In 2008 the United States suffered a devastating economic collapse. Millions of Americans were unemployed; families lost their homes; and long time businesses were forced to shut down. These events put the United States into an economic depression so deep that the country has yet to fully recover. The crisis was not a natural disaster but varieties of private sector agents such as banks and hedge funds were responsible for its efficient cause. Even though the housing and stock bubbles were generated largely by market forces rather than by government policies, the US government policies and institutions also played a significant role in framing the frequency and severity of the financial crisis. Beside the housing market bubble, the collapse of the shadow banking system played a significant role in framing the financial crisis of 2008. My aim in this paper is to analyze in detail as to how the shadow banking system and the corporations and markets that fall under its regulatory umbrella, were able to grow so immensely and what made them vulnerable to failure.
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