consistency of the Financial Crisis 2007-2008 The financial crisis that occurred in 2007-2008 is frequently defined as one of the major financial events at the beginning of the 2000s.
The Shadow Banking System: Financial Crisis Source The so-called shadow banking system, comprised of numerous institutions operating outside the regulated banking system, has undoubtedly contributed greatly to the emergence of the latest global financial crisis.
Financial Crisis and Its Impact on UAE Construction The determination of this research is to evaluate the enactment of construction corporations in the United Arab Emirates for the period of the pre and post worldwide eras of financial disaster, which is from 2006 […]
1997 Asian Financial Crisis and Its Consequences Beja explores the impacts the crisis had on these countries and the outcomes that occurred years after the end of the crisis.
American Financial Crisis and Its Prevention The interviewee brings about the idea of bureaucracy and political aspects that contributed to the problem, highlighting the corruption and ineffectiveness in the government when bailing out the institutions.
West Midlands Designers and Architects Ltd: Financial Crisis The second option, which is by merit, will favor the company’s future and also acceptable by a number of the current employees.
Financial Crisis of 2008 and Consumer Behavior Although the main cause of the global financial crisis that began in 2007 was the bursting of the housing bubble, economists largely agree that the ensuing recession was the outcome of a combination of several […]
Financial Crisis of 2007-2008: Laws and Policies Nevertheless, one should not assume that the absence of legal safeguards is the only factor that led to this crisis since it is necessary to consider the development of the economy and lack of internal […]
Financial Crisis in Greece: Origin and Aspects This essay seeks to establish the nature and origin of the crisis, Greece’s advantages and disadvantages in the Eurozone, and Greece’s fiscal policy.
Austerity Measures after of the World Financial Crisis That is why it becomes obvious that there is a great need in some austerity measures whose main aim is to overcome the results of the world financial crisis and guarantee the stability of the […]
US Financial Crisis Hit and Its Economy Effect He is an economist and runs a column in the Atlantic magazine on financial matters in the U.S. The article is by Lee Don, a columnist, and journalist in the U.
The 2008 Financial Crisis In September 2008, the two giant mortgage companies faced the danger of bankruptcy as they had guaranteed close to half of the total mortgages in the US.
Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the World The recent global financial crisis happened between the years 2007 and 2008 that was a serious threat to the financial markets in the United States and the rest of the world.
Effects of Hedge Funds on the Global Financial Crisis The article titled “Do not Blame Hedge Funds for Financial Crisis, Study Says,” in 19th September 2012 issue of the The Wall Street Journal, attempts to remove the hedge fund from blame in the global […]
Role of International Financial Institutions in 2008 Financial Crisis Even more disappointing is the fact that the financial regulatory standards that were in place were unable to anticipate and therefore avert the ramifications of the financial crisis before it happened as should have been […]
Global Financial Crisis: Corruption and Transparency Due to the large number of the emerging markets, the global financial regulators lacked a proper mechanism to handle the situation.
Managing Financial Crises In this line, the financial institutions would have distributed the risk to all the stakeholders. The involvement of many players in the management systems of banks makes it out rightly difficult to blame banks for […]
‘What Went Wrong? An Initial Inquiry into the Causes of the 2008 Financial Crisis’ Additionally, failures at the managerial group also resulted in the crash as it led to a re evaluation of the cost of the agencies by the investors.
Training and Skills Development Programs vs. the Global Financial Crisis The Level of education influences the rate of unemployment in an economy. The increase in gross domestic products is attributed to levels of education and employment.
The Worst of the Global Financial Crisis Is Still To Come Therefore, considering the numerous flaws that exist in the global economic system and the fact that, most governments have deviated from addressing the real causes of the global financial crisis; hence, formulate strategies of avoiding […]
The Financial Crisis Impacts on East Asian States The policy response to the currency crisis later led to a crisis in the financial institutions. The financial crisis was similar to the crisis that hit Mexico in 1995 and the difference was only on […]
States regulatory response to the current financial crisis Having been cited by the International Monetary Fund as the leading contributor towards the world economy in 2007, the onset of the financial crisis meant economic disaster to the state.
Financial Risk Management: Based on the 2008 Global Financial Crisis While it is believed that the U.S.subprime mortgage market might have prompted the occurrence of the global financial crisis, the primary cause of the crisis was founded on the flawed institutional practices and the instability […]
The global financial crisis of 2008 The magnitude and the level of disruption of the global economies have led to speculation of various causes that has contributed to its occurrence.
Carolina Panthers Financial Crisis While it was expected that the team could lose its operating income because of the losses it went through last season, the team emerged as one of the teams that profited greatly in the 2010/2011 […]
EU Financial Crisis: Risk Management Failures This is for example over- dependence on: the capability of managers to create returns.the merits of financial innovation in efficiently spreading returns and risks in the market, the sufficiency of data and models used for […]
Public Discourse under the Financial Crisis in the U.S and Canada The number of people that lost their jobs, the number of companies that ran into bankruptcy and dwindled in self-destruction through foreclosures and closures, the amount of money that was pumped into the economy by […]
Impacts of Financial crisis on Bahrain Impacts of financial crisis on the country’s economy have accelerated debate within the mainstream of economics and many market analysts have devised economic stimulus plan to confront the crisis.
Effect of Global financial crisis on the Gulf Countries The financial crisis which hit the US in the late months of the year 2007 have over time spread to almost all other countries in the world.
Cultural Change at Texaco and Financial Crisis The most important and influential challenge was the opportunity to solve the questions of exclusion and discrimination of the minorities and women from the company’s workforce in such high status posts like management.
After the 2007-2010 Financial Crisis: Across the Chaos and Destruction to the Universal Order Because of the half-baked decisions concerning the integration in the Eurozone had been taken, the Great Britain had to sign the agreement with Brussels concerning the further economical steps, which is likely to drive to […]
Global Financial Crisis Problems This paper discusses the problem created by the global financial crisis and assesses the viability of the courses of actions taken to counter the problem.
Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2010 In particular, it has shown that many financial institutions are too much dependent on one another, and the collapse of one organization can result in the collapse of the entire system.
Eurozone Financial Crisis Henceforth, an analysis is drawn of the causes of crisis in the Eurozone. In addition, the effect of this Eurozone crisis did spread to other countries.
East Asian Financial Crisis Analysts have argued that the inherent problem with the approach in the region, especially in Japan, was primarily due to much involvement of the government in guiding the free economy.
The Financial Crisis Causes: Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection The consequences were similar in most parts of the world with the main indicators being debt crises, high unemployment rates, a reduction in the number of home ownership facilities and the demand for the same, […]
East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98 However, the quick actives responses by the states in the region helped in the quick aversion of the crisis and its impacts on the region’s economy.
American Financial Crisis It discussed the underlying causes of the crisis and the impact it has had on the economy of the United States.
Short-term decisions lead to the emergence of the global financial crisis Over the years, since the great depression in the 1930’s, the role of management seems to have diverted significantly from expectations as illustrated by the global financial crisis.
Spain’s Financial Crisis The disproportionate growth in the real estate sector, coupled with the expansion of credit needed to finance it, is at the basis of the economic imbalances.
Minsky’s Economic volatility theory as an evaluation of Financial Crisis The modern Marxist, FSA, and organizational Keynesian perspectives associate the causes of the financial slow down with the implementation of the liberal development framework in 1970s when the “Accord of Detroit” development framework was ditched.
The Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 The two key sectors that take the blame for the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 are the financial sector and the real estate industry.
Global Financial Crisis Initially, the collapse of AIG, the under-performance of Fallie Mac and Fannie Mac and the merging of the Bank of America and the Merrill Lynch were the start point of the financial problems in the […]
Global Financial Crisis of the United States Mortgage Industry The deterioration of economies called for government to take fast and immediate measures to rescue their nations; the United Nations for instance had to make policies that protected its local industry from the adverse effects […]
What Caused the 2008 Financial Crisis in the USA? The opposite trends in the cost of mortgage credit and the housing prices also made the home owners participate more in the market since the risk of default was much lower.
The Global Financial Crisis and Capitalism for the Elite Rich This Ideology adopted by many if not all of the western nations upholds the private ownership of business and institutions and the owners of these entities are allowed to spread out as much as they […]
The UK Banking Practice That Led to Financial Crisis Crisis of the magnitude that was experienced is a real threat to the economy of any country and it is imperative for people to learn as much as they can to avoid the circumstance that […]
The effect of global financial crisis on Saudi Arabian economy The countries stability of the banking sector was also seen in the change in banking activities over the period of global financial crisis, the country recorded the worst banking growth rate in the years between […]
The effect of the global financial crisis on political and financial risks The negative effects of the global financial crisis have been felt in most parts of the world i.e.in the advanced countries, the emerging markets and in the developing world.
Global Trade During the Financial Crisis (from 2006 to 2010) Each of the major trade regions of the world seemed to concentrate more on a given branch of trade and give their outputs to the rest of the world.
Global Financial Crisis Impact on Australian and World Economies After affecting the banking and credit sectors in the US, the global crisis slowly crept to other countries and in the process became a world crisis.
International Finance. Main Causes of Recent Financial Crisis One of the specific factors that can be attributed to the recent international financial crisis was the loss on housing mortgage loans due to the decline of mortgage prices in the market.
The 2008 global financial crisis Soros asserts that whereas the U.S.subprime mortgage market is believed to have prompted the current financial crisis, the basis of the crisis derived from the flawed practices and institutions of the current financial system.
Benefits of the Old Fashioned Business Models in the light of Global financial Crisis The purpose of this essay is to establish the benefits and drawbacks of old fashioned business models in the light of global financial crisis with reference to Airdrie bank of Lanarkshire in the UK.
The Recent Financial Crisis The financial crisis has been considered by most economists to be the worst crisis since the Great Depression as it contributed to the failure of major financial institutions in the U.S.and the decline of consumer […]
Turkey’s 2000-2001 Financial Crisis The first crisis began at the early 90’s while the second began at the beginning of the 21st century. This led to the collapse of the exchange rate and the beginning of the country’s second […]
The 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis This growth was associated with “inflow of investments, improvements in technology, increases in education, a ready supply of labor as people moved from the countryside to the cities to work in factories, and reduced restrictions […]
Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the Healthcare Industry The global financial crisis threatened to lead to the total breakdown of the global economy. The global financial crisis reduced the funding of that the healthcare facilities received from the government.
Changes in Financial Markets and it impact on Recent Financial Crisis Due to the above reason, this study seeks to examine the reasons behind the changes in financial markets during the last 30 years and the role of these changes in the recent financial crisis.
Cause of the Financial Crisis The reason for this is quite apparent it was namely the Democrats’ preoccupation with ‘combating poverty’ that resulted in passing of the infamous Community Reinvestment Act and in reinforcing its provisions through the course of […]
Disadvantages of Developed Country (America) When 2008 Financial Crisis However, the scholars do not singly use this as a reason of terming a country as being developed but also adds on to the fact that people in that country should be having the freedom […]
The Global Financial Crisis Every entity is faced with the inevitable reality of making financial decisions in the following departments; investment for instance where to open shop, dividends for example whether or not to pay and when, working capital […]
Theories on Causes of Financial Crisis A financial system shock disrupted the situation and the prices of the houses fell and many people could not pay their loans.
Wesfarmers Limited and the Global Financial Crisis In order to put into perspective the effect of the GFC, we shall study the profitability of the firm from 2007 to 2010.
Regulation in the Financial Crisis 2008 While numerous claims have been put forth to explain the causes of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, there is almost a universal agreement that the major causes of the financial crisis was the combination of a […]
The 2008 Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences Foster and Magdoff Perspective of 2008 Financial Crisis Foster and Magdoff theory that attempts to explain the 2008 financial crisis attributes it to broader factors of monopoly finance capitalism which is a function of a […]
Ethical Aspects of the Financial Crisis Yet, they would agree that to some degree, the origins of the financial crisis can be traced to the immoral behavior of some individuals who attempted to maximize their own benefits of at the expense […]
Is Globalization the Main Culprit for the 2008 Global Financial Crisis? Globalization has eroded the powers and the sovereignty of the state, the role of the state to regulate and to steer forward the economy has been largely ignored at the expense of the market, these […]
The Importance of Ethics in Business in Light of the Recent Global Financial Crisis The lack of concern for the overall good of the society stemmed from the increase in equity-based compensation to top executives which resulted in the declaration that “the paramount duty of management and board is […]
What Was the Biggest Financial Crisis?
Did Financial Crisis Alter the Level of Competition in the EMU Banks?
What Is the Effect of Financial Crisis?
What Are the Three Stages of Financial Crisis?
Did Firms Manage Earnings More Aggressively during the Financial Crisis?
What Causes a Financial Crisis?
Did the Recent Housing Boom Signal the Global Financial Crisis?
How Can We Solve Financial Crisis?
What Is Another Word for Financial Crisis?
What Is the First Stage in Financial Crisis?
Can the Government Take Money from Your Bank Account in a Financial Crisis?
What Was the Worst Financial Crisis in History?
What Caused the Global Financial Crisis?
Did the Financial Crisis Affect the Market Valuation of Large Systemic U.S. Banks?
What Is the Impact of the Global Financial Crisis?
What Happened in the 2008 Financial Crisis?
How Did the Financial Crisis Started?
Did Family Firms Perform Better During the Financial Crisis?
Did Investors Herd During the Financial Crisis?
Did Relational Capital Matter during the Financial Crisis?
Did the Asian Financial Crisis Scare Foreign Investors Out of Japan?
Did the Financial Crisis in Japan Affect Household Welfare Seriously?
Did the Global Financial Crisis Alter the Oil–Gasoline Price Relationship?
Was the 2008 Financial Crisis Caused by Lack of Ethics?
Was the Financial Crisis Caused by Bankers or Government?
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Eight lessons for fighting the next financial crisis

Subscribe to the hutchins roundup and newsletter, nellie liang nellie liang under secretary for domestic finance - united states department of the treasury, former senior fellow - economic studies.

