• The Subprime Solution

  • How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It
  • By: Robert J. Shiller
  • Narrated by: Stow Lovejoy
  • Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (100 ratings)

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The Subprime Solution  By  cover art

The Subprime Solution

By: Robert J. Shiller
Narrated by: Stow Lovejoy
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Publisher's summary

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 economies around the world. In this trenchant book, best-selling economist Robert Shiller reveals the origins of this crisis and puts forward bold measures to solve it.

He calls for an aggressive response - a restructuring of the institutional foundations of the financial system that will not only allow people once again to buy and sell homes with confidence, but will create the conditions for greater prosperity in America and throughout the deeply interconnected world economy.

Shiller blames the subprime crisis on the irrational exuberance that drove the economy's two most recent bubbles - in stocks in the 1990s and in housing between 2000 and 2007. He shows how these bubbles led to the dangerous overextension of credit now resulting in foreclosures, bankruptcies, and write-offs, as well as a global credit crunch.

To restore confidence in the markets, Shiller argues, bailouts are needed in the short run. But he insists that these bailouts must be targeted at low-income victims of subprime deals. In the longer term, the subprime solution will require leaders to revamp the financial framework by deploying an ambitious package of initiatives to inhibit the formation of bubbles and limit risks, including better financial information; simplified legal contracts and regulations; expanded markets for managing risks; home equity insurance policies; income-linked home loans; and new measures to protect consumers against hidden inflationary effects.

This powerful book is essential for anyone who wants to understand how we got into the subprime mess - and how we can get out.

©2008 Robert J. Shiller (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Robert Shiller is a visionary." (Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable)
"Robert Shiller is two for two in predicting and identifying bubbles that will burst. This book is a must read for anyone predicting future bubbles or charting the course of recovery from our current difficulties." (Lawrence H. Summers, University Professor, Harvard University)

What listeners say about The Subprime Solution

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Drop the Footnote URLs in the Future

The constant interruptions by the author to verbally state a URL, as part of a footnote within the text, make it nearly impossible to keep your mind engaged in the book. Not to mention the footnotes are apparently incomplete, as every so often the URL he says out loud is actually "http://www.yournamehere.com." It's insane to have done such a thing; and insanely distracting.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very insightful

To those who want to know the real reason behind the crisis. Good analysis with facts. Worth time and money.

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5 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

We get it already

He repeats himself often and some of his ideas for solutions are a little bit out there.

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