Friday, September 3, 2010

Where is Mary Poppins When You Need Her?

One of the classic movie moments of collectively irrational behavior is a run on a bank in Mary Poppins.  And I always thing of it when I see any other banking crisis like the one in Afghanistan.  In the movie, a kid seeking his money back after not being pleased by the lending practices triggers a panic.  In Afghanistan, a bank that has been poorly administered and apparently tied to Karzai is having problemos.  And in a brief conversation at the APSA meeting with an expert on Afghanistan, the bank run may be more of a bank theft.  Oy.  Too big to fail?  No.  Is Afghanistan too important to fail?  I am having my doubts.

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