Los felices 90: La semilla de la destrucción

by Joseph E. Stiglitz

La década de los noventa marcó el surgimiento de la Nueva Economía, caracterizada por unos incrementos de productividad que duplicaban, o triplicaban, lo conocido durante las dos décadas precedentes. Pero los felices noventa se acabaron bien pronto, antes incluso de que Clinton abandonara la Casa Blanca. La economía entró en recesión y los escándalos empresariales destronaron a los sumos sacerdotes del capitalismo: daba la impresión de que los directivos de algunas empresas se estaban lucrando a expensas de sus accionistas y empleados. La globalización, que tan recientemente se había saludado como el comienzo de un mundo nuevo, también parecía verse con malos ojos. La reunión de la Organización Mundial del Comercio celebrada en Seattle en 1999, que tenía por fin ahondar en la apertura del mundo, acabó en disturbios protagonizados por grupos preocupados por los efectos, a veces devastadores, que la globalización tiene sobre los más pobres. Es necesario arrojar nueva luzsobre lo que ocurrió esos años, acentuando la necesidad de reinterpretarlos. Este libro no se limita a rescribir la historia económica de los noventa: es, en la misma medida, una historia del futuro, del punto en el que los países desarrollados se encuentran en este momento, y de hacia dónde deberían tender para que la economía mundial llegue a un curso más justo y estable.

Genres: Economics, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Finance, Business, Society

505 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Joseph Eugene Stiglitz, ForMemRS, FBA, is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the John Bates Clark Medal (1979). He is also the former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank. He is known for his critical view of the management of globalization, free-market economists (whom he calls "free market fundamentalists") and some international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

In 2000, Stiglitz founded the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD), a think tank on international development based at Columbia University. Since 2001, he has been a member of the Columbia faculty, and has held the rank of University Professor since 2003. He also chairs the University of Manchester's Brooks World Poverty Institute and is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Professor Stiglitz is also an honorary professor at Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management. Stiglitz is one of the most frequently cited economists in the world.

Reviews

[Δx Δp ≥ ½ ħ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku yang meledak-ledak, lugas dan garang dalam membuktikan bahwa globalisasi dan pasar bebas sbg upaya peningkatan taraf ekonomi negara berkembang hanyalah mitos. Keduanya justru adalah alat kolonialisasi modern negara Barat dalam menguras kekayaan negara berkembang.

Ditulis seorang pemenang Nobel Ekonomi--saya benar-benar setuju :)-- secara blak-blakan buku ini mengupas tajam betapa meski sistem ekonomi saat ini terlihat canggih, modern, dan maju, tersimpan borok-borok keserakahan yang menggerogoti hak-hak kesejahteraan orang lain. Tingkah ketamakan segelintir orang telah menyebabkan satu negara diliputi kekacauan tak berkesudahan.

Bisa kita lihat bahwa sekarang, ketamakan orang sudah melampaui batas definisi kata 'tamak' itu sendiri. Karena ingin menguasai sumber daya alam negara lain, negara maju rela membantai negara lain. Nilai moral ekonomi untuk kesejahteraan umat manusia disempitkan maknanya hanya untuk kesejahteraan si Kuat. cara-cara kotor seperti penipuan dan bahkan perang dilakukan demi menguasai ekonomi suatu negara.

Di sisi lain, sistem perekonomian modern nyaris mendekati titik nadir. Sebagaimana diberitan media, penyebab krisis finansial sekarang diakibatkan para spekulan yang secara rakus mengeksploitasi ekonomi. Siapa menduga perusahaan finansial sekelas Lehmann Brothers dan Merrill Lynch yang menjadi legenda dan ikon terhadap segala sesuatu yang berkaitan dengan uang kini bangkrut secara dramatis (ML mungkin belum, tapi tanda-tanda kebangkrutannya kian mendekati). Sebuah contoh nyata sekaligus mengerikan dari kombinasi kerakusan korporasi, skandal akuntansi, hasutan publik, penipuan perbankan, deregulasi, dan kebusukan pasar bebas. T.T

Semua membuktikan bahwa betapa rapuhnya ekonomi modern sekarang. Seperti kertas yang terbakar, tampak utuh, tapi begitu rapuh dan diselimuti jelaga.

