March 17, 2010

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.

You might also like

A group of children interacts with an adult man, some laughing and smiling.

A colleague remembers the late Harvard professor and child psychiatrist, who died this month.

A photograph of the inside of the From Iran exhibit at the Harvard Peabody Museum

Tk tk Iran

Artist Azadeh Akhlaghi reconstructs moments of Iranian political upheaval in a series of meticulously staged images.

Smiling man in a black suit against a dark blue background.

Jason Furman to Lead Center for Business and Government

The new director of Harvard Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center bridges economic research and policy.

Most popular

Soccer player and goalkeeper Matt Freese standing in front of the net

The former economics concentrator brings his talent for crunching numbers to netminding.

Construction site featuring tall concrete structures, cranes, and a blue sky with clouds.

Pritzker Hall, designed for collaboration, should be complete in 2027.

A blue refrigerator covered with animal pictures, notes, and drawings, surrounded by greenery.

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Explore More From Current Issue

An open book with a film strip emerging, trailing popcorn and a dancer silhouette.

Letters to the Editor

Readers Respond to Our Adaptations Survey

We asked people to share their favorite art adaptations. Here’s what they said.

A chaotic scene in a messy room with people engaging in various activities, some cleaning.

Harvard History

Until the 1950s, professionals cleaned up after students in the dorms.

Black and white photo of Joseph Murray in a white lab coat sitting in an office.

Alumni Profiles

Nobel Prize recipient Joseph E. Murray dedicated much of his career to organ transplant surgery.