The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous Decade

How one of the greatest economic expansions in history sowed the seeds of its own collapse.

With his best-selling Globalization and Its Discontents, Joseph E. Stiglitz showed how a misplaced faith in free-market ideology led to many of the recent problems suffered by the developing nations. Here he turns the same light on the United States.

The Roaring Nineties offers not only an insider's illuminating view of policymaking but also a compelling case that even the Clinton administration was too closely tied to the financial community—that along with enormous economic success in the nineties came the seeds of the destruction visited on the economy at the end of the decade.

This groundbreaking work by the Nobel Prize-winning economist argues that much of what we understood about the 1990s' prosperity is wrong, that the theories that have been used to guide world leaders and anchor key business decisions were fundamentally outdated. Yes, jobs were created, technology prospered, inflation fell, and poverty was reduced. But at the same time the foundation was laid for the economic problems we face today. Trapped in a near-ideological commitment to free markets, policymakers permitted accounting standards to slip, carried deregulation further than they should have, and pandered to corporate greed. These chickens have now come home to roost.

The paperback includes a new introduction that reviews the continued failure of the Bush administration's policies, which have taken a bad situation and made it worse.

Customer Reviews:

Nuanced and thoughtful

By A Customer - October 31, 2003

It's easy to see why this book might be difficult for those from the conservative school of economics. Stiglitz - a Nobel Prize winner - is not a simple man, and neither are his ideas and theories; like economics itself, this book covers complex issues and problems that cannot be solved by a mere sweeping ideology of "taxes are bad" and "deregulation is good."While the ideas Stiglitz explores are complex, the book is nothing near an impossible or dry read - to the contrary. Stiglitz's premise is clear: While there will probably always be cycles of boom and bust, and bubbles like those of the 90s will burst, policies still matter and are important. It is policies that can help lengthen expansions and shorten recessions, and help us through cycles of boom and bust. This book is a fascinating read. It's especially terrific if you're looking for a book that links economics and policies in a cohesive, understandable way, and doesn't just speak about one at a... read more

Another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into...

By Wayne Klein "If at first the idea is not absu... - December 28, 2003

I profited just as much as the next person from the booming business in the 90's. I also was one of its victims. We all were and, as usual, there we're federal policies, greedy individuals and corporations and dishonesty that when mixed in with the prosperity helped undermine it. Certainly there are always periods of booms and busts--it's how we deal with aftermath and the excesses that matter.Stiglitz's well written book examines the process of creation and the decay and corruption that can help undo these bursts of economic activity. Stiglitz doesn't point the finger at any one group of individuals more than another--he feels comfortable doling out the blame where it belongs and Washington is just as much a target as corporate America. Without the political stilts to support economic circus we all participate in, it would never happen. As a reflection on what's wrong (and occasionally right) with America's political and economic system, The Roaring Nineties is unstinting look at... read more

Highly Recommended !

By Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" - March 2, 2005

Only a Nobel Prize-winning economist could disguise a political broadside against conservatives and the George W. Bush administration inside a Trojan horse mea culpa of the Bill Clinton White House. No one could argue with Joseph Stiglitz's assertion that an effective modern economy must strike a reasonable balance between free markets and government oversight - but what is reasonable? Stiglitz regrets what is arguably the shining achievement of the Clinton Administration, namely, its success in balancing the U.S. budget. Credit him for consistency: he opposed Clinton's tax cut, just as he opposed George W. Bush's. Stiglitz's academic and professional chops are beyond question, and his insights into corporate welfare and inefficient markets are quite valuable if somewhat short of profound. We find that this volume provides strong insights into the inner workings of the American economic juggernaut. Your reaction will depend whether you agree or disagree with the author's contentions... read more