Consequences of Economic Downturn : Beyond the Usual Economics

The 2007-09 financial crisis and economic downturn inflicted considerable hardship on the U.S. population. This book argues that the financial crisis and ensuing recession reflected not just a malfunctioning of the financial system - but also inequalities and insecurities in access to livelihoods that favor well-off groups and leave ordinary people shouldering undue burdens of downside risk. This book, a collection of original papers by leading social economists and scholars in related fields, examines social, distributional, and ethical dimensions of the downturn. It should be of broad interest to the social-science and economic-policy communities. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of Tables and Figures 8 List of Contributors 12 1 Beyond the Usual Economics 16 Part I Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Economic Policy 37 2 The Economic Crisis and the Crisis in Economics 38 3 The Financial Crash of 2008: An Illustrative Instance of the Separation of Risk from Reward in American Capitalism 58 4 Rising Inequality and the Financial Crises of 1929 and 2008 76 5 Inequality and Its Discontents: The Real Causes and Consequences of the Crisis 96 6 We’ve Been Nudged: The Effects of the Downturn on Dignity and Responsibility 115 Part II Distributional Effects of the Downturn 131 7 Race and Recession: A Comparison of the Economic Impact of the 1980s and 2007–09 Recessions on Non-College-Educated Black and White Men 132 8 Who Pays the Price When Housing Bubbles Burst? Evidence from the American Community Survey 149 9 Gender Equality in U.S. Labor Markets in the “Great Recession” of 2007–10 176 Part III Social Economy and the Economic Downturn: Communities, Needs, and Capabilities 196 10 Recession and the Social Economy 197 11 Beyond the Wasteland: A Report from Detroit 223 12 Teaching Financial Literacy in the Wake of the Financial Crisis 246 Index 265 Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Beyond the Usual Economics....Pages 1-21 Front Matter....Pages 23-23 The Economic Crisis and the Crisis in Economics....Pages 25-44 The Financial Crash of 2008: An Illustrative Instance of the Separation of Risk from Reward in American Capitalism....Pages 45-62 Rising Inequality and the Financial Crises of 1929 and 2008....Pages 63-82 Inequality and Its Discontents: The Real Causes and Consequences of the Crisis....Pages 83-101 We’ve Been Nudged: The Effects of the Downturn on Dignity and Responsibility....Pages 103-118 Front Matter....Pages 119-119 Race and Recession: A Comparison of the Economic Impact of the 1980s and 2007–09 Recessions on Non-College-Educated Black and White Men....Pages 121-137 Who Pays the Price When Housing Bubbles Burst? Evidence from the American Community Survey....Pages 139-165 Gender Equality in U.S. Labor Markets in the “Great Recession” of 2007–10....Pages 167-186 Front Matter....Pages 187-187 Recession and the Social Economy....Pages 189-214 Beyond the Wasteland: A Report from Detroit....Pages 215-237 Teaching Financial Literacy in the Wake of the Financial Crisis....Pages 239-257 Back Matter....Pages 259-270 "This book investigates three sets of questions raised by the economic downturn, corresponding to the three sections of the book. The first concerns issues of ethics and social responsibility in economic policymaking and in business and finance; how the costs of the downturn have fallen within the population -- in terms of lost incomes, lost jobs, declining wealth, unmanageable debt burdens, reductions in spending on necessities, lost homes, and other problems of insecurity and financial distress; and lastly: concerns the rise of unmet basic needs -- for food, shelter and health care -- during the downturn"-- Provided by publisher