September 13, 2018

The working paper “Evidence on Outcomes” is one of a series of working papers looking back at the decisions made during the financial crisis. The papers were presented at Brookings as part of our event “Responding to the Global Financial Crisis: What we did and why we did it.” Read select papers and view video from the event here . The paper by Liang, McConnell, and Swagel summarized here is forthcoming.

This week at Brookings, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy and the Yale Program on Financial Stability gathered dozens of experts who, ten years ago, were on the front lines of the government’s response to the global financial crisis. Their mission was to record the decisions that were made on the myriad of responses to the crisis and the reasons behind those decisions. Although the final product won’t be published for some time, we’ve posted working drafts of several of the papers available on the Brookings website here .

In our paper , Meg McConnell (at the New York Federal Reserve Bank); Phillip Swagel (now at the University of Maryland, a veteran of the Paulson Treasury), and I (now at Brookings, formerly on the staff of the Federal Reserve Board), sum up the outcomes on financial markets and on the real economy of all the actions taken. The totality of the evidence suggests that the interventions, though far from perfect, prevented a second Great Depression. Research on the individual actions taken show they were effective in that they moved key outcome measures, such as risk spreads, and ultimately credit, output, and employment, in the desired direction. However, while the economy performed substantially better than might be expected based on previous financial crises, the actions were not able to prevent a severe recession and a weak recovery.

Financial crises are damaging to growth and employment. We draw eight lessons for future crisis fighters to help to reduce their economic costs:

LESSON 1: A strong regulatory and supervisory structure is necessary to reduce the costs of a crisis on the real economy.

The US regulatory and supervisory structure was weak and not well-matched to the risks in the financial system, which had grown rapidly outside of commercial banks prior to the crisis. It also did not have a viable bankruptcy or resolution process that would allow large and complex financial firms to fail in an orderly way that would minimize damage to the economy. The regulatory and supervisory structure needs to be kept up-to-date with changes in the financial system, and to make it more resilient to a wider range of shocks.

LESSON 2: A strong regulatory and supervisory structure is not a substitute for strong crisis management capabilities.

While a more stringent regime is now in place in the US and in many other jurisdictions, no regime, no matter how well designed, will be able to prevent a financial crisis from occurring ever again. By reflecting on the lessons from the responses to past crises, governments will be better prepared to respond more effectively when faced with the next crisis.

LESSON 3: Prepare (at least) for what is likely.

Understand that the causes and manifestations of future crises will likely differ from those of this crisis, but prepare for a few conditions that are likely to be present in any financial crisis. These include sudden and sustained reductions in liquidity in financial markets, widespread loss of confidence in the adequacy of financial institution capital even if they comply with regulatory standards, and the potential for abrupt failures of financial institutions that could seriously disrupt credit and growth. Authorities should practice responses to manifestations of these common types of conditions.

LESSON 4: Prepare to be surprised.

Recognize the limits of real-time information and inherent ambiguity and unpredictability associated with navigating effectively in crisis situations. Organizations should develop the capacity for rapid innovation, experimentation, and learning.

LESSON 5: Communicate before, during, and after periods of financial crisis.

Communicate with the public on an ongoing basis about the role that the financial system plays in the economy and the principles that will guide policy actions in a crisis. Communication alone cannot deliver concrete outcomes in terms of economic performance or financial system functioning, but it can help to increase the public’s understanding of the rationale for the types of policy actions taken in a crisis.

LESSON 6: There will always be forces that push against early intervention.

Accept that there will always be a variety of forces—including uncertainty, valid concerns about triggering unintended consequences, and gaps in legal authority—that will come together to favor inaction over action until conditions become sufficiently dire. In other words, many of the actions we judge ex post as having come too late will have been seen by many decision-makers in real-time as having come precisely when, and not before, conditions warranted.

LESSON 7: “Late” intervention limits the potential for good outcomes.

Recognize that once conditions become sufficiently extreme or dire, even good decisions and well-executed actions may not yield “good” outcomes, particularly on the macro front, because the extreme conditions themselves have often already laid the groundwork for a deeper economic downturn. One of the hallmarks of decision-making in a financial crisis may be that even the best decisions are likely to yield outcomes that would be viewed as weak or lackluster during normal times.

LESSON 8: “Late” intervention may raise rather than lower the potential for unintended consequences.

Recognize that once conditions have eroded sufficiently, the range of policy options shrinks. Late intervention may necessitate more extreme actions and more substantial deviation from the public’s expectations. These actions may also engender in the public a greater sense of unfairness.

Download the full working paper here .

Central Banking Post Crises

The world economy has experienced the largest financial crisis in generations, a global pandemic, and a resurgence in inflation during the first quarter of the 21st century, yielding important insights for central banking. Price stability has important benefits and is the responsibility of a central bank. Achieving price stability in a complex and uncertain environment involves a credible commitment to a nominal anchor with a strong response to inflation and pre-emptive leaning against an overheating economy. Associated challenges imply that central bank communication and transparency are key elements of monetary policy strategies and tactics. Crises have emphasized the role of central banks in promoting financial stability, as financial stability is key to achieving price and economic stability, but this role increases risks to independence. Goals for central banks other than price and economic stability, complemented by financial stability, can make it more difficult for them to stabilize both inflation and economic activity.

Prepared for The Oxford Handbook of Banking, Fourth Edition. The authors would like to thank Jane Krohn for her research assistance. The views expressed here are our own and are not necessarily those of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Columbia University, or the National Bureau of Economic Research. Disclosure of Mishkin’s outside compensated activities can be found on his website at http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/fmishkin/

Frederic S. Mishkin DISCLOUSRE OF OUTSIDE COMPENSATED ACTIVITIES As of February 2024

(2005 to present, excludes honoraria of $1,000 or less and royalty income from books)

Consulting: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bank of Korea; National Bureau of Economic Research, FDIC, Interamerican Development Bank; 4 hedge funds, BTG Pactual, Gavea Investimentos; Reserve Bank of Australia, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Einaudi Institute, Bank of Italy

Teaching: Study Center Gerzensee, Swiss National Bank

Speeches and Presentations: Lexington Partners; Tudor Investment, Brevan Howard, UBS, Pension Real Estate Association; Goodwin Proctor, Penn State University, Villanova University, Shroeder’s Investment Management, Premiere, Inc, Muira Global, Bidvest, NRUCF, BTG Asset Management, Futures Industry Association, ACLI, Handelsbanken, National Business Travel Association, Goldman Sachs, Urban Land Institute, Deloitte, Barclays Capital, CME Group; Barclays Capiital, BNP Paribas, Fidelity Investments, Deutsche Bank,, Freeman and Co., Bank America, Treasury Mangement Association, International Monetary Fund; Kairos Investments, Deloitte and Touche, Instituto para el Desarrollo Empreserial de lat Argentina, Handelsbanken, Danske Capital, WIPRO, University of Calgary, Pictet & Cie, Zurich Insurance Company, Central Bank of Chile, Manhattanville College, Deloitte and Touche, RBC Capital Markets, Handelsbanken, Elliot Management, Arizona State University, Goldman Sachs, Investment Management Consultants Association, Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies at Princeton University, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, World Bank, Goldman Sachs, KPMG, Central Bank of Nigeria, UBS, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, American Council of Life Insurance, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Fondo Latinamericano de Reservas, Reserve Bank of Australia, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, UBS, HSBC, Korea Capital Market Institute, HDFC Bank, BCA Research, Bowdoin College, Vanderbilt University

Advisory Committee, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Economic and Education Program

Co-Director, U.S. Monetary Policy Forum

CNBC Contributor

COMMISSIONED REPORTS/PAPERS National Bureau of Economic Research: “Two Decades of Japanese Monetary Policy and the Deflation Problem,” (with Takatoshi Ito) in Takatoshi Ito and Andrew Rose, eds., Monetary Policy Under Very Low Inflation Rates, NBER East Asia Seminar on Economics, Vol. 15 (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2006), pp. 131-193.

Sveriges Riksdag (Swedish parliament): An Evaluation of Swedish Monetary Policy Between 1995 and 2005 (with Francesco Giavazzi) (Sveriges Riksdag: Stockholm, Sweden 2006).

Icelandic Chamber of Commerce: with Tryggvi Herbertson, Financial Stability in Iceland (Reyjavik: Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, 2006).

Bank of Korea: “Getting to a Low Inflation Environment,” in Bank of Korea, Monetary Policy in a Low Inflation Environment: The Bank of Korea International Conference 2006 (Bank of Korea: Seoul 2006): 7-24.

Bank of Canada: “The Inflation Targeting Debate,” Bank of Canada, Annual Conference, (Bank of Canada: Ottawa, 2006), pp. 195-220.

Bank of Spain: “Financial Stability and Globalization: Getting It Right,” in Santiago Fernandez de Lis and Fernando Restoy, eds., Central Banks in the 21st Century (Bank of Spain: Madrid, 2006), pp. 215-253.

Central Bank of Chile: ““Does Inflation Targeting Matter?” (with Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel) in Frederic S. Mishkin and Klaus Scmidt-Hebbel, eds., Monetary Policy Under Inflation Targeting (Central Bank of Chile: Santiago 2007), pp. 291-372.

Swiss National Bank: “Inflation Targeting: True Progress or Repackaging of an Old Idea?” in Swiss National Bank, ed., The Swiss National Bank, 1907-2007 (Neue Zurcher Zeitung Publishing: Zurich, 2007), pp. 599-623.

Deutsche Bundesbank: “Will Monetary Policy Become More of a Science?” in Deutsche Bundesbank, ed., Monetary Policy Over Fifty Years: Experiences and Lessons (Routledge: London 2009), pp. 81-107.

National Bureau of Economic Reserach: “The Financial Crisis and the Federal Reserve,” NBER Macro Annual, 2009, pp. 495-508.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: “Commentary on ‘Fire, Flood and Lifeboats: Policy Response in the Global Crisis of 2007-2009,” Reuven Glick and Mark M. Spiegel, eds. Asia and the Global Financial Crisis, Asia Economic Policy Conference (San Francisco: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2009), pp. 251-257. U.S. Monetary Policy Forum: “Financial Conditions Indexes: A Fresh Look After the Financial Crisis,” (with Jan Hatzius, Peter Hooper, Frederic Mishkin, Kermit L. Schoenholtz and Mark W. Watson) U.S. Monetary Policy Forum (Chicago: Chicago Booth Initiative on Global Markets, 2010) pp. 3-59.

Brookings Institution: “Comments on Campbell, Shiller, and Viceira” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (forthcoming).

National Bureau of Economic Research: “Discussion of Takatoshi Ito’s “Great Inflation and Central Bank Independence in Japan,” in Michael Bordo and Athanasios Orphanides, editors, The Great Inflation (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, forthcoming.)

European Central Bank: “Monetary Policy Strategy: Lessons From the Crisis” in Monetary Policy Revisited: Lessons from the Crisis (European Central Bank: Frankfurt, forthcoming.)

Bank of Korea: “Macroprudential Policy in Emerging Market Economies” 2010, and conference version, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

. Reserve Bank of Australia: “How Should Central Banks Respond to Asset-Price Bubbles? The ‘Lean’ versus ‘Clean’ Debate After the GFC? Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin (June Quarter 2011), pp. 59-69.).

American Enterprise Institute: “The Federal Reserve After the Crisis,” in Vincent Reinhart, editor, No Way Out: Persistent Government Interventions in the Great Contraction (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, forthcoming 2012).

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: “Macroprudential Policies in Open Emerging Market Economies” (with Joon-Ho Hahm, Hyun Song Shin and Kwanho Shin) in Reuven Glick and Mark M. Spiegel, eds. Asia in the Post-Crisis Economy, 2011 Asia Economic Policy Conference (San Francisco: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2012) pp. 63-114.

Pictet and Cie: “Monetary Policy is Evolving,” Perspectives (Special Edition 2013) , pp. 14-16.

U.S. Monetary Policy Forum: “Crunch Time: Fiscal Crises and the Role of Monetary Policy,” U.S. Monetary Policy Forum (Chicago: Chicago Booth Initiative on Global Markets, 2013), pp. 5-60

Exit Strategy (with Alan Blinder, Donald Kohn and Thomas Jordan) Geneva Reports on the World Economy 15 (International Center for Monetary and Banking Studies and Centre for Economic Policy Research: Geneva and London, 2013).

“Commentary: Surprising Similarities: Recent Monetary Regimes of Small Economies” in Reuven Glick and Mark M. Spiegel, eds., Prospects for Asia and the Global Economy, 2013 Asia Economic Policy Conference (San Francisco: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2013), pp. 193-198.

Central Bank of Chile: “Central Banking After the Crisis,” in Sofia Bauducco, Lawrence Christiano and Claudio Raddatz, eds., Macroeconomic and Financial Stability: Challenges for Monetary Policy Sixteenth 16th Annual Conference of the Central Bank of Chile (Central Bank of Chile: Santiago, 2015), pp. 23-59

“Unprecedented Actions: The Federal Reserve’s Response to the Global Financial Crisis in Historical Perspective,” (with Eugene White) in Mark Wynne and Michael Bordo, eds., The Federal Reserve System’s Role in the Global Economy: An Historical Perspective (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge 2016), pp. 220-258.

