House of Debt: How They (and You) Caused the Great Recession, and How We Can Prevent It from Happening Again
Atif Mian, Amir Sufi
Though the banking crisis captured the public's attention, Mian and Sufi argue strongly that current policy is too heavily biased toward protecting banks and creditors. Increasing the flow of credit is disastrously counterproductive when the fundamental problem is too much debt. Excessive household debt leads to foreclosures, causing individuals to spend less and save more. Less spending means less demand for goods, followed by declines in production and huge job losses. How do we end such a cycle? With a direct attack on debt.
Award History
0 wins · 2 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FT Business Book of the YearMajor | 2014 | Shortlist | Secondary source |
| PROSE Award for Economics | 2015 | Honorable mention | Official source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.
- Mian and Sufi40%
02 Central places
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
03 Suggested argument
Current policy is overly focused on protecting banks and creditors, and increasing credit is counterproductive because excessive debt leads to foreclosures, reduced spending, lower demand, production declines, and major job losses—so debt must be directly attacked.
Model confidence 68%
04 Reading orientation
55 / 100 academicTrade / academic crossover
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 62%.