Bagi yang tidak terbiasa membaca buku ekonomi, tak perlu khawatir, buku ini ditulis secara populer. Pembaca awam, seperti saya, dapat menikmati buku ini tanpa perlu dipusingkan istilah-istilah ekonomi. Sebagai informasi, si pengarang, Stiglitz, sudah terkenal sbg ekonom kawakan yang blak-blakan mencela kebobrokan ekonomi global. Bahkan dia beberapa kali 'dikeluarkan' (diusir tepatnya) dari sidang karena menjelek-jelekan badan semacam IMF di forum sidang.

Yah, buku ini bisa membuka mata kita, bahwa kita hidup bukan di dunia yang aman dan nyaman. tapi dunia yang dipenuhi kerakusan, ketamakan, dan keserakahan.

Selamat datang di Dekade Keserakahan.

Mengutip pernyataan Gandhi,
"Dunia dapat memenuhi semua kebutuhan manusia, tapi tidak untuk keSERAKAHannya"

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a few interesting things from this book, but overall it was too polemical with too little detail about the actual events I hoped he had witnessed in his time on the Council of Economic Advisers and at the World Bank, and would share in the book.

I agree with a lot of his opinions as expressed in this book, but would have preferred to learn more actual facts, and to have the opinions accompanied by more discussion of the unfolding of actual events in ways that support his opinions. The world is too complex to truly "prove" anything that way, but the only way humans can improve our understanding of the way the world works is to do our best to pay attention to what the world is doing.

The discussion of "why deficit reduction worked this time" in Chapter 2 (pp 42-44) was great. Wish the book had more such nuggets.

[Sambasivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on economics that I have read in a long time. With crystal clarity, the author tears apart the whole ecosystem of the nexus between the corporates, bankers and politicians in the U.S. This has been the root cause of the various financial disasters including that of Enron.

The author champions the cause of balance between laissez faire and government oversight and I tend to agree with this as it would reduce the inequalities and create a balanced and inhabitable world.

Essential reading.

[Ezgi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ömür törpüsü üniversite dönemi kitaplarından biri.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best history of the 1990s that I have read anywhere. Joe Stiglitz has a bit of a reputation as an iconoclast (deservedly so) which can lead to a somewhat polemical writing style, but this is more evenhanded treatment of the subject matter. Stiglitz's insight as an economist are excellent and his access is outstanding: he was a member of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers and later the Chief Economist at the World Bank (from which he was later fired for his outspoken views about the Bank). While he is most famous for his outspoken views on Globalization, I found this to be his best work since it is not solely preoccupied with this rather amorphous theme.

In a nutshell: the access of a Bob Woodruff book, except that you will actually learn something.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very illluminating book by a Noble Prize winning Economist who actually uses basic intelligible English words to describe the worlds of finance and government policy. He is an unabshed gung-ho Clinton partisan and proudly boasts about that Administrations economic legacy. Clinton actually did hire some smart economists like Stiglits and Lawrence Summers buy they have to take some of the blame (along with Alan Greenspan) for the massive financial deregulation that led to excesses and ultimately to the meltdown we are immersed in today. Neverthesless, an engaging read by a good writer. As a reader, I always find it challenging to read someone who strongly propounds a point of view you don't agree with. You can still learn and maybe even change your views.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling "prequel" to the financial disaster of the late 2000s - Stiglitz makes plain what was wrong with the U.S. financial system in the 1990s, especially in terms of executive compensation incentives and the way the U.S., through the IMF, pushed other countries to take stern measures that we weren't willing to undertake ourselves. As I read this, I couldn't help but see the inevitability of the financial mess of 2008 and wonder at how little we've done to change the incentives.