U.S. Monetary Policy Fourm, “Language After Liftoff: Fed Communication Away from the Zero Lower Bound,” U.S. Monetary Policy Forum, February 26, 2016.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, “Improving the Use of Discretion in Money Policy”, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Annual Confrernce, 2017.

Fondo Latinamericano de Reservas, “Monetary Policy Communication and Inflation Expectations,” in New Horizons of Global Monetary Policy: Emerging Economies and Latin America: More Questions than Answers (Fondo Latinamericano de Reservas, 2018), pp. 24-45.

U.S. Monetary Policy Forum, “Prospects for Inflation in a High-Pressure Economy: Is the Phillips Curve Dead or is it Just Hibernating?” February 2019.

U.S. Monetary Policy Forum, “Managing Disinflations,” February 2023.

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127 Financial Crisis Essay Topics & Research Paper Ideas

Are you looking for a topic for your financial crisis essay? On this page, you’ll find many interesting financial essay topics and questions about a crisis. These titles are concerned mainly with business, international, and public financial crises rather than personal ones. Feel free to use our financial crisis research paper topics for your case studies, argumentative essays, and other assignments!

🏆 Best Finance Essay Topics about Crisis

✍️ financial crisis essay topics for college, 👍 good financial crisis research topics & essay examples, 🎓 most interesting crisis topics for essays on finance, 💡 simple financial crisis essay ideas, 💰 2008 financial crisis essay topics, 💸 economic crisis essay topics.

General Electric Capital and the 2008 Financial Crisis
The Financial Crisis: The USA in 2007
Causes of 2008 Financial Crisis in Sony Documentary, “Inside Job”
Risk Management During Financial Crisis in the US
Financial Crisis: Beyond 1929 – 2008 Comparison
Types and Causes of Financial Crisis
The Financial Crisis in the USA in 2007
Certified Public Accountants and the 2008 Financial Crisis There was a global financial crisis in 2007-2008 that affected most countries and changed international monetary relations.
2020-2021 Financial Crisis vs. 2007-2008 Market Crash The 2020-2021 financial crisis due to COVID-19 significantly differed from the 2009 Great Recession. The causes and nature of the crises were different.
Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 Assignment The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 was triggered in the US as a result of the bursting of the US housing bubble.
Analysis of the 2008 Financial Crisis The 2008 crisis is a product of its time, an unprecedented housing boom and cash flows from emerging to developed economies.
Dynamic Complexity and 2008 Financial Crisis Even though many claimed that they knew the triggers of the 2008 financial crisis, they failed to recognize the role dynamic complexity played in the event.
Predicting Financial Crisis of 2008 Even though numerous countries and separate businesses were caught by surprise by the emerging problems, many experts state that the crisis could be predicted.
Lebanon’s Financial Crisis and Governmental Measures Lebanon is known to be facing a financial crisis that continues to worsen. Unemployment, as well as poverty rates, have rocketed, and the currency has devalued substantially.
2018 Global Financial Crisis: Causes and Effects Deregulation in the financial sector was the primary driver of the 2008 financial crisis because it gave banks the power to fund trading activities with derivatives.
Financial Crisis and Great Recession: Why Keynesian Model Failed The paper states that while Keynesian economics was based on a dubious premise, to begin with, its mismanaged implementation exacerbated the outcomes.
Banking Regulations Undermining Financial Crisis Traces of financial crisis and negative externalities have been present across the banking sector for the last several decades.
Financial Crisis of 2008 in the U.S. – Meltdown As demand for the subprime mortgages outstripped the supply, Wall Street players continued to inflate the prices of the securities that supported the mortgages.
Public Private Partnership After Global Financial Crisis One of the principles of PPPs is to have the public sector gain access to private sector resources. The resources are in the form of expertise and finance.
Global Financial Crisis and Market Efficiency Among the lessons are the limitations to the efficient market hypothesis, which, according to Ball, is silent on the supply side of the information market.
The Dodd-Frank Act. Avoiding Financial Crisis This paperwork looks into the Dodd-Frank Act to establish the essentials of a legal reform law which need to be taken care of to avoid financial crisis.
Financial Institution in the Financial Crisis of 2008 One of the major crises that have significantly affected many economies of the world severely was that of 2008. The average level of the global GDP fell significantly.
Global Financial Crisis: Organizational Behaviour and Analysis Reports on the global financial crisis seem to associate psychopathic leadership with the financial losses experienced by firms during the world economic crunch.
Financial Crisis in Russia in the 1990s and Lessons for Today The financial crisis in Russia which occurred in the 1990s was not only a blow to Russians themselves but also to other major economies.
Global Financial Crisis in the U.S. The years of the global economic crisis affected one-fifth of all U.S. banks, every third worker was denied employment.
1929-1931 Financial Crisis and 2007-2010 Financial Crisis Comparison The key players in the 1929-1931 financial crisis and 2007-2010 financial crisis are almost the same: the financial institutions and stock markets.
Financial Crisis: Mortgage Lender’s Perspective This paper aims to consider the ethical decisions and problems faced by mortgage lenders such as Rebecca Steele.
The Financial Crisis and Its Connection With Globalization This essay examines two audio interviews that raise the issue of globalization and its impact on the economic security and policies of international banks.
Financial Discourse Under Financial Crisis 2007-2008 This paper studies financial columnists’ writing under the 2007-08 economic crash from world-leader newspapers such as Wall-Street-Journal, National-Post, and New-York-Times.
Post-Global Financial Crisis Companies’ Strategies This paper advances proposals that companies should exert to change their strategies regarding bonds, fixed income, and leveraged securities, given the Global Financial Crisis.
“The Causes and Current State of the Financial Crisis” by Zindi The article “The Causes and Current state of the Financial Crisis” aims to examine the economic effect of the fiscal crisis that had been there for about three months ago.
Euro and the Global Financial Crisis The crisis has already affected economies, with a large number of them having negative economic growth. There is hope that recovery will be attained.
Exchange Control and the Asian Financial Crisis There are many ways to combat Asian crisis aside from using exchange control. Singapore was able to show that timely adjustments in policies allowed them to remain competitive.
How Financial Crisis Affected Supply Chain Organization? The prevailing economic crisis that has affected the entire globe has altered the way in which various organizations views capital investment and cash.
The Big Short: Analysis of the Financial Crisis of 2008 The discussion uses the documentary “The Big Short” to give a detailed analysis of the financial crisis of 2008 and the issues associated with it.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles: The Financial Crisis of 2008 The economic downturn of 2008 forced MOCA to transform its institutional roles, typology, exhibition approaches, and planning and implement a suitable managerial structure to achieve its future goals.
2007 Financial Crisis and Executive Handling The Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 is the worst crisis of the last years. This work analyzes the executive handling strategy of a crisis to determine whether it is efficient or not.
Global Financial Crisis and Banking System in Australia The recent global financial crisis affected almost all banks in the world with very few banks shielded from this misfortune.
The Global Financial Crisis and Its Indicators The paper has outlined indicators of economic and financial crises and discussed global policy and regulatory responses to the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.
Housing Bubble and the Financial Crisis of 2008-09 This paper overviews the mechanics of the ‘Housing Bubble’ and explains why this crisis is best described as having been deliberately triggered by bankers.
2008 Financial Crisis Governmental Decision Making The problem in leadership and effective decision-making revealed by the financial crisis of 2008 was the lack of system in the short-term reactions of the government.
The Evolution of Financial Crisis The modern world faces numerous problems that could not but impact the state of finances and economy of various countries.
Major British Banking Group and Financial Crisis The purpose of this study is the assess the extent to which financial crisis in the United States of America contributed to the liquidity crash in the Major British banking group.
2008 Financial Crisis: Effects and Countermeasures In 2008, the global financial crisis took place. It had started with the financial meltdown in the US financial markets.
The Financial Crisis of 2008: Problem and Causes The financial crisis of 2008 had influenced the well-being and prosperity of many countries in a negative way. In the paper, hypotheses concerning the causes of the crisis will be evaluated.
Obama’s Economic Policy and Financial Crisis There were significant expectations laid on the new president after the election. The economic situation Obama had to face when becoming the president was a true disaster.
The Greek Financial Crisis Resolving The article “So, We Meet Again: The Greek Crisis” emphasizes the core issues that the European Union [EU] is considering in determining how to resolve the Greek financial crisis.
Factors Generating and Transmitting the Us Financial Crisis
Complexity and Bank Risk During the Financial Crisis
Credit Insurance During the Financial Crisis
Bank Stock and Option Transmissions in Financial Crisis
Bulgaria From Enterprise Indiscipline to Financial Crisis
Current Global Financial Crisis and Islamic Financial System
Constructing Forecast Confidence Bands During the Financial Crisis
European Financial Crisis and Bank Productivity: Evidence From Eastern European Countries
American Option Pricing Under Financial Crisis
1997 Asian Financial Crisis and China
China’s Financial Linkages With Asia and the Global Financial Crisis
Brazil and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis
Elections, Special Interests, and the Fiscal Costs of Financial Crisis
European Integration and Financial Crisis: Causes, Implications, and Policy Directions
Asset Markets Contagion During the Global Financial Crisis
Corporate Governance and Financial Crisis in the Long Run
Australia and the Financial Crisis
Bank Performance and the Financial Crisis: Evidence From Kazakhstan
Causes and Remedies for a Global Financial Crisis
Asian Financial Crisis and Korean Trade Dynamics
Bank Market Power and Lending During the Global Financial Crisis
Cross-Border Capital Flows Since the Global Financial Crisis
Confronting Emergency Financial Crisis
ECB Policy Making and the Financial Crisis
Bank Performance During the Financial Crisis 2007-2010
Consumption Behaviour and Financial Crisis in the Netherlands
Asia: China’s Policy Responses to the Global Financial Crisis
Cross-Border Bank Lending, Risk Aversion, and the Financial Crisis
Banking Reforms After the Global Financial Crisis of 2008
Bank CEO Incentives and the Global Financial Crisis
American Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Mexican Economy
Dividends and Bank Capital in the Financial Crisis of 2007-2009
Employment and the Financial Crisis: Evidence From Tajikistan
Bank Regulation and Supervision Ten Years After the Global Financial Crisis
Federal Reserve and Financial Crisis
Credit Default Swaps and Their Role in Global Financial Crisis
Bank Dependence and Investment During the Financial Crisis
Efficient Market Hypothesis and Financial Crisis
American and European Financial Crisis of 2008
Bank Valuation and Accounting Discretion During a Financial Crisis
Audit Quality During the Global Financial Crisis: The Investors’ Perspective
Credit Rating Agencies Role in Financial Crisis
China, Japan, and the Us Stock Markets and the Global Financial Crisis
Explaining Irish Inflation During the Financial Crisis
Factors That Influenced the Global Financial Crisis of 2008
Corporate Governance Lessons From the Financial Crisis
Credit Distortion and Financial Crisis
Bank Capital and Exposure to the Financial Crisis
Bankers’ Stock Options, Risk-Taking, and the Financial Crisis
Equity Markets’ Clustering and the Global Financial Crisis
1997 Financial Crisis South Korea
Bank Lending During the Financial Crisis of 2008
Asian Financial Crisis and Exchange Rate Pass-Through in Korea
Capital Controls and Recovery From the Financial Crisis of the 1930s
Debt Maturity Structure and the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis
Community Bank Lending During the Financial Crisis
England’s Rental Market Influenced by Financial Crisis
Argentina One Year On: From a Monetary Crisis to a Financial Crisis
Brazil: The First Financial Crisis of 1999
Factors That Caused the 1997 East Asian Financial Crisis
Factors that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
The role of risky lending practices in the 2008 crisis.
The collapse of Lehman Brothers: lessons learned.
The effectiveness of bailouts and stimulus packages in coping with the 2008 crisis.
The failures and reforms of rating agencies related to the 2008 crisis.
The weakened financial oversight as a factor contributing to the 2008 crisis.
Comparing different countries’ approaches to managing the 2008 financial crisis.
Moral issues in the financial industry exposed by the 2008 crisis.
The effects of the 2008 financial crisis on average Americans.
The role of central banks in mitigating the 2008 crisis.
The dot-com bubble burst: the rise and fall of the technology sector.
The 1970s oil price shock: causes and policy responses.
Currency crises: the role of speculative attacks and exchange rate movements.
Analysis of currency devaluation and hyperinflation in the Argentine economic crisis.
The role of financial speculations in economic crises.
The financial crisis in Greece: causes and austerity measures.
A comparison of the dot-com bubble and the cryptocurrency bubble.
The effects of economic crises on social welfare.
Monetary policy measures to prevent financial crises.
How does income inequality contribute to economic instability?

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This essay topic collection was updated on December 28, 2023 .

The 2007–09 global financial crisis witnessed colossal disruptions in asset and credit markets, massive erosions of wealth, and unprecedented numbers of bankruptcies. Six years after the crisis began, its lingering effects are still visible in advanced economies and emerging markets alike—this shows a clear need to improve our understanding of financial crises. In their forthcoming book, “Financial Crises: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Responses,” Stijn Claessens, M. Ayhan Kose, Luc Laeven, and Fabían Valencia provide a broad overview of the current research and bring together a number of studies on the causes and consequences of crises. This article provides brief answers to seven commonly asked questions about financial crises in light of the findings in their book.

Stijn Claessens, M. Ayhan Kose, Luc Laeven, and Fabián Valencia

Question 1. What are the main factors explaining financial crises?

Financial crises can stem from problems of the private or public sectors’ balance sheets and have domestic or external origins. Irrespective of its origins, a financial crisis is often an amalgam of events, including substantial changes in credit volume and asset prices, severe disruptions in financial intermediation, notably a reduction in the supply of external financing, large scale balance sheet problems, and often a need for substantial government and international support.

