Roaring nineties

From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Globalization and Its Discontents comes a coruscating analysis of the boom and bust of the 1990s-how and why it happened, how the seeds of destruction were sown in the midst of apparent prosperity, and how America and the world are still failing to learn the lessons from what went wrong.

It was, in some respects, a decade of real achievements and growth. But Stiglitz shows how the boom was artificially fuelled in the US by excessive deregulation, by perverse 'incentivizing' of CEOs, and conflicts of interest that ran out of control. He uncovers the full extent of the damage done by those who effectively stole money by sleight of hand from their own companies. Stiglitz was deeply involved in many of the policy decisions of the decade: he praises the Clinton Administration for its aspirations and criticizes it for its failure to live up to them, especially the degree to which it buckled to pressure from big financial interests. Here he reveals for the first time the heated discussions that took place before policies were set.

The Roaring Nineties is in part the story of how the corrupt and greedy got their comeuppance. But Stiglitz also develops a convincing alternative to the free-market mantra. He shows why greed is not good - for companies, individuals, or societies - and how if left unchecked it leads to deceptions, distortions and disasters. He argues that achieving the right balance between government and the market is the best way towards sustained growth and efficiency, and that both companies and economies must to some extent be regulated by trust and consideration for others. This isn't just good morality - it's good economics too. The book ends with an inspiring account of what could be done to get the world's economies back on a fairer and more stable course.