Amir Sufi, professor of finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, argues in his new book House of Debt that a sharp increase in household debt was an underlying reason for the Great Recession (in 2008) and a primary cause for our still sluggish recovery. 

With co-author Atif Mian, Sufi argues that while the banks recovered thanks to a government bailout, the lack of any serious effort to lessen the debt burden for homeowners is why for many the recession seems never to have ended. Sufi joins us to discuss his book, and what in his view, former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner got wrong. 

Amir Sufi is the Chicago Board of Trade Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and co-director of the Initiative on Global Markets. Check out his House of Debt  blog at houseofdebt.org.