Honors thesis plumbs meltdown

A Harvard honors thesis on the Wall Street meltdown is a source for an important new book on the subject.

The summa cum laude thesis in economics written by A.K. Barnett-Hart ’09 was a useful source for Michael Lewis's just-published book The Big Short,  on the Wall Street meltdown and ensuing recession, according to Peter Lattman's "Deal Journal,"  a Wall Street Journal  blog. Lewis, the author of Liar's Poker, Moneyball,  and The Blind Side, lauds Barnett-Hart's thesis, handed in just a year ago, in his acknowledgments section, asserting that it "remains more interesting than any single piece of Wall Street research on the subject." Titled "The Story of the CDO [collateralized debt obligations] Market Meltdown: An Empirical Analysis," Barnett-Hart's thesis also won a Harvard Hoopes Prize for outstanding scholarly work. 



Related topics

You might also like

After a final round of layoffs, University leaders say 165 staff jobs were eliminated across the division.

Before a data center is built, Francesca Dominici and Le Xie aim to predict costs to the grid, the air, and the neighbors next door.

Sheila Jasanoff has spent her career studying how societies produce knowledge, evaluate expertise, and make decisions about technology.

Most popular

Social Media Use and Adult Depression

A survey reveals suprising links between social media use and depression in adults.

The Franklin Stove—A Historical Climate Change Adaptation

Historian Joyce E. Chaplin reinterprets an early era of invention, industrialization, and climate challenge

Massachusetts General Hospital's resident mummy undergoes restoration and study

MGH's resident mummy undergoes restoration and a medical exam.

Explore More From Current Issue

University Hall with steps and the John Harvard statue, surrounded by trees and a grassy lawn.

Long-discussed reorganization includes layoffs and the end of the Dudley Community.

Colorful word cloud with various emotions and ideas related to learning and reflection.

But it can’t replace human connection.

A glowing bulb shape surrounded by colorful, swirling energy lines against a blue background.

Harvard researchers achieve medical breakthroughs in cancer therapy and infection control.