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The Slump Goes On: Why?
September 30, 2010
Paul Krugman and Robin Wells
Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy
by Raghuram G. Rajan
Princeton University Press, 260 pp., $26.95
Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance
by Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm
Penguin, 353 pp., $27.95
The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics: Lessons from Japan’s Great Recession
by Richard C. Koo
Wiley, 296 pp., $45.00
In the winter of 2008–2009, the world economy was on the brink. Stock markets plunged, credit markets froze, and banks failed in a mass contagion that spread from the US to Europe and threatened to engulf the rest of the world. During the darkest days of crisis, the United States was losing 700,000 jobs a month, and world trade was shrinking faster than it did during the first year of the Great Depression.
By the summer of 2009, however, as the world economy stabilized, it became clear that there would not be a full replay of the Great Depression. Since around June 2009 many indicators have been pointing up: GDP has been rising in all major economies, world industrial production has been rising, and US corporate profits have recovered to pre-crisis levels.
Yet unemployment has hardly fallen in either the United States or Europe—which means that the plight of the unemployed, especially in America with its minimal safety net, has grown steadily worse as benefits run out and savings are exhausted. And little relief is in sight: unemployment is still rising in the hardest-hit European economies, US economic growth is clearly slowing, and many economic forecasters expect America’s unemployment rate to remain high or even to rise over the course of the next year.
Given this bleak prospect, shouldn’t we expect urgency on the part of policymakers and economists, a scramble to put forward plans for promoting growth and restoring jobs? Apparently not: a casual survey of recent books and articles shows nothing of the kind. Books on the Great Recession are still pouring off the presses—but for the most part they are backward-looking, asking how we got into this mess rather than telling us how to get out. To be fair, many recent books do offer prescriptions about how to avoid the next bubble; but they don’t offer much guidance on the most pressing problem at hand, which is how to deal with the continuing consequences of the last one.
blah, blah, blah...
9000 more words.
September 30, 2010
Paul Krugman and Robin Wells
Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy
by Raghuram G. Rajan
Princeton University Press, 260 pp., $26.95
Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance
by Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm
Penguin, 353 pp., $27.95
The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics: Lessons from Japan’s Great Recession
by Richard C. Koo
Wiley, 296 pp., $45.00
In the winter of 2008–2009, the world economy was on the brink. Stock markets plunged, credit markets froze, and banks failed in a mass contagion that spread from the US to Europe and threatened to engulf the rest of the world. During the darkest days of crisis, the United States was losing 700,000 jobs a month, and world trade was shrinking faster than it did during the first year of the Great Depression.
By the summer of 2009, however, as the world economy stabilized, it became clear that there would not be a full replay of the Great Depression. Since around June 2009 many indicators have been pointing up: GDP has been rising in all major economies, world industrial production has been rising, and US corporate profits have recovered to pre-crisis levels.
Yet unemployment has hardly fallen in either the United States or Europe—which means that the plight of the unemployed, especially in America with its minimal safety net, has grown steadily worse as benefits run out and savings are exhausted. And little relief is in sight: unemployment is still rising in the hardest-hit European economies, US economic growth is clearly slowing, and many economic forecasters expect America’s unemployment rate to remain high or even to rise over the course of the next year.
Given this bleak prospect, shouldn’t we expect urgency on the part of policymakers and economists, a scramble to put forward plans for promoting growth and restoring jobs? Apparently not: a casual survey of recent books and articles shows nothing of the kind. Books on the Great Recession are still pouring off the presses—but for the most part they are backward-looking, asking how we got into this mess rather than telling us how to get out. To be fair, many recent books do offer prescriptions about how to avoid the next bubble; but they don’t offer much guidance on the most pressing problem at hand, which is how to deal with the continuing consequences of the last one.
blah, blah, blah...
9000 more words.
from amazon...
"Eric Janszen has written a powerful and important book about how we can build an American economy in which 'finance once again serves the productive economy instead of rules it.' He describes the job-creating industries of the next ten years and what we have to do to make them thrive."
-Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley
"An outstanding read. Eric Janszen's prescription for a more fundamentally sound energy policy is especially perceptive. Janszen's book addresses not only what needs to be done, but the proper roles of government and private interests in securing the real transformative change our economy needs."
-Joe Petrowski, CEO, Gulf Oil
"We need to know where we will be when we get out of this mess, and the Fed's combination of nostalgia, raw hope, and guesswork does not give much guidance. Eric Janszen, seeking scope and depth, contributes significantly to the next, necessary debate."
-Martin Mayer, Brookings Institute Guest Scholar and author of The Fed and the Markets
"Eric has written a book suggesting how we can avoid the worst consequences of our folly as Americans struggle to pay down debt in a damaged economy. If we follow his advice, we may find alternative energy resources and increase productivity in time to become self-sustaining before the United States creates a new financial crisis that will make the current one look like a business boom."
-Janet Tavakoli, president, Tavakoli Structured Finance, and author of Dear Mr. Buffett
"Eric Janszen reinforces the need to look for entrepreneurs to create new companies and new jobs, not to simply expect government economic policy to do so, and this is an all too rare perspective. Refreshing and cogent."
-Bart Stuck, Managing Director of Signal Lake Venture Partners
"Unlike the many 'told you so' books of the past year, Eric Janszen takes a hard look at the foundations of the Great Recession of 2009, explaining why gold prices rose, why the U.S. dollar is safer than we think, and why houses make terrible investments. And rather than suggesting another round of post-hoc regulation, Janszen points the way towards a sustainable future in infrastructure investment. Janszen has the goods."
-Scott Reynolds Nelson, Legum Professor of History, College of William & Mary, author of Crash: An Uncommon History of America's Financial Disasters
"Eric Janszen gives us an eloquent and straightforward analysis of the serious challenges that face the United States today, and a prescription for how America can return to a position of greatness from an author who is optimistic and confident of the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of the American people."
-Jim Goldinger, founder, Fairhaven Capital Partners
-Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley
"An outstanding read. Eric Janszen's prescription for a more fundamentally sound energy policy is especially perceptive. Janszen's book addresses not only what needs to be done, but the proper roles of government and private interests in securing the real transformative change our economy needs."
-Joe Petrowski, CEO, Gulf Oil
"We need to know where we will be when we get out of this mess, and the Fed's combination of nostalgia, raw hope, and guesswork does not give much guidance. Eric Janszen, seeking scope and depth, contributes significantly to the next, necessary debate."
-Martin Mayer, Brookings Institute Guest Scholar and author of The Fed and the Markets
"Eric has written a book suggesting how we can avoid the worst consequences of our folly as Americans struggle to pay down debt in a damaged economy. If we follow his advice, we may find alternative energy resources and increase productivity in time to become self-sustaining before the United States creates a new financial crisis that will make the current one look like a business boom."
-Janet Tavakoli, president, Tavakoli Structured Finance, and author of Dear Mr. Buffett
"Eric Janszen reinforces the need to look for entrepreneurs to create new companies and new jobs, not to simply expect government economic policy to do so, and this is an all too rare perspective. Refreshing and cogent."
-Bart Stuck, Managing Director of Signal Lake Venture Partners
"Unlike the many 'told you so' books of the past year, Eric Janszen takes a hard look at the foundations of the Great Recession of 2009, explaining why gold prices rose, why the U.S. dollar is safer than we think, and why houses make terrible investments. And rather than suggesting another round of post-hoc regulation, Janszen points the way towards a sustainable future in infrastructure investment. Janszen has the goods."
-Scott Reynolds Nelson, Legum Professor of History, College of William & Mary, author of Crash: An Uncommon History of America's Financial Disasters
"Eric Janszen gives us an eloquent and straightforward analysis of the serious challenges that face the United States today, and a prescription for how America can return to a position of greatness from an author who is optimistic and confident of the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of the American people."
-Jim Goldinger, founder, Fairhaven Capital Partners
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