As compared to all those countries where wise regulators ensured wise bankers.
There are countries that did much better—Canada, for instance, avoided a banking crisis. There are also countries that seem to have handled it better, such as the Baltic states.
Just to be clear: I’m not saying necessarily that I know what the optimal thing to do was, in 2007-2009. What I’m arguing is that it’s often unclear for a long time how well a given country’s policies have worked, since negative consequences don’t always become visible quickly.
There are countries that did much better—Canada, for instance, avoided a banking crisis. There are also countries that seem to have handled it better, such as the Baltic states.
Just to be clear: I’m not saying necessarily that I know what the optimal thing to do was, in 2007-2009. What I’m arguing is that it’s often unclear for a long time how well a given country’s policies have worked, since negative consequences don’t always become visible quickly.