Putting an end to the reign of financial illusion : for real growth

“We all know that our world has become very indebted over the past decades and
that its ‘financialization’ has reached proportions never observed before, at
least in peacetime. But how serious is this phenomenon? What are its
consequences on the solidity of our financial system, on the functioning of
our economy and on the future of our society? Above all, we must understand
how our world has surreptitiously changed its model for the past two decades.
It has slipped to a strange paradigm, one in which the bulk of economic
activity is now reflected in the rise in the value of financial assets at the
expense of growth, wage income and productive investment. It is time to put an
end to the reign of illusion and to reinstate the fundamental economic springs
without which there can be no real growth.” J. de L. “No one alive today
combines Jacques de Larosière’s experience with an acuity about global
finance. His sharp and cogent expression of alarm in this timely volume
deserves and even demands the attention of the global financial community.”
Lawrence Summers, Former Secretary of the United States Treasury and President
Emeritus of Harvard? “This is a must-read for those who want to understand the
‘economic illusions’ hiding in plain sight. And for those who are prepared to
step-up to the benefit of a new generation.” Kevin Warsh, member of the
Federal Reserve Board (2006-2018), and professor at Stanford “The book is a
harsh criticism of the fairy tales that have guided monetary theory and the
actions of central bankers in recent decades.” Vito Tanzi, Honorary President
of the International Institute of Public Finance Jacques de Larosière spent
his entire career at the head of financial institutions: he was first Managing
Director of the International Monetary Fund (1978-1987) before becoming
Governor of the Banque de France (1987-1993), then president of the European
Bank of Reconstruction and Development (1993-1998). He is currently Advisor to
the president of BNP-Parisbas.