How did we get into this mess? Fuqua School of Business students recently submitted questions about the current financial crisis to Campbell Harvey, J. Paul Sticht Professor of International Business at Fuqua. Below are his video responses to several of the questions. (Quicktime required)
Q: Do "average" Americans who keep their money in commercial banks have to worry about their bank deposits being safe? Watch Professor Harvey's response
Q: Personal political inclinations aside, do you think that one of the major economic proposals in response to the crisis made by the Democrats or Republicans will make more of a positive impact? Or is it unclear which proposal is "better?" Watch Professor Harvey's response
Q. What do you think the ramifications of acquiring so many firms in such a short time-span (4 years) will be 2 or 3 years out for commercial banks that now have brokerage operations like Bank of America? Watch Professor Harvey's response
Q. Explain why commercial banks are in trouble. They have deposits that are safe and guaranteed by the government. Watch Professor Harvey's response
Q: I'm curious why the U.S. Treasury Dept. decided to step in with Bear Stearns and AIG, but not with Lehman Brothers. Could you talk about the implications of each, and what the benefits and pitfalls of the government's decisions are? What are the potential pitfalls of stepping in at all versus stepping in selectively? Watch Professor Harvey's response
For more questions and video responses, click here.