The poor performance of Wall Street and America regulators has cost America a good deal in terms of the soft power of its economic model’s attractiveness, but the blow need not be fatal if, in contrast to Japan in the 1990’s, the US manages to absorb the losses and limit the damage. The World Economic Forum still rates the American economy as the world’s most competitive, owing to its labor-market flexibility, higher education, political stability, and openness to innovation.
危机经常驳倒了传统观点；这场危机显示美国经济潜在的实力仍然很强。华尔街和美国监管者的糟糕表现，已经给美国经济模式的吸引力这样的软实力造成了重大损失，如果美国和20世界90年代的日本相比，能够成功消化损失并降低危害，当前的金融危机的打击不一定是致命的。因为其劳动力市场的弹性，较高的教育水平，政治稳定以及对创新的接受能力，世界经济论坛仍然将美国经济评为世界上最有竞争力的经济体。