Crisis Economics

A Crash Course in the Future of Finance

By: Nouriel Roubini, Stephen Mihm

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

This myth shattering book reveals the methods Nouriel Roubini used to foretell the current crisis before other economists saw it coming and shows how those methods can help us make sense of the present and prepare for the future.

Renowned economist Nouriel Roubini electrified his profession and the larger financial community by predicting the current crisis well in advance of anyone else. Unlike most in his profession who treat economic disasters as freakish once-in-­a-lifetime events without clear cause, Roubini, after decades of careful research around the world, realized that they were both probable and predictable. Armed with an unconventional blend of historical analysis and global economics, Roubini has forced politicians, policy makers, investors, and market watchers to face a long-neglected truth: financial systems are inherently fragile and prone to collapse.

Drawing on the parallels from many countries and centuries, Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm, a professor of economic history and a New York Times Magazine writer, show that financial cataclysms are as old and as ubiquitous as capitalism itself. The last two decades alone have witnessed comparable crises in countries as diverse as Mexico, Thailand, Brazil, Pakistan, and Argentina. All of these crises-not to mention the more sweeping cataclysms such as the Great Depression-have much in common with the current downturn. Bringing lessons of earlier episodes to bear on our present predicament, Roubini and Mihm show how we can recognize and grapple with the inherent instability of the global financial system, understand its pressure points, learn from previous episodes of "irrational exuberance," pinpoint the course of global contagion, and plan for our immediate future. Perhaps most important, the authors-considering theories, statistics, and mathematical models with the skepticism that recent history warrants—explain how the world's economy can get out of the mess we're in, and stay out.

In Roubini's shadow, economists and investors are increasingly realizing that they can no longer afford to consider crises the black swans of financial history. A vital and timeless book, Crisis Economics proves calamities to be not only predictable but also preventable and, with the right medicine, curable.

Critic reviews

“A succinct, lucid and compelling account of the causes and consequences of the great meltdown of 2008… essential reading for anyone interested in getting a crisp, if opinionated, overview of how the global financial system seized up in the fall of 2008 and what may happen in the months and years to come if serious reforms and new regulations are not embraced.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"A rigorous yet highly readable look at why booms and busts occur and how to keep them from wreaking havoc on the real economy"—Bloomberg

“An impressive, timely argument on behalf of transparency and stability for a financial system conspicuously lacking both.”—Kirkus Reviews

Great book.

When I first heard Roubini has come out with a book I thought it was going to focus on doom and gloom, but I was wrong. Crisis Economics explains what happened in 2007-2009 better than any of the other books on this subject to date. It also spends a substantial amount of time discussing past finanacial panics in the US, Asia and Europe. Last, it also integrates the financial crisis in the EU into the discussion about 2008-2009 US financial crisis. As far as doom and gloom is concerned, the debt and currency crisis currently facing the EU is predicted accurately and discussed in detail in the final portion of the book. This book is a very good synopsis and history of the topic.

Boring, Couldn't Finish It

I really wanted to read and enjoy this book because I respect the author but I could not finish it. The first half describes what happened histrorically during the 2007 onward financial meltdown. If you want a much more interesting and understandable portrait of what happened get And Then the Roof Caved In by David Faber. Secondary recommendations include The Big Short and The Greatest Trade. Then you may want to read the second half of Crisis Economics for the recommendations or solutions.

Very comprehensive

Very comprehensive analysis of the various causes of the 2008 financial crisis, and recommendations to reduce the frequency and severity of future crises.

A good overview of crisis economics

there has been some controversy about Roubini, but still, this work does show a good grasp on the recent and past economic crises.

A good book

This is the second time that I read this book. The first one, in 2011, probably because the crisis of 2008 was more alive, unliked it better.

This is a good book, however, it repeats itself very often during the pages and some of the ideas (in special those from Keynes) did no age well considering the recent crisis in 2020 and the overspending from governments.

Anyhow, it is frustrating to observe that more than 10 years after its publication, most of the good ideas (not all are good or practical) to mitigate ciriais proposed by the authors wasn’t implemented and the financial system did no change much.