The decline and fall of the U.S. economy : how liberals and conservatives both got it wrong / William McDonald Wallace

Author: Wallace, William McDonald
Published: Santa Barbara, Calif. : Praeger, [2010]
Copyright Date: ©2010
Physical Description: xxi, 134 pages ; 24 cm

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Contents

Black & Scholes risk management formula -- Financial deregulation of the early eighties -- The return of laissez faire and the re-celebration of greed -- The logic of financial bubbles that burst -- Mighty bubbles from little acorns grow -- A Faustian bargain (how liberals and conservatives both got it wrong) -- The final collapse in October 2008 -- Uniformitarianism -- Punctuated equilibrium and the froca process -- Human behavior in punctuation vs. equilibrium -- Getting it right.

Summary

""'Just the facts, ma'am,' and R̀ead èm and weep'---these familiar admonitions summarize Edgar Browning's take on the lamentable modern transfer state. But can facts trump the metaphorical absurdity of politics these days? Let's hope the analysis presented here opens a few minds, or at least tempers prejudgment, on some of today's hot-button issues." James M. Buchanan Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1986" ""This book, written by a management consultant with decades of experience advising the financial industry, is meant for individuals trying to make sense of the financial system in the current economic environment. The book is not prescriptive. It describes the various agencies, influences, and market conditions that affect our financial lives, including interesting historical explanations, but is not one of those books that gives advice on how to cut down on credit card debt or make the most of your Roth IRA. The purpose is educational, with the hope that readers will be better able to understand what is taking place in the financial world around them." Reference & Research Book News" "This book offers an examination of the empirical data of business cycles, the theories that economists have developed to explain them, and major case studies of recessions and depressions, both in the United States and internationally." "The conservatives wanted unfettered free markets and liberals wanted easy money for all. Both got what they wanted---and the world's economy came crashing down. Did it happen, at least in part, because Charles Darwin unwittingly misled economists about how economies evolve? What can we do to ensure that it doesn't happen again?" "Who was responsible for the 2008 crash? The Decline and Fall of the U.S. Economy: How Liberals and Conservatives Both Got It Wrong makes it clear that both parties were at fault---and explains how and why. This broad and far-reaching book is the first to analyze the crash from the perspective of evolution, or "punctuated equilibrium." As it explains, the punctuated boom brings on change, the bust leads back to a tightly constrained equilibrium. Both conditions pose risks and both---as William McDonald Wallace argues---can be managed to reduce the odds that economic imbalances will arise." "Focusing on the policies that created bubbles in housing, stocks, and more, Wallace pinpoints historical events that gave rise to unrealistic theories and ideologies, showing how they, in turn, gave rise to policies that led to collapse. He explains how Darwin's now-discredited theory of "uniformitarianism" (evolution as a continuous, smooth process) led economists to ignore how evolution actually influences economies and economic behavior, and he shows what we can do so it doesn't happen again."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject(s)

ISBN

9780313383793 (acid-free paper)
0313383790 (acid-free paper)
9780313383809 (ebook)
0313383804 (ebook)

Bibliography Note

Includes bibliographical references (pages [127]-129) and index.

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