Note: This is post #92 in a weekly video series on basic economics.

What caused the Great Recession of 2008? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, economist Tyler Cowen discusses a couple of key reasons, including homeowners’ leverage, securitization, and the role of excess confidence and incentives. He then considers what could have been done to prevent the worst financial crisis of our young century.

(If you find the pace of the videos too slow, I’d mend watching them at 1.5 to 2 times the speed. You can adjust the speed at which the video plays by clicking on “Settings” (the gear symbol) and changing “Speed” from normal to 1.25, 1.5 or 2.)

Clickhereto see other videos in the Introduction to Economics series.