Would the Dodd-Frank Act have averted the financial crisis in 2008?
It's an interesting question and this FDIC paper (or here if that link doesn't work) takes a look at what would have happened when Lehman failed in 2008 if Dodd-Frank was enacted then. Much like how the FDIC takes over a failing bank now and winds them down in an orderly fashion while maximizing value, Dodd-Frank would have done something similar. That one change alone could have averted much of the crisis and allowed a much more orderly deleveraging process to take place. The paper is worth reading and has a nice recap of the Lehman bankruptcy—the largest ever!
