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The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets
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About The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up On Free
Product Description In this much-anticipated book, a leading economist argues that many key problems of the American economy are due not to the flaws of capitalism or the inevitabilities of globalization but to the concentration of corporate power. By lobbying against competition, the biggest firms drive profits higher while depressing wages and limiting opportunities for investment, innovation, and growth.Why are cell-phone plans so much more expensive in the United States than in Europe? It seems a simple question. But the search for an answer took Thomas Philippon on an unexpected journey through some of the most complex and hotly debated issues in modern economics. Ultimately he reached his surprising conclusion: American markets, once a model for the world, are giving up on healthy competition. Sector after economic sector is more concentrated than it was twenty years ago, dominated by fewer and bigger players who lobby politicians aggressively to protect and expand their profit margins. Across the country, this drives up prices while driving down investment, productivity, growth, and wages, resulting in more inequality. Meanwhile, Europe―long dismissed for competitive sclerosis and weak antitrust―is beating America at its own game.Philippon, one of the world’s leading economists, did not expect these conclusions in the age of Silicon Valley start-ups and millennial millionaires. But the data from his cutting-edge research proved undeniable. In this compelling tale of economic detective work, we follow him as he works out the basic facts and consequences of industry concentration in the U.S. and Europe, shows how lobbying and campaign contributions have defanged antitrust regulators, and considers what all this means for free trade, technology, and innovation. For the sake of ordinary Americans, he concludes, government needs to return to what it once did best: keeping the playing field level for competition. It’s time to make American markets great―and free―again. Review “[A] superbly argued and important book. America is no longer the home of the free-market economy…The great obstacle to action in the U.S. is the pervasive role of money in politics. The results are the twin evils of oligopoly and oligarchy…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 imaginable? All believers in the virtues of competitive capitalism must hope so.” ― Martin Wolf , Financial Times “A fascinating case study of rising corporate concentration and why this reflects not just impersonal economic forces but political choices… [Philippon] concludes competition has indeed declined to the detriment of consumers. His novel contribution, though, is to contrast this with the experience of Europe… Where the U.S. was once the world’s teacher, it may be time to be the pupil.” ― Greg Ip , Wall Street Journal “Fascinating…In one industry after another, [Philippon] writes, a few companies have grown so large that they have the power to keep prices high and wages low. It’s great for those corporations―and bad for almost everyone else…Too often, both parties are still confusing the interests of big business with the national interest. And American families are paying the price.” ― David Leonhardt , New York Times “Philippon sees today’s Europe, ironically the home of government-driven market intervention, as the place that has figured out how to set markets free by spurring competitiveness and thus keeping services up and prices down… The Great Reversal argues that the United States has much to gain by reforming how domestic markets work but also much to regain―a vitality that has been lost since the Reagan years. We don’t know if Philippon is a fan of Donald Trump, but his analysis points to one way of making America great again: restoring our free-market competitiveness.” ― Arthur Herma
