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Research: Great Recession Financial Crisis

The Great Recession began with the collapse major banks and financial institutions that were overexposed when a bubble in the housing market burst. The crisis  was based on reckless and predatory lending practices and unregulated speculation in credit-default swaps and other poorly understood investment instruments. Seattle was the scene of the biggest bank collapse in US history when Washington Mutual (WAMU), which had operated in Washington State for more than 120 years, closed it doors and was taken over by federal regulators. Nearly 50,000 employees lost their jobs. This project involves reading secondary and primary sources to understand the dynamics of the financial crisis as it developed in 2007 and 2008. Part of the paper will focus on the Washington Mutual collapse. For that you will read newspaper coverage prior to and during the crisis.  Several books recommended below will help with the broader context. You must read at least one.

 Primary source research (newspapers):

 1) Begin by downloading this project database_hstaa353-excel.xlsx Download project database_hstaa353-excel.xlsx

 2) We are using ProQuest Historical Newspapers for newspaper searches. Below is the link to the pre-arranged databases of newspaper articles that you should use. It delivers articles from newspapers and magazines related to this topic. 

 

a) you should see a page like this. If not, you may need to click the Library's login button top right and enter your UW-net ID

proquest results1.png

 

b) scroll the titles of articles, clicking on those that seem most relevant. Some will be mistaken entries triggered by the search terms. Others will be too short to be useful. Download copies of all articles that might be useful or interesting. It is more efficient to download them than to read them in ProQuest. 

c) use "back to results" to return to the search results.

proquest results4.png

d) you can filter results using the menus on left side. Sorted by "oldest first" means the entries are in chronological order. "Relevance" is the other option. You can also open the Publication title menu and select articles from particular newspapers.

proquest results2.png

 

3) After downloading many articles, add at least 20 to your project database_hstaa353-excel.xlsx Download project database_hstaa353-excel.xlsx and write a short description of the event or issue described in each article. Feel free to add additional information in other columns. Your spreadsheet needs to include no less than 20 articles. You will submit the research database along with your paper.

4)  Please DO NOT save or delete the ProQuest search. Others will not be able to use it.

 

Secondary source research (books):

Ebook: Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World Links to an external site. by Adam Toose (2018)

Ebook: The Leaderless Economy: y he World Economy Fell Apart and How to Fix It Links to an external site. by Peter Temin and David Vines (2013)

Ebook: First Responders: Inside the U. S. Strategy for Fighting the 2007-2009 Global Financial Crisis Links to an external site. by Ben Bernanke, et. al.

Ebook: Hall of mirrors : the Great Depression, the great recession, and the uses-and misuses-of history Links to an external site.
Barry J. Eichengreen

Policy briefs about the causes and consequences of the 2008-2010 Great Recession published by   the UC Berkeley Institute for Research on Labor and Employment:

https://irle.berkeley.edu/what-really-caused-the-great-recession/

https://irle.berkeley.edu/the-great-recession-families-and-the-safety-net/

https://irle.berkeley.edu/the-post-recession-labor-market-an-incomplete-recovery/

https://irle.berkeley.edu/the-great-recession-reduced-fertility-among-unmarried-and-teen-women/