The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It
by Robert J. Shillerbook data
35 ratings,
3.43
average rating, 15 reviews
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published
August 21st 2008
by Princeton University Press
binding
Hardcover, 208 pages
isbn
0691139296
(isbn13: 9780691139296)
description
The subprime mortgage crisis has already wreaked havoc on the lives of millions of people and now it threatens to derail the U.S. economy and economie
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 68)
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avg 3.43
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
interesting, concise, timely analysis of the origins of the financial meltdown, along with short-term and long-term recommendations re what to do about it. There's a bit of "I told you so" directed at Alan Greenspan et al. for missing the signs that the housing bubble was going to burst.
The author's core explanatory concept for bubbles seemed to be social contagion of thought -- just as there are fads in behavior, fads in thinking/expectation (e.g., housing prices will alw...more
The author's core explanatory concept for bubbles seemed to be social contagion of thought -- just as there are fads in behavior, fads in thinking/expectation (e.g., housing prices will alw...more
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Read in March, 2009
Despite its somewhat unfortunately low-brow title, this is a serious examination of the causes of the new economic Depression. Shiller is the co-founder of the Case-Shiller Index, so he knows a thing or two about Real Estate. His analysis is persuasive, for example, discussing how the easy credit and low lending standards created the bubble. His solutions are innovative, but I'm not sure all of them are workable. His idea of baskets is, at best, untested. More people need to read this book ...more
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This is a short but relevant account of how our mortgage meltdown occurred. I would give it five stars were it not for the fact that I could not easily recapitulate Shiller's arguments. The most interesting tidbit I have come across in this work is how Greenspan's lack of oversight with regard to the whole crisis could be partially due to a philosophical bias--his penchant for Ayn Rand's objectivism. Here are Shiller's exact words on Greenspan: "Perhaps his lack of attention to bubbles ref...more
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-A house is, in many cases, not the great investment it's allways been cracked up to be
-Homeownership is good for America
-An outline for a some fundamental changes to the financial system.
-Homeownership is good for America
-An outline for a some fundamental changes to the financial system.
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Read in January, 2009
Very timely book with some much needed reality. Great general thrust, though it would be nice if solutions were a little more specific and concrete.
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Read in December, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Read in September, 2008
Shiller, a Yale economist who, with Karl Case, developed the Case-Shiller Index of Home Prices, predicted the bursting of the tech-stock bubble while the rest of the world gushed over the permanence of the "New Economy". Again, he predicted the bursting of the housing bubble along with a dramatic decline in home values, while the conventional wisdom held that house prices, nationally "never decline, and can't". He's not prescient, but he's a damned good economist.
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A clear and comprehensive overview of how things went awry in the housing market, and Shiller's solutions are persuasive though politically difficult. People who have been carefully following the meltdown won't learn much that's new, but it's a useful summary.
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Read in May, 2009
This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to understand what went wrong, and more importantly, how to fix it. At times a bit difficult for those without a background in economics, but Shiller generally does a good job of explaining his position in a way that a layperson can understand.
Shiller has many really exciting ideas for restructuring our ecomomy to reduce the frequency and impact of bubble, including "continuous workout mortgages", a new economic unit of measur...more
Shiller has many really exciting ideas for restructuring our ecomomy to reduce the frequency and impact of bubble, including "continuous workout mortgages", a new economic unit of measur...more
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Not nearly on the level of Shiller's other stuff.
He's trading on his fame to sell ideas he just made up on the fly rather than carefully researching them.
He's trading on his fame to sell ideas he just made up on the fly rather than carefully researching them.
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Decent pop economics book on the subprime crisis, before it was as big as it was. Kind of pales in comparison to reality.
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02/16/09
Carrie
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Read in November, 2008
A timely read from a thought provoking author...
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Read in April, 2009
The Subprime Solution does a great job of explaining how the real estate bubble happened as well as what was good and bad about it.
If you have no experience in real estate or mortgage, it may be difficult to pick up and understand the first time through. I would recommend reading it with the internet near by, so you can look up some of the terms used in the field.
If you have no experience in real estate or mortgage, it may be difficult to pick up and understand the first time through. I would recommend reading it with the internet near by, so you can look up some of the terms used in the field.
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Read in October, 2008
Really interesting. I feel a lot better informed about what's been going on in US finances over the last few years. I liked a lot of the economic reforms that Shiller recommends and I really liked that he has an approach that is so socially aware. Let's hope his ideas have some weight in the political arena where it's needed.
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