Although crises can be driven by a variety of factors, they are often preceded by asset and credit booms. Busts, financial crises, and poor growth often follow such booms ( Figure 1 ). Given these types of associations, many theoretical and empirical studies have recognized the need to explain sharp movements in asset and credit markets. These studies have been able to identify some proximate causes, such as financial liberalization, productivity gains, and a variety of distortions, such as weak supervision and regulation, underpriced deposit insurance, and poorly designed safety nets. However, many puzzles remain in terms of what factors drive asset price bubbles and credit booms in the first place.

Coincidence of Financial Booms and Crises

(fraction of total, in percent)

Citation: IMF Research Bulletin 2013, 004; 10.5089/9781484378434.026.A003

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Question 2. What are the major types of financial crises?

It is useful to classify crises into four groups: currency crises; sudden stops (in capital flows); debt crises; and banking crises. While there are many common causes, the available literature has also identified specific theoretical factors and empirical determinants of each type of crisis. It has sometimes been difficult to transform the predictions of theories into empirical applications, including practical ways to identify crises. While it is easy, for example, to design quantitative methods to identify currency crises and sudden stops, the identification of debt and banking crises remains typically based on qualitative and judgmental methods. The literature therefore employs a wide range of methods to identify and classify crises.

While there are issues with establishing a timeline, it is clear that financial crises are quite common and tend to cluster over time ( Figure 2 ). They also tend to hit small and large countries as well as poor and rich ones. History also shows that crises come in different shapes and sizes, evolve over time—with certain types being more important in some periods than others—and can rapidly spread across borders (as they did in the 2007–09 global financial crisis).

Average Number of Financial Crises over Decades

Irrespective of the classification used, different types of crises can often overlap. Many banking crises, for example, are associated with sudden stop episodes and currency crises. The overlap of multiple types of crises leads to further challenges for the identification of crises and examination of their underlying causes. For example, since banking and sovereign crises often coincide, it is difficult to answer definitively whether a banking crisis leads to a sovereign crisis or vice-versa.

Question 3. What are the real and financial sector implications of crises?

Macroeconomic and financial implications of crises are typically severe, with many commonalities across various types. Recessions with large output losses are common to many crises. Other macroeconomic variables typically register significant declines as well. Financial variables, such as asset prices and credit, usually follow qualitatively similar patterns across crises, albeit with variations in terms of duration and severity. Besides their negative effects over the short run, financial crises often have adverse medium- to long-run effects on activity.

Question 4. How severe are the medium- and long-term effects of crises?

The effects of financial crises on the real economy are quite persistent. Output tends to be depressed substantially and persistently following banking crises, with no rebound, on average, to the pre-crisis trend in the medium term. However, growth eventually returns to its pre-crisis rate for most economies. The depressed output path tends to result from long-lasting reductions of roughly equal proportions in the employment rate, the capital-to-labor ratio, and total factor productivity. In the short term, the output loss is mainly accounted for by total factor productivity losses, but, unlike the employment rate and capital-to-labor ratio, the level of total factor productivity recovers somewhat to its pre-crisis trend in the medium term.

Question 5. What are the main policies to resolve banking crises?

The policies used to remedy the consequences of a banking crisis can be grouped into two sets. The first involves what are often called containment policies, which are deployed during the early stages of a banking crisis. This phase is often characterized by deteriorating sentiment on the viability of the financial system and the economic prospects of the country in the short term. It may involve runs on banks, on entire markets, and even runs on the domestic currency. Typically, at this stage it is difficult to tell whether the crisis reflects just liquidity shortages or solvency problems. In order to buy time to determine the true nature of the crisis, governments resort to policies such as emergency liquidity provision to banks, other financial intermediaries, and even entire markets. They often announce guarantees on bank liabilities and in extreme cases governments use deposit freezes and capital controls.

The second set of policies encompasses the resolution phase. By this stage governments have had time to design a plan to address solvency problems and enact any necessary changes in legislation or secured funding for the restructuring of the financial sector. This phase includes policies such as recapitalization of banks with public funds, closure of insolvent institutions, restructuring of viable ones, setting new institutional arrangements such as asset management companies, as well as restructuring of private debt.

Not all policies mentioned above are used in every crisis, but they are all the most common policies that are used in remedying the effects of a banking crisis. The effect of interventions on economic costs and the fiscal accounts depends, to a large extent, on the policy mix. The use of guarantees on bank liabilities can contain liquidity pressures on banks, for example, without involving a disbursement of public funds upfront, but with potentially substantial fiscal contingencies, although they may not necessarily materialize. In contrast, direct capital injections have a certain impact on the public purse upfront, but some of these resources can be recovered in the future when public shareholdings are returned to private hands. The timing of the policy mix can also affect the fiscal costs of a crisis. If macroeconomic policies are used to avoid a sharp contraction in activity, this may discourage more active bank restructuring that would allow banks to recover more quickly and renew lending, with the risk of prolonging the crisis and depressing growth for a prolonged period of time. This, in turn, can increase indirect fiscal and economic costs.

Question 6. What is the importance of household debt restructuring as a tool to resolve crises?

The historically high levels of household debt in many recent crisis-hit countries heightened demands for government intervention. If unaddressed, household debt distress can be a drain on the economy and even lead to social unrest. Well-designed and well-executed government interventions may be more efficient than leaving debt restructuring to the marketplace and standard court-based resolution tools. Empirically, there is evidence that housing busts and recessions preceded by larger run-ups in household debt tend to be more severe and protracted. Government policies can help prevent prolonged contractions in economic activity by addressing the problem of excessive household debt. In particular, bold household debt-restructuring programs such as those implemented in the United States in the 1930’s and in Iceland in the aftermath of the global crisis can significantly reduce debt-repayment burdens and the number of household defaults and foreclosures.

Question 7. Can future crises be avoided?

Banking crises have affected countries for centuries and history has been a great laboratory for academics and policymakers to study early detection of crises, their consequences on the real economy, and the effectiveness of policies used to resolve them. Progress has been made in all these directions, but not sufficiently to claim that they can be avoided at all costs. Nevertheless, important lessons have been learned about vulnerabilities, the role of excessive credit growth—perhaps the single most important predictor of a banking crisis—the role of excessive maturity mismatches, and excessive exposure to exchange rate risk. While not perfect, these lessons will be important in designing regulatory policies and reducing the incidence of crises in the future; one concrete example includes advances in the design of macropru-dential regulation.

However, just as the policy toolkit evolves, the nature of crises evolves as well. Complexity in financial markets and institutions makes the identification of vulnerabilities more challenging. Therefore, efforts on crisis prevention are important, but it is unlikely that they will ever reach a level of effectiveness as to eradicate crises completely.

Claessens , Stijn , M. Ayhan Kose , Luc Laeven , and Fabian Valencia , 2013 , Financial Crises: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Responses , ( Washington : International Monetary Fund ).

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Dell’ Ariccia , Giovanni , Deniz Igan , Luc Laeven , and Hui Tong , 2013 , “ Policies for Macrofinancial Stability: Dealing with Credit Booms and Busts, ” in Financial Crises: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Responses , edited by Stijn Claessens , M. Ayhan Kose , Luc Laeven , and Fabían Valencia . ( Washington : International Monetary Fund ).

Forbes , K. J ., and F . Warnock , 2012 , “ Capital Flow Waves: Surges, Stops, Flight, and Retrenchment, ” Journal of International Economics , Vol. 88 , No. 2 , pp. 235 – 51 .

Laeven , Luc , and Fabian Valencia , 2013 , “ Resolution of Banking Crises: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ” in Financial Crises: Causes, Consequences, and Policy Responses d , edited by Stijn Claessens , M. Ayhan Kose , Luc Laeven , and Fabían Valencia ( Washington : International Monetary Fund ).

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Q&A: Seven Questions on Potential Output
Q&A Seven Questions about Political Influence and the Financial Crisis
Q&A: Seven Questions on the Global Housing Markets
Q&A: Seven Questions on Islamic Finance

Other Publishers

Asian development bank.

Policies to Optimize the Performance of Credit Guarantee Schemes During Financial Crises
Financial Integration and Macrofinancial Linkages in Asia: Crises, Responses, and Policy Considerations
Public Financial Management Systems - Bangladesh: Key Elements from a Financial Management Perspective
Public Financial Management Systems - Indonesia: Key Elements from a Financial Management Perspective
Three Decades of International Financial Crises: What Have We Learned and What Still Needs to be Done?
Local Currency Collateral for Cross-Border Financial Transactions: Policy Recommendations from the Cross-Border Settlement Infrastructure Forum

Inter-American Development Bank

Coping with Financial Crises: Latin American Answers to European Questions
Financial Crises in Japan and Latin America
Foreign Bank Behavior during Financial Crises
Financial Crises and Macro-Prudential Policies
Banking Crises and Financial Integration
Maturity Mismatch and Financial Crises: Evidence from Emerging Market Corporations
Multilateral Safety Nets for Financial Crises
Equilibrium Unemployment During Financial Crises
The Question of the Q's: What Cue Should Quebec Send to Qatar?
Is the Eurozone on the Mend? Latin American Examples to Analyze the Euro Question

International Labour Organization

Financial crises, deflation and trade union responses: What are the lessons?: International Journal of Labour Research, IJLR, Vol 2, No 1/2010

Nordic Council of Ministers

Glycemic Index: From Research to Nutrition Recommendations?
Publikation: Carbon leakage from a Nordic perspective

The World Bank

Lessons from World Bank research on financial crises
Learning from Financial Crises
Do Phoenix Miracles Exist?: Firm-Level Evidence from Financial Crises
Debt and Financial Crises
Trade credit and bank credit: evidence from recent financial crises
The Social Impact of Financial Crises: Evidence from the Global Financial Crisis
The value of relationship banking during financial crises: evidence from the Republic of Korea
Management and resolution of banking crises: lessons from the Republic of Korea and Mexico
Resolving systemic financial crises: policies and institutions
Financial policies and the prevention of financial crises in emerging market economies

Front Matter
Research Summaries: Reforming Dual Labor Markets In Advanced Economies
Rating Through-The-Cycle: What Does the Concept Imply for Rating Stability and Accuracy?
Q&A: Seven Questions on Financial Crises: Perspectives from the Frontier of Research
IMF Working Papers
Recommended Readings from the IMF Bookstore
Staff Discussion Notes
IMF Economic Review
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22 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

More investors want to back businesses that contribute to social change, but are impact funds the only approach? Research by Shawn Cole, Leslie Jeng, Josh Lerner, Natalia Rigol, and Benjamin Roth challenges long-held assumptions about impact investing and reveals where such funds make the biggest difference.

23 Jan 2024

More Than Memes: NFTs Could Be the Next Gen Deed for a Digital World

Non-fungible tokens might seem like a fad approach to selling memes, but the concept could help companies open new markets and build communities. Scott Duke Kominers and Steve Kaczynski go beyond the NFT hype in their book, The Everything Token.

12 Sep 2023

How Can Financial Advisors Thrive in Shifting Markets? Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

Financial planners must find new ways to market to tech-savvy millennials and gen Z investors or risk irrelevancy. Research by Marco Di Maggio probes the generational challenges that advisory firms face as baby boomers retire. What will it take to compete in a fintech and crypto world?

17 Aug 2023

‘Not a Bunch of Weirdos’: Why Mainstream Investors Buy Crypto

Bitcoin might seem like the preferred tender of conspiracy theorists and criminals, but everyday investors are increasingly embracing crypto. A study of 59 million consumers by Marco Di Maggio and colleagues paints a shockingly ordinary picture of today's cryptocurrency buyer. What do they stand to gain?

17 Jul 2023

Money Isn’t Everything: The Dos and Don’ts of Motivating Employees

Dangling bonuses to checked-out employees might only be a Band-Aid solution. Brian Hall shares four research-based incentive strategies—and three perils to avoid—for leaders trying to engage the post-pandemic workforce.

20 Jun 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover: Lessons in Strategic Change

In late October 2022, Elon Musk officially took Twitter private and became the company’s majority shareholder, finally ending a months-long acquisition saga. He appointed himself CEO and brought in his own team to clean house. Musk needed to take decisive steps to succeed against the major opposition to his leadership from both inside and outside the company. Twitter employees circulated an open letter protesting expected layoffs, advertising agencies advised their clients to pause spending on Twitter, and EU officials considered a broader Twitter ban. What short-term actions should Musk take to stabilize the situation, and how should he approach long-term strategy to turn around Twitter? Harvard Business School assistant professor Andy Wu and co-author Goran Calic, associate professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business, discuss Twitter as a microcosm for the future of media and information in their case, “Twitter Turnaround and Elon Musk.”

06 Jun 2023

The Opioid Crisis, CEO Pay, and Shareholder Activism

In 2020, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a Fortune 50 company in the drug distribution industry, agreed to settle thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide against the company for its opioid distribution practices, which critics alleged had contributed to the opioid crisis in the US. The $6.6 billion global settlement caused a net loss larger than the cumulative net income earned during the tenure of the company’s CEO, which began in 2011. In addition, AmerisourceBergen’s legal and financial troubles were accompanied by shareholder demands aimed at driving corporate governance changes in companies in the opioid supply chain. Determined to hold the company’s leadership accountable, the shareholders launched a campaign in early 2021 to reject the pay packages of executives. Should the board reduce the executives’ pay, as of means of improving accountability? Or does punishing the AmerisourceBergen executives for paying the settlement ignore the larger issue of a business’s responsibility to society? Harvard Business School professor Suraj Srinivasan discusses executive compensation and shareholder activism in the context of the US opioid crisis in his case, “The Opioid Settlement and Controversy Over CEO Pay at AmerisourceBergen.”

