Bailouts: Public Money, Private Profit (The Columbia University Press and Social Science Research Council Series on the Privatization of Risk)

Today's financial crisis was caused by the dismal failures of regulators, market analysts, and corporate executives, yet the response of the American government has been to bail out the very institutions and individuals that have wrought such havoc upon the nation. Are such massive bailouts really called for? Are they capable of success? Helping to make sense of this hotly debated issue, Robert E. Wright and his colleagues provide an unbiased history of government bailouts and a frank assessment of their effectiveness. This book depicts colonial America's struggle with the country's first dangerous real estate bubble, as well as the British government's counterproductive response, which limited trade and shrank the money supply.