This meticulously documented work sets forth the major causes of the greatest asset bubble in world economic history―the American housing bubble, which began in 1940 and collapsed in 2007.
• Extracts from major legislation―federal, state, and local―that promoted the creation of the housing bubble
• An introductory essay illuminating the broad features of Western capitalism and the financial and government institutions that have evolved to promote and regulate it, notably in the United States
• A detailed chronology orienting readers to the sequence and context of events
• A glossary of important financial and regulatory terms and terms used by those in the housing industry
• An appendix of governmental agencies and private institutions and think tanks involved in various aspects of the financial crisis
• A bibliography listing hundreds of sources, from articles and periodicals to books and treatises