Bank Runs,Crises,Pol.Responses

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The course offers a historically grounded, discussion-based introduction to financial crises, beginning with the fundamentals of banking and finance and the Diamond–Dybvig model of bank runs, and drawing on Gary Gorton and Ellis Tallman’s Fighting Financial Crises to identify common crisis patterns and policy tools. It then provides an in-depth analysis of the Great Depression and especially the Great Recession, using David Wessel’s In Fed We Trust and selected academic papers to examine policy responses and decision-making. Finally, building on these foundations, the course explores the design of institutions and regulations to prevent and manage crises, including gaps in existing frameworks and reform proposals. The course is student-centric, with active participation, student-led discussions, a writing component, and assessment based on papers and participation, rather than formal exams.