None of these stories, by itself, can account for the build-up of financial fragilities, which were then fully revealed by the outbreak of the crisis. To this end, as I noted earlier, the role of macroeconomic policies appears essential. 4.
Policy frameworks  Two central elements of the story I have sketched out are: (a) an overly expansionary US monetary policy, which permitted a long expansion of consumer spending financed by growing indebtedness; (b) the choice by China and other emerging countries to follow an export-led growth strategy supported by pegging currency to the US dollar, resulting in the accumulation of large official reserves.