16 May 2023
In Practice

After Silicon Valley Bank's Flameout, What's Next for Entrepreneurs?

Silicon Valley Bank's failure in the face of rising interest rates shook founders and funders across the country. Julia Austin, Jeffrey Bussgang, and Rembrand Koning share key insights for rattled entrepreneurs trying to make sense of the financing landscape.

27 Apr 2023

Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi: Transforming Lives with Access to Credit

James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank, has transformed lives and livelihoods throughout East and Central Africa by giving impoverished people access to banking accounts and micro loans. He’s been so successful that in 2020 Forbes coined the term “the Mwangi Model.” But can we really have both purpose and profit in a firm? Harvard Business School professor Caroline Elkins, who has spent decades studying Africa, explores how this model has become one that business leaders are seeking to replicate throughout the world in her case, “A Marshall Plan for Africa': James Mwangi and Equity Group Holdings.” As part of a new first-year MBA course at Harvard Business School, this case examines the central question: what is the social purpose of the firm?

25 Apr 2023

Using Design Thinking to Invent a Low-Cost Prosthesis for Land Mine Victims

Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) is an Indian nonprofit famous for creating low-cost prosthetics, like the Jaipur Foot and the Stanford-Jaipur Knee. Known for its patient-centric culture and its focus on innovation, BMVSS has assisted more than one million people, including many land mine survivors. How can founder D.R. Mehta devise a strategy that will ensure the financial sustainability of BMVSS while sustaining its human impact well into the future? Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar discusses the importance of design thinking in ensuring a culture of innovation in his case, “BMVSS: Changing Lives, One Jaipur Limb at a Time.”

18 Apr 2023

What Happens When Banks Ditch Coal: The Impact Is 'More Than Anyone Thought'

Bank divestment policies that target coal reduced carbon dioxide emissions, says research by Boris Vallée and Daniel Green. Could the finance industry do even more to confront climate change?

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

Recruiting new executive talent to revive portfolio companies has helped private equity funds outperform major stock indexes, says research by Paul Gompers. Why don't more public companies go beyond their senior executives when looking for top leaders?

11 Apr 2023

A Rose by Any Other Name: Supply Chains and Carbon Emissions in the Flower Industry

Headquartered in Kitengela, Kenya, Sian Flowers exports roses to Europe. Because cut flowers have a limited shelf life and consumers want them to retain their appearance for as long as possible, Sian and its distributors used international air cargo to transport them to Amsterdam, where they were sold at auction and trucked to markets across Europe. But when the Covid-19 pandemic caused huge increases in shipping costs, Sian launched experiments to ship roses by ocean using refrigerated containers. The company reduced its costs and cut its carbon emissions, but is a flower that travels halfway around the world truly a “low-carbon rose”? Harvard Business School professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel debate these questions and more in their case, “Sian Flowers: Fresher by Sea?”

Is Amazon a Retailer, a Tech Firm, or a Media Company? How AI Can Help Investors Decide

More companies are bringing seemingly unrelated businesses together in new ways, challenging traditional stock categories. MarcAntonio Awada and Suraj Srinivasan discuss how applying machine learning to regulatory data could reveal new opportunities for investors.

07 Apr 2023

When Celebrity ‘Crypto-Influencers’ Rake in Cash, Investors Lose Big

Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, and other entertainers have been accused of promoting crypto products on social media without disclosing conflicts. Research by Joseph Pacelli shows what can happen to eager investors who follow them.

31 Mar 2023

Can a ‘Basic Bundle’ of Health Insurance Cure Coverage Gaps and Spur Innovation?

One in 10 people in America lack health insurance, resulting in $40 billion of care that goes unpaid each year. Amitabh Chandra and colleagues say ensuring basic coverage for all residents, as other wealthy nations do, could address the most acute needs and unlock efficiency.

23 Mar 2023

As Climate Fears Mount, More Investors Turn to 'ESG' Funds Despite Few Rules

Regulations and ratings remain murky, but that's not deterring climate-conscious investors from paying more for funds with an ESG label. Research by Mark Egan and Malcolm Baker sizes up the premium these funds command. Is it time for more standards in impact investing?

14 Mar 2023

What Does the Failure of Silicon Valley Bank Say About the State of Finance?

Silicon Valley Bank wasn't ready for the Fed's interest rate hikes, but that's only part of the story. Victoria Ivashina and Erik Stafford probe the complex factors that led to the second-biggest bank failure ever.

13 Mar 2023

What Would It Take to Unlock Microfinance's Full Potential?

Microfinance has been seen as a vehicle for economic mobility in developing countries, but the results have been mixed. Research by Natalia Rigol and Ben Roth probes how different lending approaches might serve entrepreneurs better.

16 Feb 2023

ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?

Engine No. 1, a small hedge fund on a mission to confront climate change, managed to do the impossible: Get dissident members on ExxonMobil's board. But lasting social impact has proved more elusive. Case studies by Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, and Vikram Gandhi look at the complexities of shareholder activism.

Frontiers in Public Health
Health Economics
Research Topics

Economic and Financial Issues in the Post-COVID-19 World: Implications and Role of Public Health

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Research Topics & Ideas: Finance

120+ Finance Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring potential research topics for your finance-related dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of finance-centric research topics and ideas.

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Finance Research Topics

Corporate finance topics
Investment banking topics
Private equity & VC
Asset management
Hedge funds
Financial planning & advisory
Quantitative finance
Treasury management
Financial technology (FinTech)
Commercial banking
International finance

Corporate Finance

These research topic ideas explore a breadth of issues ranging from the examination of capital structure to the exploration of financial strategies in mergers and acquisitions.

Evaluating the impact of capital structure on firm performance across different industries
Assessing the effectiveness of financial management practices in emerging markets
A comparative analysis of the cost of capital and financial structure in multinational corporations across different regulatory environments
Examining how integrating sustainability and CSR initiatives affect a corporation’s financial performance and brand reputation
Analysing how rigorous financial analysis informs strategic decisions and contributes to corporate growth
Examining the relationship between corporate governance structures and financial performance
A comparative analysis of financing strategies among mergers and acquisitions
Evaluating the importance of financial transparency and its impact on investor relations and trust
Investigating the role of financial flexibility in strategic investment decisions during economic downturns
Investigating how different dividend policies affect shareholder value and the firm’s financial performance

Investment Banking

The list below presents a series of research topics exploring the multifaceted dimensions of investment banking, with a particular focus on its evolution following the 2008 financial crisis.

Analysing the evolution and impact of regulatory frameworks in investment banking post-2008 financial crisis
Investigating the challenges and opportunities associated with cross-border M&As facilitated by investment banks.
Evaluating the role of investment banks in facilitating mergers and acquisitions in emerging markets
Analysing the transformation brought about by digital technologies in the delivery of investment banking services and its effects on efficiency and client satisfaction.
Evaluating the role of investment banks in promoting sustainable finance and the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria in investment decisions.
Assessing the impact of technology on the efficiency and effectiveness of investment banking services
Examining the effectiveness of investment banks in pricing and marketing IPOs, and the subsequent performance of these IPOs in the stock market.
A comparative analysis of different risk management strategies employed by investment banks
Examining the relationship between investment banking fees and corporate performance
A comparative analysis of competitive strategies employed by leading investment banks and their impact on market share and profitability

Private Equity & Venture Capital (VC)

These research topic ideas are centred on venture capital and private equity investments, with a focus on their impact on technological startups, emerging technologies, and broader economic ecosystems.

Investigating the determinants of successful venture capital investments in tech startups
Analysing the trends and outcomes of venture capital funding in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, or clean energy
Assessing the performance and return on investment of different exit strategies employed by venture capital firms
Assessing the impact of private equity investments on the financial performance of SMEs
Analysing the role of venture capital in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship
Evaluating the exit strategies of private equity firms: A comparative analysis
Exploring the ethical considerations in private equity and venture capital financing
Investigating how private equity ownership influences operational efficiency and overall business performance
Evaluating the effectiveness of corporate governance structures in companies backed by private equity investments
Examining how the regulatory environment in different regions affects the operations, investments and performance of private equity and venture capital firms

Research Topic Kickstarter - Need Help Finding A Research Topic?

Asset Management

This list includes a range of research topic ideas focused on asset management, probing into the effectiveness of various strategies, the integration of technology, and the alignment with ethical principles among other key dimensions.

Analysing the effectiveness of different asset allocation strategies in diverse economic environments
Analysing the methodologies and effectiveness of performance attribution in asset management firms
Assessing the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria on fund performance
Examining the role of robo-advisors in modern asset management
Evaluating how advancements in technology are reshaping portfolio management strategies within asset management firms
Evaluating the performance persistence of mutual funds and hedge funds
Investigating the long-term performance of portfolios managed with ethical or socially responsible investing principles
Investigating the behavioural biases in individual and institutional investment decisions
Examining the asset allocation strategies employed by pension funds and their impact on long-term fund performance
Assessing the operational efficiency of asset management firms and its correlation with fund performance

Hedge Funds

Here we explore research topics related to hedge fund operations and strategies, including their implications on corporate governance, financial market stability, and regulatory compliance among other critical facets.

Assessing the impact of hedge fund activism on corporate governance and financial performance
Analysing the effectiveness and implications of market-neutral strategies employed by hedge funds
Investigating how different fee structures impact the performance and investor attraction to hedge funds
Evaluating the contribution of hedge funds to financial market liquidity and the implications for market stability
Analysing the risk-return profile of hedge fund strategies during financial crises
Evaluating the influence of regulatory changes on hedge fund operations and performance
Examining the level of transparency and disclosure practices in the hedge fund industry and its impact on investor trust and regulatory compliance
Assessing the contribution of hedge funds to systemic risk in financial markets, and the effectiveness of regulatory measures in mitigating such risks
Examining the role of hedge funds in financial market stability
Investigating the determinants of hedge fund success: A comparative analysis

Financial Planning and Advisory

This list explores various research topic ideas related to financial planning, focusing on the effects of financial literacy, the adoption of digital tools, taxation policies, and the role of financial advisors.

Evaluating the impact of financial literacy on individual financial planning effectiveness
Analysing how different taxation policies influence financial planning strategies among individuals and businesses
Evaluating the effectiveness and user adoption of digital tools in modern financial planning practices
Investigating the adequacy of long-term financial planning strategies in ensuring retirement security
Assessing the role of financial education in shaping financial planning behaviour among different demographic groups
Examining the impact of psychological biases on financial planning and decision-making, and strategies to mitigate these biases
Assessing the behavioural factors influencing financial planning decisions
Examining the role of financial advisors in managing retirement savings
A comparative analysis of traditional versus robo-advisory in financial planning
Investigating the ethics of financial advisory practices

Free Webinar: How To Find A Dissertation Research Topic

The following list delves into research topics within the insurance sector, touching on the technological transformations, regulatory shifts, and evolving consumer behaviours among other pivotal aspects.

Analysing the impact of technology adoption on insurance pricing and risk management
Analysing the influence of Insurtech innovations on the competitive dynamics and consumer choices in insurance markets
Investigating the factors affecting consumer behaviour in insurance product selection and the role of digital channels in influencing decisions
Assessing the effect of regulatory changes on insurance product offerings
Examining the determinants of insurance penetration in emerging markets
Evaluating the operational efficiency of claims management processes in insurance companies and its impact on customer satisfaction
Examining the evolution and effectiveness of risk assessment models used in insurance underwriting and their impact on pricing and coverage
Evaluating the role of insurance in financial stability and economic development
Investigating the impact of climate change on insurance models and products
Exploring the challenges and opportunities in underwriting cyber insurance in the face of evolving cyber threats and regulations

Quantitative Finance

These topic ideas span the development of asset pricing models, evaluation of machine learning algorithms, and the exploration of ethical implications among other pivotal areas.

Developing and testing new quantitative models for asset pricing
Analysing the effectiveness and limitations of machine learning algorithms in predicting financial market movements
Assessing the effectiveness of various risk management techniques in quantitative finance
Evaluating the advancements in portfolio optimisation techniques and their impact on risk-adjusted returns
Evaluating the impact of high-frequency trading on market efficiency and stability
Investigating the influence of algorithmic trading strategies on market efficiency and liquidity
Examining the risk parity approach in asset allocation and its effectiveness in different market conditions
Examining the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in quantitative financial analysis
Investigating the ethical implications of quantitative financial innovations
Assessing the profitability and market impact of statistical arbitrage strategies considering different market microstructures

Treasury Management

The following topic ideas explore treasury management, focusing on modernisation through technological advancements, the impact on firm liquidity, and the intertwined relationship with corporate governance among other crucial areas.

Analysing the impact of treasury management practices on firm liquidity and profitability
Analysing the role of automation in enhancing operational efficiency and strategic decision-making in treasury management
Evaluating the effectiveness of various cash management strategies in multinational corporations
Investigating the potential of blockchain technology in streamlining treasury operations and enhancing transparency
Examining the role of treasury management in mitigating financial risks
Evaluating the accuracy and effectiveness of various cash flow forecasting techniques employed in treasury management
Assessing the impact of technological advancements on treasury management operations
Examining the effectiveness of different foreign exchange risk management strategies employed by treasury managers in multinational corporations
Assessing the impact of regulatory compliance requirements on the operational and strategic aspects of treasury management
Investigating the relationship between treasury management and corporate governance

Financial Technology (FinTech)

The following research topic ideas explore the transformative potential of blockchain, the rise of open banking, and the burgeoning landscape of peer-to-peer lending among other focal areas.

