Finance and the Good Society
Discussed by:
Dr. Robert J. Shiller
Co-Developer, Case Shiller Home Price Index; Author, “Irrational Exuberance”; Columnist, The New York Times; Professor of Economics, Yale University
The severe financial crisis that began in 2007 and that continues today has people angry and wondering whether our financial institutions are good for society or need to be given a much more thorough reform than Dodd-Frank even attempted. The Occupy Wall Street movement represents only the most strident voices—many more moderate people share their doubts. In this talk, based on his book Finance and the Good Society, Shiller gives a candid appraisal of the real value of our financial institutions. He describes our financial institutions today as just a single point in a long history of the evolution of financial institutions, an evolution that has been democratizing finance and building a stronger economy. More progress will inevitably be made, regulatory reforms should recognize this, and try to hasten the day when our financial institutions are more perfect. Reforms should substantially have the form of expanding the scope of financial solutions to our problems, not curtailing them.
