Minsky Moment Misses The Point

It has become common for journalists and analysts refer to the Minsky Moment.  Most recently, there have been numerous references to China having reached such a moment, which as far as I can tell, is used to mean some kind of peak in what the writer believes is an over-extended market.  In this Cool Video, a leading scholar of Minsky, L Randall Wray, explains why this is to misunderstand Minsky’s insight.   

Wray argues that Minsky recognized the historical build up and anticipated frequent and shallow downturns that would eventual generate a great crisis. Stability itself is a fundamental cause of instability. It is not a Minsky moment, but a Minsky half century. The video runs a little more than 4.5 minutes. It begins off slow, but if you stick with it, you will be rewarded with greater insight.  

Video Length: 00:04:43