Evaluating the impact of blockchain technology on financial services
Investigating the implications of open banking on consumer data privacy and financial services competition
Assessing the role of FinTech in financial inclusion in emerging markets
Analysing the role of peer-to-peer lending platforms in promoting financial inclusion and their impact on traditional banking systems
Examining the cybersecurity challenges faced by FinTech firms and the regulatory measures to ensure data protection and financial stability
Examining the regulatory challenges and opportunities in the FinTech ecosystem
Assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on the delivery of financial services, customer experience, and operational efficiency within FinTech firms
Analysing the adoption and impact of cryptocurrencies on traditional financial systems
Investigating the determinants of success for FinTech startups

Commercial Banking

These topic ideas span commercial banking, encompassing digital transformation, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the evolving regulatory and competitive landscape among other key themes.

Assessing the impact of digital transformation on commercial banking services and competitiveness
Analysing the impact of digital transformation on customer experience and operational efficiency in commercial banking
Evaluating the role of commercial banks in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Investigating the effectiveness of credit risk management practices and their impact on bank profitability and financial stability
Examining the relationship between commercial banking practices and financial stability
Evaluating the implications of open banking frameworks on the competitive landscape and service innovation in commercial banking
Assessing how regulatory changes affect lending practices and risk appetite of commercial banks
Examining how commercial banks are adapting their strategies in response to competition from FinTech firms and changing consumer preferences
Analysing the impact of regulatory compliance on commercial banking operations
Investigating the determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty in commercial banking

International Finance

The folowing research topic ideas are centred around international finance and global economic dynamics, delving into aspects like exchange rate fluctuations, international financial regulations, and the role of international financial institutions among other pivotal areas.

Analysing the determinants of exchange rate fluctuations and their impact on international trade
Analysing the influence of global trade agreements on international financial flows and foreign direct investments
Evaluating the effectiveness of international portfolio diversification strategies in mitigating risks and enhancing returns
Evaluating the role of international financial institutions in global financial stability
Investigating the role and implications of offshore financial centres on international financial stability and regulatory harmonisation
Examining the impact of global financial crises on emerging market economies
Examining the challenges and regulatory frameworks associated with cross-border banking operations
Assessing the effectiveness of international financial regulations
Investigating the challenges and opportunities of cross-border mergers and acquisitions

Choosing A Research Topic

These finance-related research topic ideas are starting points to guide your thinking. They are intentionally very broad and open-ended. By engaging with the currently literature in your field of interest, you’ll be able to narrow down your focus to a specific research gap .

When choosing a topic , you’ll need to take into account its originality, relevance, feasibility, and the resources you have at your disposal. Make sure to align your interest and expertise in the subject with your university program’s specific requirements. Always consult your academic advisor to ensure that your chosen topic not only meets the academic criteria but also provides a valuable contribution to the field.

If you need a helping hand, feel free to check out our private coaching service here.

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A Year Into the Pandemic, Long-Term Financial Impact Weighs Heavily on Many Americans

Roughly half of non-retired adults say the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak will make it harder for them to achieve their financial goals

Table of contents.

Acknowledgments
The American Trends Panel survey methodology

Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand Americans’ financial outlooks and how their personal financial situations have changed amid the coronavirus outbreak. For this analysis, we surveyed 10,334 U.S. adults in January 2021. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way, nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

References to those who have experienced job or wage loss include those who say they or someone in their household has been laid off (including temporarily) or furloughed or taken a pay cut since the coronavirus outbreak began in February 2020.

References to White, Black and Asian adults include only those who are not Hispanic and identify as only one race. Hispanics are of any race.

All references to party affiliation include those who lean toward that party. Republicans include those who identify as Republicans and those who say they lean toward the Republican Party. Democrats include those who identify as Democrats and those who say they lean toward the Democratic Party.

References to college graduates or people with a college degree comprise those with a bachelor’s degree or more. “Some college” includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a degree.

“Middle income” is defined here as two-thirds to double the median annual family income for panelists on the American Trends Panel. “Lower income” falls below that range; “upper income” falls above it. See the methodology for more details.

References to disabled adults include those who say a disability or handicap keeps them from fully participating in work, school, housework or other activities.

Most in households that have faced job, wage loss see negative long-term financial impact of COVID-19

About a year since the coronavirus recession began, there are some signs of improvement in the U.S. labor market, and Americans are feeling somewhat better about their personal finances than they were early in the pandemic. Still, about half of non-retired adults say the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak will make it harder for them to achieve their long-term financial goals, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Among those who say their financial situation has gotten worse during the pandemic, 44% think it will take them three years or more to get back to where they were a year ago – including about one-in-ten who don’t think their finances will ever recover.

The economic fallout from COVID-19 continues to hit some segments of the population harder than others. Lower-income adults, as well as Hispanic and Asian Americans and adults younger than 30, are among the most likely to say they or someone in their household has lost a job or taken a pay cut since the outbreak began in February 2020. 1 Among those who’ve had these experiences, lower-income and Black adults are particularly likely to say they have taken on debt or put off paying their bills in order to cover lost wages or salary.

Related: Unemployed Americans are feeling the emotional strain of job loss; most have considered changing occupations

About four-in-ten upper-income adults say their family’s financial situation has improved in the last year

Adults with upper incomes have fared better. About four-in-ten (39%) say their family’s financial situation has improved compared with a year ago; 32% of those with middle incomes and just 22% of lower-income adults say the same. Upper-income adults are also more likely than those with middle or lower incomes to say they have been spending less and saving more money since the coronavirus outbreak began. (Family incomes are based on 2019 earnings.)

Overall, 53% of U.S. adults now rate their personal financial situation as excellent or good, up from 47% in April 2020 , when the U.S. economy was in a virtual freefall. More than eight-in-ten upper-income adults (86%) and 58% of those with middle incomes say their finances are in excellent or good shape, as do about six-in-ten or more adults with at least a four-year college degree, White and Asian adults, men, and adults ages 65 and older. In contrast, about three-quarters of lower-income adults (74%) and majorities of Black and Hispanic adults and those with a high school diploma or less education say their personal finances are in only fair or poor shape.

Upper-income and middle-income adults, who saw declines in their personal financial ratings from August 2019 to April 2020 , are now about as likely as they were before the coronavirus outbreak to say their personal finances are in excellent or good shape. Personal financial ratings have been more stable among lower-income adults.

Looking ahead, about half of non-retired adults (51%) say the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak will make achieving their long-term financial goals harder. Just 7% say the economic impact of the pandemic will make it easier and 41% say it’ll be neither easier nor harder for them to achieve their financial goals in the long run. Among those in households that experienced job or wage loss since the outbreak began, 62% say the economic impact of the pandemic will make it harder for them to achieve their financial goals, compared with four-in-ten of those who haven’t had these experiences.

The nationally representative survey of 10,334 U.S. adults was conducted Jan. 19-24, 2021, using the Center’s American Trends Panel . 2 Among the other key findings:

The way Americans are planning to use payments from the coronavirus aid package varies considerably by income. Among those who have received or expect to receive a payment from the federal government as part of the aid package, 66% of lower-income adults say they are most likely to use the majority of the money to pay bills or for something essential they or their family need; smaller shares of those with middle (49%) and upper (30%) incomes plan to use the money this way. About a third of those with upper incomes (35%) say they will likely put the money into savings.

There’s no clear consensus among Americans on who should be responsible for making sure people can meet their basic economic needs during the pandemic. Some 45% say the federal government should have the greatest responsibility, while a third point to people themselves or their families. Smaller shares say state or local governments (12%), charitable organizations (2%) or another source (6%) should have the greatest responsibility to do this. These views vary widely across party lines. About six-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners (61%) say the federal government should be mostly responsible for making sure people can meet their basic economic needs during the coronavirus outbreak, compared with 28% of Republicans and those who lean to the GOP. In turn, 51% of Republicans (vs. 18% of Democrats) say people themselves or their families should have this responsibility.

Financial concerns are less pressing than earlier in the pandemic, but many Americans remain worried about meeting some basic needs. About three-in-ten U.S. adults say they worry every day or almost every day about the amount of debt they have (30%) and their ability to save for retirement (29%). Roughly a quarter say they frequently worry about paying their bills (27%) and the cost of health care for them and their family (27%), and about one-in-five say they worry at least almost every day about paying their rent or mortgage (19%) or being able to buy enough food (18%). These concerns are felt more acutely by lower-income adults, as well as by those in households that have experienced job loss or pay cuts during the pandemic. Black and Hispanic adults are more likely than White adults to say they worry about each of these every day or almost every day.

About four-in-ten Americans (42%) say they have been spending less money than usual since the pandemic began, and that is especially the case among upper-income adults. Some 53% of Americans with upper incomes say they’ve been spending less money, compared with 43% of those with middle incomes and 34% of those with lower incomes. Among those who say they have been spending less money, majorities with upper and middle incomes say this is mainly because their daily activities have changed due to coronavirus-related restrictions (86% and 70%, respectively). Among those with lower incomes, more say they’re spending less because they are worried about personal finances (55%) than because their daily activities have changed (44%).

About half of workers who personally lost wages during the pandemic (49%) are still earning less money than before the coronavirus outbreak started. This is particularly the case among older workers: 58% of employed adults ages 50 and older who experienced a pay cut since the outbreak began say they’re earning less money than before, compared with 45% of those younger than 50. One-in-five in the younger group (vs. 6% of those 50 and older) say they are now earning more than they did before the pandemic began, while about a third in each group say they are earning about the same as before.

Personal financial ratings vary widely across racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups

A narrow majority of U.S. adults (53%) now describe their personal financial situation as excellent or good, up from 47% in April 2020 . The share saying their finances are in only fair or poor shape now stands at 46%, compared with 52% earlier in the pandemic.

Majorities of Black and Hispanic Americans rate their personal finances negatively

About six-in-ten White (60%) and Asian adults (58%) currently say their personal financial situation is in excellent or good shape. In contrast, a majority of Black (66%) and Hispanic (59%) Americans say their finances are in only fair or poor shape.

Personal financial ratings also vary considerably by gender, educational attainment and income levels, as was the case early in the pandemic. A majority of men (58%) rate their personal financial situation as excellent or good; 49% of women do so. About seven-in-ten adults with at least a bachelor’s degree (72%) say their personal finances are in excellent or good shape, compared with 48% of those with some college and 41% of adults with a high school diploma or less education.

Income differences are particularly pronounced, with a gap of 60 percentage points between the shares of upper-income (86%) and lower-income (26%) adults who rate their financial situation as excellent or good. About six-in-ten adults with middle incomes (58%) say their finances are in excellent or good shape. Family incomes are based on 2019 earnings.

People who report having a disability (63%) are more likely than those who do not have a disability (42%) to describe their personal financial situation as only fair or poor. This difference remains after taking into account that disabled adults are more likely to have lower incomes than those who are not disabled (82% of lower-income adults with a disability vs. 69% of those who don’t have a disability offer negative assessments of their personal finances).

More Americans say their personal financial situation has improved in the last year than say it has gotten worse

About three-in-ten lower-income adults say their family’s financial situation has worsened in the last year

Despite the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak, about half of U.S. adults (49%) say their family’s financial situation is about the same as it was a year ago; three-in-ten say it has improved, and 21% say it is now worse than it was a year ago.

Upper-income adults are more likely than other income groups to have seen an improvement in their finances: 39% say their family’s financial situation is now better, compared with 32% of those with middle incomes and an even smaller share of lower-income adults (22%). About three-in-ten adults with lower incomes (31%) say their family’s situation has worsened (vs. 18% of adults with middle incomes and 11% of those with upper incomes).

These assessments vary by educational attainment and other demographic characteristics. Some 36% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or more education say their family’s financial situation is now better than it was a year ago; 29% of those with some college and a quarter of those with a high school diploma or less education say the same.

About a third of men (35%) say their family’s financial situation has improved, while a smaller share of women (25%) say the same. In turn, women are more likely than men to say their family’s financial situation is about the same as it was last year (53% vs. 46%).

About a quarter of Black (25%), Hispanic (27%) and Asian (24%) adults say their family’s situation is worse now than it was a year ago; a smaller share of White adults (17%) say this. White adults are more likely than those from other groups to say their financial situation is largely unchanged. (Differences in the shares across racial and ethnic groups saying their financial situation is now better are not statistically significant.)

More than half of Americans who say their family’s financial situation is worse than it was a year ago (55%) expect their finances to recover within two years, with 12% saying they expect it will take less than a year for their financial situation to get back to where it was a year ago. About a quarter (26%) think it will take three to five years and 6% say it will be between six and ten years before their family’s financial situation is back to where it was a year ago. About one-in-ten adults who say their family’s financial situation has worsened (12%) say it will never get back to where it was. These answers vary little, if at all, across demographic groups.

A plurality of lower-income adults are saving less during the pandemic

Many Americans were already struggling to save money before the coronavirus outbreak hit. Some 29% of adults overall say they are not usually able to put any money in savings. This is far more common among lower-income adults, 47% of whom say they are usually not able to save (vs. 25% of middle-income adults and just 8% of upper-income adults). About four-in-ten Black adults (38%) say they are usually not able to save, compared with 31% of Hispanic, 27% of White and 19% of Asian adults.

Most families with upper and middle incomes have been able to continue building their savings since the pandemic started

Among those who are typically able to put some money into savings, 45% say they are still saving about the same amount as they were before the pandemic, while 31% say they are saving less than usual and 23% say they are saving more.

