The Great Reversal

By Thomas Philippon,

Book cover of The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets

Book description

A Financial Times Book of the Year
A ProMarket Book of the Year

"Superbly argued and important...Donald Trump is in so many ways a product of the defective capitalism described in The Great Reversal. What the U.S. needs, instead, is another Teddy Roosevelt and his energetic trust-busting. Is that still…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Great Reversal as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Why do governments have to make markets work?

Well for one thing, firms might prefer to collude rather than to compete, if given the choice. So we need antitrust policy to make them compete.

Philippon surveys developments over the past few decades, demonstrating how the United States has weakened antitrust policy and enforcement while Europe has strengthened it.

He also looks at particular sectors, with a particularly compelling chapter on how the U.S. financial sector has grown without delivering more value to consumers and investors.

From Steven's list on how markets really work.

Since Adam Smith, economists have understood that market competition is a key ingredient in aligning market outcomes with societal benefits. Yet, market competition has eroded in recent decades in the United States. Among other insights, this book describes the surprising finding that the European economy, by many key metrics, is more competitive than the American economy. The book also discusses the importance of competition for encouraging innovation, economic growth, and widely shared economic prosperity.

From Kimberly's list on big economic policy debates.

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