Martin Wolf is the associate editor and chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, London. He is the recipient of many awards for financial journalism, for which he was also made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000. His previous books include Fixing Global Finance and Why Globalization Works.
Felix Salmon, The New York Times Book Review
"Martin Wolf is as grand and important as an economic journalist
can ever become.... The Shifts and the Shocks is extremely good at
untangling the causes of the global financial crisis." Joseph
Stiglitz, Financial Times
"Martin Wolf has outdone himself. The FT's chief economics
commentator has written a book that not only explains the malaise
in which we have been mired since 2008 but
also--depressingly--provides a convincing analysis of why we are
likely to remain so. Already, the crisis has spawned a plethora of
titles examining what went wrong. The Shifts and the Shocks is
among the first to address the absence of a robust recovery and it
sets a high bar for those that will surely follow...One of the
things that distinguishes Wolf's analysis from so many others is
that he sees the crisis as more than a financial crisis--an insight
that is essential if we are to understand the failure to achieve a
robust recovery...Wolf may have written the book to shake us out of
our stupor." Paul Krugman, The New York Review of Books
"Extended, learned, and well-informed...Since the new sort-of
consensus is clearly much more realistic than the pre-crisis
complacency, Wolf, the chief economics commentator of the Financial
Times, has performed a very useful service by putting it all
together in one readable book...Wolf argues rightly that a fuller
picture requires paying attention to the wider world...The Shifts
and the Shocks is an excellent survey of how we arrived at the mess
we're in, and Wolf's substantive proposals at the end, especially
for reform of the euro system--system-wide deposit insurance,
higher inflation so that the burden of adjustment is better shared,
among other reforms--are all worthy and laudable. But the gods
themselves contend in vain against stupidity. What are the odds
that financial reformers can do better?" The Economist
"The Shifts and the Shocks is a fierce indictment of the global
economy and a call for radical reform...Mr Wolf's contribution is
comprehensiveness and a piercing logic in piecing the disparate
elements together. He weaves the macroeconomic and financial
elements of the crisis, its origins and aftermath, into an
all-encompassing analysis. Along the way he demolishes many of the
popular explanations--such as that the mess was due to greedy
bankers or to loose monetary policy--as too simplistic. The result
is convincing and depressing; there are no quick fixes...An
important contribution that anyone involved in economic policy
ought to read." Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times
"A surprisingly refreshing look at the biggest financial calamity
since the Great Depression. Just when you thought everything that
could be said about the crisis had been said, Mr. Wolf adds
something new...Wolf deftly weaves together the components of the
crisis, examining it from 10,000 feet up: globalization, monetary
policy, banking architecture." Robert Lenzner, Forbes
"[A] worthy and wise new book...A primer on the interaction between
global macroeconomic forces and what Wolf dares to call 'an
increasingly fragile, liberalized financial system.' And it never
goes off the rational, pragmatic track toward order, fragile or
not." Irish Examiner (UK):
"Profound, disturbing and prophetic... [Wolf's] analysis is
rigorous and deals fairly with opposing points of view. As a
result, the proposals he presents for future action merit very
close consideration." FiveThirtyEight.com:
"Unsettling to anyone who thinks the financial system is any more
stable now...Wolf has, once again, written an erudite, brilliant
and data-heavy book on global macroeconomics." Ben Bernanke:
"Building on his earlier book, Fixing Global Finance, in The Shifts
and the Shocks Martin Wolf provides an insightful and timely
analysis of how global imbalances, international capital flows, and
economic policies have helped create a financially fragile world."
Lawrence Summers:
"Martin Wolf is unsurpassed in the world of economic journalists.
His superb book may be the best of all those spawned by the Great
Recession. It is analytical and rigorous and without ever
succumbing to fatalism or complacency. It should be read by anyone
concerned with macroeconomic or financial policy going forward."
George Soros:
"In this important book, Martin Wolf demonstrates that the Eurozone
crisis was due to the interaction between powerful global economic
and financial forces and the inadequacies of its economic and
political structure. He also demonstrates that the Eurozone has not
eliminated these weaknesses. The crisis is not yet over." Mervyn
King:
"A masterly account of the financial crisis seen in its true
international perspective." Adair Turner:
"The 2008 financial crisis was an economic disaster, but as Martin
Wolf brilliantly argues the policy response has failed to address
the fundamental drivers of instability--excessive debt creation,
global imbalances and inequality. To think straight about causes
and solutions we must reject orthodox assumptions that more finance
and global financial integration are limitlessly beneficial. The
Shifts and the Shocks does just that, providing an intellectually
sparkling and vital account of why the crisis occurred, and of the
radical reforms needed if we are to avoid a future repeat." Paul
Tucker, Senior Fellow, Harvard University:
"Martin Wolf has ranged more widely than perhaps any other author
in trying to make sense of the global financial crisis and how to
avoid its recurrence. Macroeconomics, finance, ideas, institutions,
policy, politics; Europe, Asia, the US--they are all here. Whether
or not one agrees with Wolf's analysis and prescriptions, this book
will help everyone work out what they think. A must read." Anat
Admati, Stanford University; co-author of The Bankers' New Clothes:
What's Wrong with Banking and What to Do About It
"In this powerful and important book, Martin Wolf exposes the
forces that shaped our fragile financial system and brought harm to
so many, with particular attention to the crisis in Europe. His
insights and urgent call to prevent more harm must be heard."
William H. Janeway, Warburg Pincus; University of Cambridge:
"Martin Wolf has been the world's leading commentator on the Global
Financial Crisis and its economic consequences: now in The Shifts
and the Shocks he demonstrates with compelling force that the
essential response to financial fragility is to make banks boring:
lots more capital, much lower prospective returns."
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