Lower-income adults who usually put money into savings are far more likely than those in other income tiers to say they are now saving less than usual: 47% of lower-income adults say this, compared with 31% of those with middle incomes and 17% of those with upper incomes. By comparison, most middle-income and upper-income adults say they are saving about the same or even more than they were before the pandemic. Among those with middle incomes, 46% say they are saving the same and 22% are saving more than before. Even higher shares of those with upper incomes say this: half are saving about the same and 32% are saving more than before the pandemic.

Among those who are usually able to put money into savings, 44% of Black adults and 42% of Hispanics say they are saving less than they were before the pandemic, compared with 30% of Asian Americans and 26% of White adults. About half of White adults (49%) have continued putting the same amount into savings – higher than the share of Black (33%) and Hispanic (35%) adults who say the same.

Spending is down compared with before the pandemic for many Americans, but mostly because of a change in daily activities rather than concern about finances

Lower-income adults more likely than those with higher incomes to be spending more during the pandemic

About four-in-ten Americans (42%) say they have been spending less money than usual since the coronavirus outbreak began, and a similar share (39%) say they have been spending about the same; 19% say their spending has increased.

Most who are spending less are doing so because of a change in their daily activities, not because of financial worries

Upper-income adults (53%) are more likely than those with middle (43%) or lower incomes (34%) to say they have been spending less money since the pandemic began. About a quarter of those with lower incomes (26%) say they have been spending more, compared with 17% of middle-income adults and 11% of upper-income adults.

Two-thirds of those who are spending less say this is due to their daily activities changing because of coronavirus-related restrictions rather than worries about their personal finances (32%).

This is overwhelmingly the case among upper-income adults who are spending less, 86% of whom say it’s because of their activities changing. Seven-in-ten middle-income adults in this situation say the same. But among lower-income adults who have reduced their spending, more say it’s because they are worried about their personal finances (55%) rather than their daily activities changing (44%).

A majority of lower-income adults who are not retired say the pandemic will make it harder for them to achieve their long-term financial goals

About half of non-retired adults say the pandemic will make it harder for them to achieve their financial goals

Aside from how long they think it will take them to get back to where they were a year ago, many Americans say the economic impact of the coronavirus will have long-term repercussions for their financial future. About half of U.S. adults who are not retired (51%) say that, in the long run, the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak will make it at least somewhat harder for them to achieve their financial goals, with 16% saying it will make it a lot harder; 7% say the economic impact of the pandemic will make it a lot or somewhat easier for them to achieve their financial goals and 41% say it will be neither easier nor harder.

Lower-income adults are particularly likely to see the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak as a potential impediment to reaching their long-term financial goals. About six-in-ten non-retired adults in this group (58%) say that, in the long run, the pandemic will make it harder for them to achieve these goals, including a quarter who say it will make it a lot harder. Half of those with middle incomes and 41% with upper incomes say the pandemic will make it harder for them to reach their financial goals in the long run.

Long-term assessments are especially grim among those who say their finances have taken a hit in the last year. Fully three-quarters of non-retired adults who say their financial situation is now worse than it was a year ago believe the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak will make it harder for them to achieve their financial goals in the long run. That’s in contrast to 35% of those who say their financial situation is better compared with a year ago and 50% of those who say it is about the same.

Many older Americans whose employment was affected during the coronavirus outbreak say they have or may have to delay their retirement

Many older adults who have faced job loss or a pay cut face delayed retirement

About a quarter of U.S. adults ages 50 and older who have not yet retired (24%) expect the coronavirus outbreak to affect their ability to retire. This includes 7% who say they have already delayed their retirement and an additional 17% think they might have to delay it.

Those who have personally been laid off or taken a pay cut since the pandemic began in February 2020 (27% of all adults 50 and older who are not retired) are much more likely to say they expect their retirement to be affected. More than four-in-ten (46%) say they either have already delayed or think they may have to delay their retirement because of the coronavirus outbreak, compared with just 16% who have not experienced a job loss or pay cut.

The shares of non-retired adults ages 50 and older who have delayed or expect to delay their retirement because of the coronavirus outbreak do not vary considerably across income levels or other demographic groups, including gender and educational attainment.

More than four-in-ten U.S. adults say they or someone in their household has lost a job or wages since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak

Hispanic, Asian adults are more likely than other racial groups to say their household has lost either jobs or wages

A third of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household has been laid off or lost a job (including being furloughed and temporarily laid off) since the coronavirus outbreak began in February 2020, and 31% say they or someone in their household has taken a cut in pay due to reduced hours or demand for their work during this period. Overall, 44% say their household has experienced at least one of these since the pandemic began.

Experiences with job and wage loss during the pandemic have not been felt equally across demographic groups. Hispanic (58%) and Asian (54%) adults are more likely than White (40%) or Black (41%) adults to say they or someone in their household has either lost a job or taken a pay cut or both since the outbreak began in February 2020. And while a majority of adults younger than 30 (61%) say they or someone in their household has had these experiences, about half of adults ages 30 to 49 (51%) and smaller shares of those ages 50 to 64 (41%) and 65 and older (21%) say the same.

About half of lower-income adults (49%) say their household has experienced job or wage loss since the coronavirus outbreak began in February 2020, as do 45% of middle-income adults. A far smaller – though substantial – share of upper-income adults (33%) say their household has had one or both of these experiences.

About half of employed adults who took a pay cut since the pandemic began are still earning less than before

Many workers who lost wages during the pandemic are still earning less than they were before the coronavirus outbreak started. Among those who were working before the pandemic started and who personally experienced a pay cut since February 2020, about half (49%) say they are now earning less money than they did before the pandemic; 16% are now earning more money and 34% say they are earning about the same as before. This is consistent across most demographic groups, but employed adults ages 50 and older who experienced a pay cut since the outbreak began are more likely than those younger than 50 to say they’re earning less money than they did before (58% vs. 45%), while those in the younger group are more likely to say they’re earning more than they did before the pandemic (20% vs. 6%).

Lower-income workers are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to have taken unpaid time off

In addition to being more likely than those with higher incomes to have experienced job or wage loss since February 2020, lower-income adults are also more likely to have taken unpaid time off from work for personal, family or medical reasons during this time. About a third of lower-income workers (32%) say they’ve had to do this during this period, compared with 19% of middle-income workers and 10% of those with upper incomes. According to previous research, workers on the lower ends of the wage distribution are less likely than those at the upper ends to have access to paid sick leave .

Women, those younger than 30, and lower-income workers among the most likely to have taken unpaid time off since the pandemic began

Three-in-ten lower-income workers say they have earned more money by working more overtime or longer hours since the coronavirus outbreak began; 24% of middle-income workers and 15% of those with upper incomes say this has happened. And about three-in-ten workers across income tiers say they have gotten a pay raise or a higher-paying job during this time.

Workers younger than 30 are far more likely than older workers to say they have gotten a pay raise or a higher-paying job since the coronavirus outbreak began (47% vs. 30% of workers ages 30 to 49, 21% of those ages 50 to 64 and 16% of those ages 65 and older). Younger workers are also more likely than older adults to say they have earned more money by working more overtime or longer hours and to say they have taken unpaid time off work for personal, family or medical reasons.

The survey also finds that, among employed adults, men are somewhat more likely than women to say they have gotten a pay raise or a higher-paying job since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak (32% vs. 28%). In turn, a larger share of employed women than men say they have taken unpaid time off work for personal, family or medical reasons since the beginning of the pandemic (23% vs. 16%).

About three-in-ten Americans often worry about their debt and saving for retirement, but these concerns were higher in April

Three-in-ten adults frequently worry about their debt

Roughly three-in-ten adults say they worry every day or almost every day about the amount of debt they have (30%) and being able to save enough for their retirement (29%). About a quarter worry about paying their bills and the cost of health care for them and their family (27% each). About one-in-five often worry about paying their rent or mortgage (19%) or being able to buy enough food for them and their family (18%). Some 16% of workers say they frequently worry that they will lose their job or take a pay cut due to reduced hours or demand for their work. About four-in-ten or more adults say they worry about each of these at least sometimes.

These concerns were more pressing earlier in the coronavirus outbreak than they are now. Higher shares in April 2020 said that they frequently worried about saving enough for retirement (38%), paying their bills (38%) or debt (36%), the cost of health care for them and their family (35%), taking a pay cut (29% of employed adults) and losing their job (23% of employed adults). (The items on paying rent or a mortgage and being able to buy enough food were not asked in April.) The decrease in concern since April was evident across income levels.

About one-third of lower-income adults say they worry often about being able to buy enough food

Lower-income adults are far more likely to worry often about each of these than middle- and upper-income adults. For example, 44% of those with lower incomes say they worry about paying their bills daily or almost daily, compared with 23% of middle-income adults and only 9% of those with upper incomes. And while about a third of lower-income adults say they worry about paying their rent or mortgage (34%) or being able to buy enough food (32%) daily or almost daily, 15% or less among middle-income and upper-income adults express similar concerns.

Adults living in households that have experienced job loss or a pay cut during the pandemic are more likely than those in households that have not to say they often worry about each of these concerns. For example, those who had their household’s job or pay affected are about twice as likely to say they worry daily or almost daily about being able to buy enough food for them and their families as those who were not affected (25% vs. 12%).

Black and Hispanic Americans (who have lower incomes on average than White Americans) are more likely than White adults to frequently have these worries. Meanwhile, Asian Americans are about equally as likely as White adults to say they often worry about their debt, saving for their retirement, the cost of health care, paying their bills and losing their job. However, they are more likely than White adults to say they worry about paying their rent or mortgage, being able to buy enough food and taking a cut in pay.

Adults 65 and older tend to be less worried about each of these concerns than their younger counterparts. In fact, the burden of some of these worries falls most heavily on those in the 30- to 49-year-old age group. For example, 25% of this group says they worry frequently about paying their rent or mortgage, compared with 20% of those ages 18 to 29, 19% of those 50 to 64 and 8% of those 65 and older.

Americans with disabilities – that is, those who say a disability or handicap keeps them from fully participating in work, school, housework or other activities – are also more likely than those without disabilities to say they often worry about each concern. For example, 36% of disabled Americans (who tend to have lower incomes than those without disabilities) say they often worry about the cost of health care for them and their family, while 25% of those without disabilities say the same.

About half of lower-income adults in households that have lost income during the pandemic have taken on debt to help make ends meet

The survey also asked those who are in a household in which someone has been laid off or taken a pay cut since the pandemic began how they covered those lost wages or salaries. Cutting back on spending topped the list, with 71% saying they did this to help make up for their lost wages. Using savings was another common strategy, with about half of those who experienced a loss of wages saying they did this (52% say they used savings they had set aside for something else, and the same share say they used emergency savings). Smaller shares said they took on debt (38%), did side jobs or temporary work outside of their regular job (37%), received unemployment benefits (32%), borrowed money from family or friends (30%), put off paying bills (30%) or went on public assistance other than unemployment benefits (15%).

Many lower-income adults have taken consequential measures to make up for lost wages during the pandemic

Lower-income adults whose households have experienced job or wage loss since the pandemic began are more likely than upper-income adults to say they have taken each of these steps. In fact, many in this group have taken consequential measures, such as borrowing money from family or friends (50%), taking on debt (48%) and putting off paying bills (42%).

Among upper-income adults whose household experienced a loss of income, 55% say they cut back on spending as a way to compensate. Much smaller shares (about a third or less) say they have taken each of the other measures asked about in the survey. Few said they have had to take the types of consequential measures that many lower-income adults rely on, such as taking on debt (17% of upper-income adults), putting off paying bills (13%) or borrowing from friends or family (7%).

Among households experiencing loss of income, reports of using unemployment benefits are more common among those who say they or someone in their household lost a job (permanently or temporarily). 3 Overall, 39% of those who lost a job or had someone in their household who did say they received unemployment benefits, compared with 11% of those in households that experienced a pay cut but no job loss (even while many people who had their hours cut during the pandemic are eligible ). Lower-, middle- and upper-income adults who experienced job loss are about equally likely to say they received this type of benefit.

About two-in-ten of those from households that experienced a job loss (19%) say they went on public assistance other than unemployment benefits, compared with 5% of those who experienced a pay cut but no job loss. Among the households who experienced job loss, 33% of lower-income adults say they went on this kind of public assistance, compared with 13% of middle-income adults and just 2% of upper-income adults.

Most lower-income adults who expect a stimulus payment say they will use it to pay for bills or essentials

As the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic continued in late 2020, Congress passed a second stimulus bill to help ease the financial hardships many Americans have faced. About half of U.S. adults who have received or expect to receive a payment from the federal government as part of the stimulus package (52%) say they will use a majority of these funds to pay bills or for something essential they or their family needs. Another 22% say they will save it; 16% say they will use it to pay off debt; and 10% say they will use it for something else, including for something non-essential they or their family wants, charitable donations, helping friends and family, supporting local businesses, or some combination.

The way Americans are planning to use payments from the second coronavirus aid package parallel what those who received or expected to receive a payment early in the pandemic said about how they planned to use those funds .

A majority of lower-income adults who expect to receive a payment from the government coronavirus aid package say they will use it on bills, essentials

Lower-income adults are the most likely to say they will use a majority of the money to pay for bills or for something essential among those expecting a payment in each income group; 66% say this, compared with 49% of middle-income adults and 30% of those with upper incomes. About a third of adults with upper incomes (35%) say they expect to save most of it; 24% of those with middle incomes and 12% of lower-income adults say the same.