This is a compelling read, which helps keep the reader from getting too depressed.

[Minesh Mathew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stiglitz shares his experiences, as the chair of the council of the economic advisors, in the Clinton administration, and tries to explain in simpler words how the voodoo economics promoted by the Republicans resulted in the 1991 recession. He explains in details, how downsizing the government, and flawed accounting practices along with the deregulation in the banking and financial sector resulted in an economic downturn. He writes a great deal about the choice of deficit reduction as a means to deal with a downturn, and examines the extent to which it can be relied upon.

[Ayan Dutta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book by Stiglitz is a joy to read given his ability to translate complex economic theory to lay term .

Coming to the book, this is a follow up to his book on globalization ( he dedicates a chapter on globalization though) . He brings out all that went wrong in the so called roaring nineties from deregulation , flawed policies by the Fed , unscrupulous accounting , gaps in risk management, banking issues . What makes this book such a compelling read us that , you can relate a lot of the current scenarios in the developing countries with this lost decade of unfettered market mania.

[Sebastian Uribe Díaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una magistral cronica de una epoca turbulenta y engañosa como los 90 por parte de uno de los mejores economistas y pensadores de nuestro tiempo. Increible como los errores se repitieron en la decada pasada de nuevo. Codicia, egoismo y mentiras. Mas que un libro de economia, por momentos parece un thriller policial.

[Robert Bagnall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autohagiography

[Leon Franklin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Keynesian way to solve the capitalism decai

[William Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

As ever, Stiglitz manages to develop a strong understanding in the mind of the reader of the atmosphere of the financial sector in the 1990s. Taken from both Stiglitz's own personal experience and retrospective analysis, The Roaring Nineties takes aim at several economic myths captured and turbo charged by Bush II's presidency: long-term growth and welfare scarified on the altar of tax cuts, trickle-down economics, and deficit reduction ideologies. Persistently, Stiglitz confesses their own mistakes as head of the World Bank and advisor to Clinton, but weaponises both a historical and logical evaluation to paint a dire picture of Tea Party-esque mantras that should lead any open and thinking reading highly sceptical of buzz-word economics that most politicians all-to-much rest upon during campaigning.

[James Ford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry. The book is Stiglitz retelling his career and highlighting over and over again the dangers of privatization and deregulation (using good examples). Maybe in 2003 this was more of revelation; in his defense alot of the events that have made this is common knowledge now had not yet happened when he wrote the book.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talks generally unbiased at first then overtime he becomes a bigger and bigger hater. Interesting insight into the 90s to early 2000s and how everything going on right now is not my fault🥳. Assuming bro is still hating on the same things he mentioned in the book cuz nothing really changed...

[Diah Ayu · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this book two decades late but still interesting. very heavy, but interesting.

[Benjamin Bertrand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livre très intéressant, parfois un peu trop technique malgré mes études en économie.
Et assez inquiétant de réalisme dans les prévisions pour les années 2010.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muchos aspectos económicos, la verdad, no los entendí, a pesar de que Stiglitz dice que son más que obvios, pero el trasfondo de todos los movimientos financieros en cualquier parte del mundo tienen un factor que sí entiendo: la avaricia.

Stiglitz dice que la década de 1990 fue feliz porque mucha gente se hizo con más dinero del que jamás había soñado a través de trucos contables que permitían maquillar números de manera completamente legal, a través de estados financieros que ni los mismos que los hicieron podían entender. Stiglitz utiliza el término "exuberancia irracional" para explicar las burbujas económicas que se crean a través de la sobre valoración de empresas, productos y servicios, que es la manera en que atraen a accionistas e inversores, con promesas de riquezas futuras basadas en números irreales. Esta es la fórmula con la que yo me quedo y que pude entender perfectamente: mucha gente hizo sus fortunas en los 90 a partir de engaños a un nivel masivo. Lo que más me enfurece de todo esto es que ese dinero provenía de modestas inversiones de pequeños accionistas. Multiplicado por miles, voilà! Millonarios instantáneos.

