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BPEA | 1988 No. 1

Is There a Corporate Debt Crisis?

Ben S. Bernanke and
Ben S. Bernanke Distinguished Senior Fellow - The Brookings Institution, Economic Studies

John Y. Campbell
JYC
John Y. Campbell Harvard University
Discussants: Benjamin M. Friedman and
BMF
Benjamin M. Friedman Harvard University
Lawrence H. Summers
Lawrence H. Summers Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus - Harvard University

1988, No. 1


CONCERN about the financial stability of the U.S. corporate sector has been a staple of the business press and, to a lesser extent, of academic research for years. Henry Kaufman has been particularly consistent in warning about the dangers of excessive debt, in the household and government sectors as well as in corporations. His most recent article stresses the rapid growth of debt relative to income, as well as deteriorating credit quality.