How Do Linkages among Financial Institutions Help to Explain the 2008 Financial Crisis?

Currently, there is a widespread consensus that modeling the financial system as a network is fundamental for deep understanding and effective management of various phenomena. This article aims to provide a brief introduction to the concept of financial networks and focuses on its two core characteristics: clustering and centrality. This paper will evaluate and analyze the2008 U.S. financial crisis based on two characteristics of financial networks: clustering and centrality. It will discuss in detail how financial networks link and amplify financial contagion. For example, it will examine how the high and low values of the clustering coefficient can lead to different consequences for economies. It will also explore how various types of centralities can cause different impacts and how these impacts align with actual event.