A Call for Judgment: Sensible Finance for a Dynamic Economy

“This great book, Amar Bhidé’s third in a decade, is an essential and distinct contribution in our hour of need. It first reformulates how modern capitalism does what it does best–innovation. Then, in high gear, it shows us how our capitalism has been brought down by a thousand cuts: the idea that rational investors always know precisely what they’re doing, the perversion of the banking industry, the errors of deregulation and the striking errors in some new regulations. A Call for Judgment is not a cry for some auto da fé on Wall Street but rather a brilliant and reasoned plea for a basic revamp of our capitalist institutions so as to regain the dynamism of old.”–Edmund S. Phelps, McVickar Professor of Political Economy and Director of the Center on Capitalism and Society, Columbia University, and 2006 Nobel laureate in Economics

“A Call for Judgment is an intellectual firecracker–full of wisdom, common sense, and hard-hitting reform proposals. Few other writers, if any, can match Amar Bhidé’s deep knowledge of economic theory and historical detail with his first-hand experience in both entrepreneurship and real-world finance. It’s hard to imagine a more useful analysis or guide for what must now be done.”–Thomas K. McCraw, Straus Professor of Business History, Emeritus, Harvard Business School, author of Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction

“A Call for Judgment presents many interesting insights on necessary innovations in the world of today and tomorrow. Amar Bhidé prompts also some conclusions for improving the rules and ways for future banking-supervision in the United States. This book is a very positive contribution to a necessary debate.”–Hans Tietmeyer, former president, Deutsche Bundesbank

“Amar Bhidé’s analysis of the economic crisis that exploded on us a few years ago is extremely informative and thought provoking. He writes from an experience both in business, where he could see what was going on around him, and in academia, where he has had the time to study and reflect on what happened and why. Bhidé’s discussion of what we need to do to avoid a recurrence is illuminating and persuasive.”–Richard R. Nelson, George Blumenthal Professor of International and Public Affairs, Business, and Law, Emeritus, Columbia University and winner of the 2006 Honda Prize and co-author of An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change