Plans for the stimulus payments vary across racial and ethnic groups and educational attainment. About six-in-ten Black and Hispanic adults (61% each) say they will use a majority of the money to pay for bills or essentials, compared with 48% of White adults and 51% of Asian adults. White and Asian adults are more likely than Black and Hispanic adults to say they will save it (24% and 28% vs. 16% and 15% respectively). Six-in-ten adults with a high school diploma or less education say they will use a majority of the money to pay for bills or essentials; 53% of those with some college, and 40% with a bachelor’s degree or more education say the same.

About four-in-ten Americans say the federal government’s aid package will help them and their household at least a fair amount

Overall, about four-in-ten adults (41%) say the aid package passed by the federal government in December 2020 would help them and their household a great deal or a fair amount. Majorities say the aid package will help small businesses (54%), large businesses (57%), and unemployed people (61%) at least a fair amount. This is a notable shift in confidence from early in the pandemic when about seven-in-ten or more Americans said the aid package passed in March would help large and small businesses and unemployed people; 46% said the earlier aid package would help them and their household.

Lower-income adults more likely to say the federal aid package will help them and their household a great deal

A majority of adults with lower incomes (56%) say the aid package will help them and their household at least a fair amount, with 28% saying it would help them a great deal . This compares to 41% of middle-income adults and 17% of those with upper incomes who say it will help them at least a fair amount.

Among other key demographic groups, adults under age 30, Black and Hispanic adults, and those without a college degree are among the most likely to say the aid package will help them and their household at least a fair amount. Over half of Black and Hispanic adults say the aid package will help them and their households (58% and 56% respectively) at least a fair amount, with significant shares saying it will help them a great deal (31% and 28% respectively). Smaller shares of White (35%) and Asian adults (43%) say it will help them a great deal or a fair amount.

Half of adults under age 30 say the federal aid package will help them and their households at least a fair amount; 43% of those ages 30 to 49, 39% of those ages 50 to 64, and 33% of adults ages 65 and older say the same. Adults with a high school diploma or less education are more likely to say the federal aid package will help them and their households at least a fair amount (50%) than those with some college experience (42%) and those with a bachelor’s degree or more education (31%).

No clear consensus on who should have the greatest responsibility for making sure people can meet their basic economic needs during the coronavirus outbreak

When asked who should have the greatest responsibility for making sure people can meet their basic economic needs during the coronavirus outbreak, 45% point to the federal government, while a third say people themselves or their families should have the greatest responsibility. Smaller shares say state or local governments (12%), charitable organizations (2%), or another source (6%), most often a combination of all of these, should be most responsible.

There is a sharp partisan divide on this issue. About six-in-ten Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic party (61%) say the federal government should have the greatest responsibility, and just 18% say it should be people themselves or their families. Among Republicans and Republican leaners, 28% point to the federal government, while a larger share (51%) say people themselves or their families should have the greatest responsibility for making sure they can meet their basic economic needs during the pandemic.

Partisan divide among Americans on who should have the greatest responsibility for making sure people can meet basic economic needs during the pandemic

Liberal Democrats are the most likely to point to the federal government as having the greatest responsibility to ensure people can meet their basic economic needs during the coronavirus outbreak. About seven-in-ten liberal Democrats (72%) say this, compared with 52% of conservative or moderate Democrats, 36% of moderate or liberal Republicans, and an even smaller share of conservative Republicans (23%). In turn, conservative Republicans are the most likely to say it is people themselves or their families who have this responsibility; 57% say this compared with 41% of moderate or liberal Republicans, 25% of moderate or conservative Democrats and just 11% of liberal Democrats.

Family incomes are based on 2019 earnings and adjusted for differences in purchasing power by geographic region and for household sizes. Middle income is defined here as two-thirds to double the median annual family income for all panelists on the American Trends Panel . Lower income falls below that range; upper income falls above it. Throughout this report, references to adults who have lost a job or been laid off include those who say they were furloughed or temporarily laid off. ↩
For more details, see the Methodology section of the report. ↩
This includes households that experienced both a job loss and a pay cut, as well as those that experienced only a job loss. ↩

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Can you answer these 3 questions about your finances? The majority of US adults cannot

The EU and the US are under-performing in terms of financial literacy. Image: Unsplash/Angie J

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In the US, financial literacy is hovering at around 50%, according to an annual survey, with the EU also under-performing.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Capital Markets initiative is promoting responsible investing across the retail investor ecosystem.
April is Financial Literacy Month in the US, so here’s the latest on why our understanding of money needs to improve – and how.

Money is deeply influential in all our lives. It affects where we live, our education, our health, our careers, our romances, our families and our retirement – plus myriad other junctures along the way.

Yet, while the world of finance is always growing and changing, it appears our grasp of it is not. Surveys reveal that significant numbers of US and EU adults are financially illiterate.

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3 insights for more successful digital and financial literacy initiatives, how boosting women’s financial literacy could help you live a long, fulfilling life , is cryptocurrency the future of finance here's what a new study shows , financial literacy in the us.

One in-depth barometer of personal finance knowledge is 28 questions given annually to US adults, known as the P-Fin Index. The index explores eight functional areas across finance, such as earnings, savings, insuring and comprehending risk.

Data from the 2024 index reveals how financial literacy in the US has hovered around 50% for eight consecutive years , with a 2% drop in the past two years.

The results also show that Americans appear most comfortable with financial knowledge on borrowing, saving and consuming, and the least confident around comprehending financial risk.

Financial (il)literacy is holding steady: 2017-2024

To better understand Americans’ financial literacy, Professor Annamaria Lusardi and Professor Olivia Mitchell designed three multiple-choice questions, known as the Big Three. You can test yourself on these, below, and find out the answers here :

1. Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2% per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?

2. Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year. After one year, with the money in this account, would you be able to buy…

3. Do you think the following statement is true or false? Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.

In 2021, just under 30% of Americans answered all of them correctly . Even more concerning, points out Professor Lusardi in a Cambridge University paper, was the fact that this knowledge gap was compounded by a false sense of financial knowledge by survey respondents, who gave themselves an average rating of 5.1 out of 7. “These findings raise concerns that the gap between perception and reality can cause overconfidence when it comes to critical financial decision-making,” she said.

Financial literacy in the EU

The US is not alone in having a significant financial knowledge gap. In the European Union (EU) a quarter of respondents scored low for knowledge in the 2023 Eurobarometer survey on financial literacy, with 18% at a low level of financial literacy.

“This first ever EU survey on financial literacy is a wake-up call for us and Member States ,” said Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union. “Together we need to do more to improve levels of financial literacy in the EU. Equipping people with the confidence and skills to make informed decisions about their money is in everyone's interest.”

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network has built a global community of central banks, international organizations and leading blockchain experts to identify and leverage innovations in distributed ledger technologies (DLT) that could help usher in a new age for the global banking system.

We are now helping central banks build, pilot and scale innovative policy frameworks for guiding the implementation of DLT, with a focus on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) . DLT has widespread implications for the financial and monetary systems of tomorrow, but decisions about its use require input from multiple sectors in order to realize the technology’s full potential.

“Over the next four years, we should expect to see many central banks decide whether they will use blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to improve their processes and economic welfare. Given the systemic importance of central bank processes, and the relative freshness of blockchain technology, banks must carefully consider all known and unknown risks to implementation.”

Our Central Banks in the Age of Blockchain community is an initiative of the Platform for Shaping the Future of Technology Governance: Blockchain and Digital Assets.

Read more about our impact , and learn how you can join this first-of-its-kind initiative.

Comprehension of financial risk is particularly low

The world of money is changing significantly , so knowing how to benefit from financial markets while avoiding risk is very important. Yet, results from the P-Fin Index show that people’s comprehension of risk in the US has fallen further behind, sliding by 4% since 2017, to just 35% this year. This is a far-reaching problem, as not being alert to financial risk appears to span generations, as the chart below shows.

Navigating risk is a cornerstone of financial literacy, and this knowledge gap was found to extend to all age groups.

Being able to navigate risk is crucial, especially as we live through one of the most dynamic chapters in the history of finance. Around 1 billion people could be using cryptocurrencies by 2028 , Statista data shows, and revenues in the fintech industry could grow almost three times faster between now and 2028 than those in the traditional banking sector, according to McKinsey.

The state of retirement fluency

The global economy is also struggling, which directly impacts inflation levels and therefore risk for the general population. This year is expected to be “another tough year” with “ sluggish global growth ”, says António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in the latest World Economic Situation and Prospects 2024 report.

And people are living longer than ever, which means the traditional retirement plan for nearly 2 billion people may need adjusting. By 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will reach 22% , according to the World Health Organization (WHO). For this reason, the P-Fin Index included five questions specifically aimed at retirement fluency in the US for the first time this year.

How to be financially savvy

Like any learning, understanding the ins and outs of mortgages, investments, risk profiles and other financial options takes time. But there are ways for people to develop their own financial toolkits.

The P-Fin Index recommends financial education in primary and secondary schools. Denmark already has mandatory financial education for students ages 13-15 , covering budgeting, saving, banking, consumer rights and more, while the UK has incorporated it into its national curriculum . These efforts are paying off: Denmark and the UK rank first and sixth , respectively, in financial literacy worldwide, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Global Survey.

Organizations can also step forward to orchestrate learning platforms, such as the work done by partners in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Global Fintech Research Initiative . They conducted a series of multi-stakeholder regional roundtables to explore lessons learned from ongoing and recent public-private efforts to advance literacy.

Financial literacy is a journey with no end; as the world changes, so too must our knowledge. But embracing the ‘ABCs’ of money management today can help billions of people worldwide enhance their bank accounts – and in turn, their lives.

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The crippling home insurance crisis hitting America

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Rana Foroohar

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

It’s no secret that there’s a housing crisis in America. Shelter has accounted for the bulk of core inflation over the past couple of years.

But even if you can afford a home, you may not be able to insure it. The cost of homeowner’s insurance in the US rose 23 per cent from January 2023 to February 2024, even as coverage in many places is decreasing. In hurricane-prone Louisiana, premiums were up 63 per cent. States such as Florida are becoming uninsurable, as providers pull out of the market altogether.

The obvious driver here is climate change and the risk of more severe weather events, such as floods, fires, wind storms and tornadoes. But there are other factors in play too. These include the slow adoption of risk mitigation technologies, the failure of insurers, banks and public officials to come up with joint approaches to cost sharing and the huge opacity in the market — at least for consumers.

I am one of many to have experienced this. A couple of months ago, my insurance company decided to raise the price of the yearly insurance premiums on our Brooklyn home by 51 per cent over three years, after more than doubling the estimated cost to rebuild should it burn to the ground or be washed away in a hurricane.

While neither outcome seems likely for a limestone townhouse that sits on a hill more than a mile and a half away from the nearest flood zone, our insurer came up with an estimate that was more than double what the house would go for on the open market, making coverage both excessive and unaffordable. When I raised all this in an email with the risk assessor who had inspected our home, I received no response.

In shopping around for a new insurer, I discovered the hugely bifurcated and inefficient market that Americans are currently grappling with. No one was willing to sell us a premium for the market value of our home and simultaneously prepared to write us a cheque for that value in case of total loss. We had two choices. Take out a policy with a handful of luxury insurers that would only sell us far greater coverage than we wanted for much more than we could afford. Or go with a budget policy offering roughly a third of what it would cost to buy a similar home in the case of a total loss — with the money only paid out if we chose to rebuild on site.

In essence, that means that if our house burns down, we’ll be left with just the value of the lot (not nothing, but not ideal). Sadly, this isn’t uncommon, in New York and many other places across America. Both options seemed nuts, but only one was affordable. We went with the inexpensive policy, bought four fire extinguishers and made peace with the fact that if our home were ever gutted, we would sell the lot and move to a place where housing is exponentially cheaper.

All this was particularly infuriating because we have any number of friends with similar homes who are paying wildly different prices for insurance. When I asked our broker how it was possible, or even legal, for a neighbour with the same insurer and the exact same house three doors away to pay a bit more than half our new quote, she told us that their premiums would very likely be raised next. And while we could take the issue to the state regulators, she suspected they were being cautious about acting since New York is at risk of becoming a new Florida and uninsurable if officials pressed insurers too hard.

How could there be so few options, so little transparency and such tolerance of inflation and inefficiency in a market as big as New York? Why was my home, which has never been seriously damaged by weather, being risk-assessed like something in a hurricane flood zone that is more than a mile and a half away? Why is the insurance industry so bad at pricing risk in a more precise way around the city, and indeed, much of the rest of the country?

Is there not technology that could properly assess such differences, perhaps sensors placed in the home to assess whether a particular property was at risk of wind damage or actually had water regularly in the basement? “I don’t know,” our broker said, adding that she fielded such questions every day. “Maybe call Lloyd’s of London.”

So, I did. Lloyd’s is the world’s oldest insurance marketplace, and its chief executive John Neal told me that the home insurance market, particularly in coastal America, “has reached a tipping point”. While high tech flood-detection systems are starting to be available, they haven’t been widely adopted (and would probably only be for those rich enough to pay for them).

More crucially, he said, “banks, insurers, regulators and governments haven’t sat down and discussed how to share risk responsibility”. While climate is changing, the model for insurance has not. The premiums of the many still pay for the losses of the few. But those losses are increasing, and neither the public nor private sector has yet grappled with the full ramifications of this. Individuals are left to struggle through it alone.

Given the cost of premiums, something has to change. Certainly, there’s a market opportunity for more innovative and efficient insurers. But I suspect that coastal states, backed up by reinsurers, will also have to lower the risks to homes by building flood walls and better drainage systems in vulnerable areas. This means charging higher taxes to pay for them.

Until that happens, individual homeowners will have to make their peace with the prospect of nosebleed premiums or big potential losses.

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The crippling home insurance crisis hitting America
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