As signs increasingly point to a recovery in both the financial system and the real economy, it increasingly appears that a repeat of the Great Depression has been averted. The prevention of complete economic collapse appears to be one of the few certainties. Critical issues such as the reasons for the collapse, the nature of the recovery, and even an assurance that the recent crisis will not be repeated are far from resolved. Financial Design in the Aftermath, a conversation among some of today’s most prominent economic thinkers, will examine these issues by exploring five central questions:

* Have the central factors behind the crisis been identified?
* Do the current proposals for a new financial design sufficiently address the causes of the credit freeze?
* Are the conditions for a new financial crisis building?
* Will the recovery be characterized by a V, U, or W growth pattern?
* If the U.S. does not recover in a U or V pattern, what implications will this have for the global economy?

With Emanuel Derman, Columbia University; Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University; Yu Yongding, Director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; and Luigi Zingales, University of Chicago.