Customer Reviews
Does anyone think financial markets are fine as they are? I doubt it. - By: M. J. Tanner, 12 Jan 2007 
The wheel's invention first took place a few thousands years agoin the the Fertile Crescent region, now occupied by Iran & Iraq. As with any now seemingly obvious invention, it's probable that the development would have encountered resistance, bemusement & mockery from stakeholders. Perhaps, for example, communities of farmhands might have tried to outlaw the wheel because one of its potential utilisationsin harvesting may reduce the manual workload. Others may have ridiculed it as unnatural or thought the wheel pointless because of the lack of what we would now call 'roads.'
It is easy to forget that many of our modern goods & services were once abstract ideas requiring invention, innovation, sacrifice, & struggle prior to their acceptance. The realm of risk & finance is no exception, baringin mind that there were no stock markets, futures exchanges or welfare programmesin the Garden of Eden - between then & now human vision & persistence has made them possible.
The author invites us to become economic visionaries ourselves, contemplating where modern facilitative technologies may take risk managementin the 21st century. His own conceptualisations feature inequality insurance; house-value insurance; income-linked loans & other notions that may seem illogical at first, but make perfect sense to those with modest understandings of the ebb & flow of economic history.
Each of his concepts are accompanied by practical & theoretical input relating to their enactment. Emphasis is placed on mechanisms developedin the fields of cognitive & social psychologyin order to outline means to encourage social acceptance of risk devices. Lessons are also derived from past financial innovations including social security, pension rights & life insurance, which serve as practical guides as well as interesting historical lessons.
The New Financial Order is economics at its best, combining theory, philosophy & history to propose solutions rather than merely identify problems. It takes a lot of courage to play the role of 'financial futurist' & Shiller's effort should certainly be commended!'
A Must-Read! - By: Rolf Dobelli, 29 Apr 2003 Economist Robert Shiller became a household name when he published his previous bestseller Irrational Exuberance just as the dot.com boom was peaking. In The New Financial Order, he capitalizes on his celebrity to put forward a thoughtful, detailed proposal for managing economic risks. This highly readable book portrays a futurein which many serious individual financial risks are dispersed to savvy global investors, thanks to technology. Imagine violinists being able to insure their careersin addition to their Stradivarius instruments, developing countries securing generous loans from the first world by tying the repayment schedules to their future GDPs & a revamped tax system preventing the gap between rich & poor from widening. We ....suggest this book to risk-management professionals who want to step back & look at the big picture, as well as to anyone who has a stakein creating new financial products to meet twenty-first century needs.
