Political Bubbles: Financial Crises and the Failure of American Democracy

Author:   Nolan McCarty ,  Keith T. Poole ,  Howard Rosenthal
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
ISBN:  

9780691165721


Pages:   368
Publication Date:   22 March 2015
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

Our Price $44.99 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

Political Bubbles: Financial Crises and the Failure of American Democracy


Add your own review!

Overview

"Behind every financial crisis lurks a ""political bubble""--policy biases that foster market behaviors leading to financial instability. Rather than tilting against risky behavior, political bubbles--arising from a potent combination of beliefs, institutions, and interests--aid, abet, and amplify risk. Demonstrating how political bubbles helped create the real estate-generated financial bubble and the 2008 financial crisis, this book argues that similar government oversights in the aftermath of the crisis undermined Washington's response to the ""popped"" financial bubble, and shows how such patterns have occurred repeatedly throughout US history. The authors show that just as financial bubbles are an unfortunate mix of mistaken beliefs, market imperfections, and greed, political bubbles are the product of rigid ideologies, unresponsive and ineffective government institutions, and special interests. Financial market innovations--including adjustable-rate mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, and credit default swaps--become subject to legislated leniency and regulatory failure, increasing hazardous practices.The authors shed important light on the politics that blinds regulators to the economic weaknesses that create the conditions for economic bubbles and recommend simple, focused rules that should help avoid such crises in the future. The first full accounting of how politics produces financial ruptures, Political Bubbles offers timely lessons that all sectors would do well to heed."

Full Product Details

Author:   Nolan McCarty ,  Keith T. Poole ,  Howard Rosenthal
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.60cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780691165721


ISBN 10:   0691165726
Pages:   368
Publication Date:   22 March 2015
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

"Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 Part I: The Political Bubble - Why Washington Allows Financial Crises to Occur Chapter 1 Bubble Expectations 31 Chapter 2 Ideology 38 Chapter 3 Interests 71 Chapter 4 Institutions 90 Chapter 5 The Political Bubble of the Crisis of 2008 117 Part II: Pops - Why Washington Delays in Solving Financial Crises Chapter 6 Historical Lessons of the Responses to Pops 153 Chapter 7 The Pop of 2008 184 Chapter 8 ""Pop""ulism 228 Chapter 9 How to Waste a Crisis 251 Epilogue 275 Notes 283 Bibliography 305 Name Index 327 Subject Index 333"

Reviews

As pundits debate the causes of the 2008 economic crisis, the authors contend that financial crises have inherently political dimensions. McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal argue persuasively that political bubbles and market bubbles are highly similar, with policy biases contributing to and amplifying market behavior... The authors provide an exhaustive review of structural problems that they believe impede effective government response to new catastrophic economic developments. Their arguments transcend the academic to include historical precedents and specifics on Wall Street machinations. --Publishers Weekly McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal have crafted a masterful analysis of the 2008 financial crisis. Their central thesis is that the underlying cause of the Great Recession was the 'political bubble'... The warnings for the U.S. political system are dire, and the authors make the case for political courage in dealing with wealth inequalities. This book would be an excellent addition to the library of any student of political economy and an excellent start in generating policy proposals on how to deal with future crises. --Choice Greatly expanding upon and enriching prior work on political polarization, Political Bubbles persuasively shows that the 2008 financial crisis was the product of potent political forces. --Philip Rocco, Public Administration


Greatly expanding upon and enriching prior work on political polarization, Political Bubbles persuasively shows that the 2008 financial crisis was the product of potent political forces. --Philip Rocco, Public Administration McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal have crafted a masterful analysis of the 2008 financial crisis. Their central thesis is that the underlying cause of the Great Recession was the 'political bubble'. . . . The warnings for the U.S. political system are dire, and the authors make the case for political courage in dealing with wealth inequalities. This book would be an excellent addition to the library of any student of political economy and an excellent start in generating policy proposals on how to deal with future crises. --Choice As pundits debate the causes of the 2008 economic crisis, the authors contend that financial crises have inherently political dimensions. McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal argue persuasively that political bubbles and market bubbles are highly similar, with policy biases contributing to and amplifying market behavior. . . . The authors provide an exhaustive review of structural problems that they believe impede effective government response to new catastrophic economic developments. Their arguments transcend the academic to include historical precedents and specifics on Wall Street machinations. --Publishers Weekly


"""As pundits debate the causes of the 2008 economic crisis, the authors contend that financial crises have inherently political dimensions. McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal argue persuasively that political bubbles and market bubbles are highly similar, with policy biases contributing to and amplifying market behavior... The authors provide an exhaustive review of structural problems that they believe impede effective government response to new catastrophic economic developments. Their arguments transcend the academic to include historical precedents and specifics on Wall Street machinations.""--Publishers Weekly ""McCarty, Poole, and Rosenthal have crafted a masterful analysis of the 2008 financial crisis. Their central thesis is that the underlying cause of the Great Recession was the 'political bubble'... The warnings for the U.S. political system are dire, and the authors make the case for political courage in dealing with wealth inequalities. This book would be an excellent addition to the library of any student of political economy and an excellent start in generating policy proposals on how to deal with future crises.""--Choice ""Greatly expanding upon and enriching prior work on political polarization, Political Bubbles persuasively shows that the 2008 financial crisis was the product of potent political forces.""--Philip Rocco, Public Administration"


Author Information

Nolan McCarty is the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs and chair of the Department of Politics at Princeton University. Keith T. Poole is the Philip H. Alston Jr. Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Georgia. Howard Rosenthal is professor of politics at New York University and the Roger Williams Straus Professor of Social Sciences, Emeritus, at Princeton University.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

Aorrng

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List