Stiglitz trabajó como asesor económico en el gobierno de Bill Clinton y pone en la balanza los aciertos y errores tanto de él como de sus predecesores y sucesores. Critica mucho más a los conservadores republicanos, es cierto, pero toma el camino medio y aboga por un equilibro entre la intervención del Estado y la economía de mercado, en el que cada uno hace lo suyo para proteger al consumidor. Pone ejemplos muy claros de la manera en que compañías como Enron lograron engañar al público mientras se enriquecían exageradamente, y también pone sobre la mesa las explicaciones o justificaciones de los conservadores respecto a estos fallos en la economía, haciendo preguntas retóricas que pueden no convencer a todos, pero que tienen una lógica en base a un "greater good" que beneficie a la mayoría y no a una minoría que cada vez se hace más rica.

Este libro no es fácil de leer pero uno aprende bastante. Es sobre todo importante para entender cómo decisiones que se hicieron hace 20 años están repercutiendo en la economía actual. El 1% cada vez amasa más poder y dinero y yo no había entendido por qué hasta que leí este libro.
Lo más triste es que se ve que la historia se repite. Y la razón por la que se repite es que la gente se enferma de dinero y el dinero engendra poder. La base de toda esta pirámide es la avaricia.

Yo me quedo con el ideal de Stiglitz: la política económica debe tener como objetivo el bienestar común y no el enriquecimiento de los ya de por sí millonarios que siguen teniendo recortes fiscales y oportunidades contables legales para hacerse de más dinero.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

La politica fiscale equivale in concreto a una dichiarazione dei nostri valori.

[lucia di poi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing in-depth analysis of the economic disfunction and corruption of the 90's, and how Bush has not only not learned the lessons but gone out of his way to avoid them with his corporate aid and foreign policy agenda. Talks only a little about the globalization aspect of it, but one of my next books will definitely be Stiglitz'
"Globalization and its Discontents". It's really well written, and those not well-versed on economic theory may take longer to read but its totally accessible, while at the same time not being dumbed down at all.

[Svetlana Kva · Rating 4 out of 5]

the author shares a lot of interesting insights into inner workings of the US government and policy making, and importantly his professional views on the long term consequences of those policies for the economy and ordinary people. though i found it little bit repetitive at times, it is clear the author is very passionate about the economy, economic decision making and such devastating impact it has on people's lives at times, including those who are least prepared to withstand the brunt of ill-conceived economic policies.

[Scott Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. Easily accessible to the layperson. And provides great insight into current political/economic dysfunction. Current grabs and fights for walls of all kind can be contributed to protecting the outrageous wealth acquired by individuals in the 90s through the most nefarious of means from the inevitable global economic slowdown approaching us.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening explanation of the boom and bust of the 1990s. Sound economic reasoning, but written in layman's terms so that anyone who has an interest in understanding the macroeconomic issues of this era can easily digest this book.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not always an easy read, makes you come away thinking of Clinton as a superhero. I enjoyed the depth it went to in some parts (this was the first definitive account of the 1990s Id read), and the sense of foreboding he leaves you with is compelling when taken in light of the GFC of 2008-09.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does a fair job of analyzing some of what happened in the 90's. I think we can say today, that we are seeing how prosperous we really were. It also does a good job of pointing out how much capital was squandered by private firms during the tech bubble.

[Dinesh singh rawat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't understand this book probably.But as far as I can understand this book is more about America's growth in Nineties and problem associated with that Growth. That fast growth problems surfaced in early two thousand.

[Maisya Farhati · Rating 3 out of 5]

still reading, but it's a little bit complicated if we read without basic knowledge in economic theory

[Nemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great thought-provoking book. J's insights are particularly fit with what's happening right now in the States. Though his prediction of recession ending by 08 seems out of date.

[Sara Kaiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely essential for anyone who wants to dodder on about socialism, the free market, executive bonuses, or anything else i didnt understand before this book.

[Toesnorth's mom]

good, but mostly over my head