Showing results by author "Robert Litan" in All Categories

Trillion Dollar Economists explores the prize-winning ideas that have shaped business decisions, business models, and government policies, expanding the popular idea of the economist's role from one of forecaster to one of innovator. Written by the former Director of Economic Research at Bloomberg Government, the Kauffman Foundation and the Brookings Institution, this audiobook describes the ways in which economists have helped shape the world.

Almost as soon as the financial crisis struck in late 2007, policy-makers began working to prevent another one. The roots of the crisis, they contended, lay in reckless lending and excess debt. Banks had made massive loans to “subprime” borrowers, who had little ability to repay them, and the banks funded these investments with borrowed money. When the US housing bubble burst, millions of Americans defaulted on their mortgages, and the overleveraged banks collapsed.

Over the past 30 years, the rate of start-up formation in the United States has slowed down. To reclaim its status as a hub of innovation, the United States must tackle reforms in many areas, from immigration and business regulation to health care and education.