Phishing for phools The economics of manipulation and deception

George A. Akerlof, 1940-

Book - 2015

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Subjects
Published
Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press [2015]
Language
English
Main Author
George A. Akerlof, 1940- (author)
Other Authors
Robert J. Shiller (author)
Physical Description
xvi, 272 pages ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780691168319
9780691173023
  • Preface
  • Introduction Expect to Be Manipulated: Phishing Equilibrium
  • Part 1. Unpaid Bills and Financial Crash
  • Chapter 1. Temptation Strews Our Path
  • Chapter 2. Reputation Mining and Financial Crisis
  • Part 2. Phishing in Many Contexts
  • Chapter 3. Advertisers Discover How to Zoom In on Our Weak Spots
  • Chapter 4. Rip-offs Regarding Cars, Houses, and Credit Cards
  • Chapter 5. Phishing in Politics
  • Chapter 6. Phood, Pharma, and Phishing
  • Chapter 7. Innovation: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  • Chapter 8. Tobacco and Alcohol
  • Chapter 9. Bankruptcy for Profit
  • Chapter 10. Michael Milken Phishes with Junk Bonds as Bait
  • Chapter 11. The Resistance and Its Heroes
  • Part 3. Conclusion and Afterword
  • Conclusion: Examples and general lessons New Story in America and Its Consequences
  • Afterword the Significance of Phishing Equilibrium
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

The Law of Large Numbers (LLN) suggests that in the US one could find 50 cases of anything, which means Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer will never want for material. In Phishing for Phools, Nobel laureates Akerlof and Shiller team up again after Animal Spirits (CH, Jul'09, 46-6301) to cast cold--but well-advertised and deceptively marketed--water on free markets once more. The authors regurgitate behavioral economics paradigms in story after story to castigate the financial sector, real estate practices, credit card companies, automobile showroom tactics, food and drug industry advertising, and tobacco firms. Somehow the ASPCA's appeals with forlorn puppies and gross exaggerations from environmental groups--not to mention teachers' unions, trial lawyers, and designer coffee shops, likely sectors more politically acceptable to Akerlof and Shiller--get a complete pass. The same is true of dating and marriage markets. Almost 100 pages of reference material complement the biased prose, in which Suze Orman gets more plaudits than mainstream economists. The fact that the arguments are fundamentally unfair will dissuade few readers. Uncritical audiences will adore the book, but are they running the risk of being called Phools? Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. All readers. --Allen R. Sanderson, University of Chicago

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Nobel Prize-winning economists -Akerlof (economics, Georgetown Univ.) and Shiller (Sterling Professor of Economics, Yale Univ.), who previously collaborated on Animal Spirits, here look at the concepts of manipulation and deception from the idea that markets give and take away. Narratives in this impressive book tell how to avoid being tricked by means of better enforcement and being told of pending scams. The authors show how money is spent up to the limit and the resulting concern about meeting the next month's bills. They also provide a useful explanation for the Great Recession. Actions of rating agencies such as Moody's and Standard & Poor's, explain the authors, have been built up over a century and generally do a good job of evaluating the probability of a default of bonds. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, however, the agencies took on the job of assessing more complex securities that were almost impossible to rate accurately, yet the public still relied on the assessments. -VERDICT As one of the few titles dealing with fraud in the marketplace, this should be a part of any collection strong in business and economic holdings. A background in economics is presupposed. Readers might also consult Scambusters! by Ron Smith.-Claude Ury, San Francisco © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.