International Law

How to Really Understand Economic Crises and Fraud

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William K. Black has good examination of the interplay between deceit and our economic crisis.

"The most relevant economic works for understanding these crises are by Akerlof and Romer, Galbraith, and Minsky.

Akerlof and Romer explain why "looting" (control fraud) can occur and the fraudulent steps looters take to optimize short-term accounting profits (which destroy the firm).

Note that they are writing about a form of a "market for lemons" in which the CEO maximizes information asymmetry.

The failure of economists discussing the ongoing crises to cite the work of a Nobel laureate writing in the core of his expertise demonstrates why we have failed to learn the proper lessons from prior financial crises.

James Galbraith extends Akerlof and Romer's analysis to show why the state aids fellow control frauds.  

Minsky describes the "Ponzi" phase of a crisis and why financial instability reoccurs."

Black's book "The Best Way to Rob a Bank is To Own One" is a great review of the failure of Savings and Loans disaster and how CEO's suborn the gatekeepers, eg. accountants, boards of directors, attorneys, rating agencies, regulators, and politicians, to create and maintain "control fraud".

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on April 05, 2009 (boomark / email).