The Malign Hand of the Markets: The Insidious Forces on Wall Street that are Destroying Financial Markets – and What We Can Do About it - Hardcover

Staddon, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0071797408 ISBN 13: 9780071797405

Publisher: McGraw Hill, 2012

Synopsis

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH WALL STREET?
And How Do We Fix It?

Even after the global financial meltdown of 2008, economists have clung to Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand” theory of an always selfregulating market that benefits private and public interests alike. But Duke University professor John Staddon is here to tell that there’s also another, darker force at work on Wall Street―a “Malign Hand” that guides all human interactions, including our finances.

Combining psychology, behavioral economics, and other sciences, Staddon’s explosive new theory reveals the underlying principles behind the economic crisis, exposing the invisible mechanisms that drive our markets today. You’ll learn how we can:

• Prevent market bubbles from building
• Distinguish voluntary from involuntary market risk and regulate them differently
• Simplify and restore Glass-Steagall
• Understand market mechanisms through Darwinian dynamics
• Moderate boom and bust cycles and make financial markets sustainable

Using economic theory, global market trends, and psychological research, Staddon’s electrifying book is both analytical and prescriptive―with a number of possible solutions to our most pressing economic concerns. You’ll learn about the wrong assumptions that underlie our present system, basic rules for managing risk, and the real reasons behind the market’s greatest successes and biggest disasters.

You’ll hear surprising insights into the delicate relationship between Wall Street and Washington―with assessments of the bailouts, the Dodd-Frank bill, and other attempts at financial regulation. Best of all, you’ll discover realistic solutions that can stop the boom-and-bust cycle once and for all.

Compelling, controversial, and remarkably thorough, The Malign Hand of the Markets will change the way we plan our future, manage our finances, and build our fortunes.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH WALL STREET?
And How Do We Fix It?

If you subscribe to Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand” theory―that private business interest always serves the public good―you might want to think again. In this bombshell of a book, Duke University professor John Staddon argues that a darker, more powerful “Malign Hand” has been driving our economy into an endless boom-and-bust cycle that is unhealthy, unstable, and undeniably dangerous. This eye-opening book reveals:

• Why most of our assumptions about Wall Street are wrong
• How the financial sector profited from the government bailouts
• What most people don’t understand about home ownership
• Why the Dodd-Frank regulatory bill won’t work How to prevent another market crash

Sure to provoke controversy on Wall Street, in Washington, and across the globe, Staddon’s fascinating approach to economic theory not only analyzes our current problems in a bold new light, but offers real solutions as well. By combining a range of disciplines―evolutionary biology, psychology, behavioral economics, and moral philosophy―Staddon’s book is required reading for anyone interested in the future of finance.

About the Author:

John Staddon is a James B. Duke Professor of Psychology, and Professor of Biology and Neurobiology, Emeritus, at Duke University. He has worked in many universities around the world, including MIT, Oxford, and the University of Toronto. He is the author of The New Behaviorism and Adaptive Dynamics, among other books.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGraw Hill
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0071797408
• ISBN 13: 9780071797405
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304