Moving Forward

The recent collapse of the mortgage market revealed fractures in the credit market that have deep roots in the system’s structure, conduct, and regulation. The time has come for a clear-eyed assessment of what happened and how the system should be strengthened and restructured. Such reform will have a profound and lasting impact on the capacity of Americans to use credit to build assets and finance consumption.

Moving Forward explores what caused the crisis and, more important, focuses on the path ahead. The challenge remains the same as ever: protect consumers, ensure fairness, and guarantee soundness of the financial system without stifling innovation and overly restricting access to credit and consumer choice. Nicolas Retsinas, Eric Belsky, and their colleagues aim to stimulate debate based on analysis of the opportunities and challenges presented by the various components of global capital markets: financial engineering, risk assessment and management, specialization of financial intermediation, and marketing methods. The contributors—leaders in business, government, academia, and the nonprofit sector—discuss new research and ideas about the future of credit markets, including how improvements might be shaped by industry leaders.

Contributors: John Y. Campbell, Harvard University; Marsha J. Courchane, Charles River Associates; Ren Essene, Federal Reserve Board; Allen Fishbein, Federal Reserve Board; Howell E. Jackson, Harvard Law School; Melissa Koide, Center for Financial Services Innovation; Michael Lea, San Diego State University; Eugene Ludwig, Promontory Financial Group; Brigitte C. Madrian, Harvard Kennedy School; Nela Richardson, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University; Rachel Schneider, Center for Financial Services Innovation; Peter Tufano, Harvard Business School; Peter M. Zorn, Freddie Mac

Nicolas P. Retsinas is a senior lecturer in real estate at the Harvard Business School where he teaches courses in housing finance and real estate in emerging markets. He is also director emeritus of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Eric S. Belsky is managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and lecturer in urban planning and design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Together Retsinas and Belsky have edited four previous books copublished by the Joint Center and the Brookings Institution Press.