Business Cycles And Equilibrium, Updated Edition

Business Cycles And Equilibrium, Updated Edition

An updated look at what Fischer Black's ideas on business cycles and equilibrium mean todayThroughout his career, Fischer Black described a view of business fluctuations based on the idea that a well-developed economy will be continually in equilibrium. In the essays that constitute this book, which is one of only two books Black ever wrote, he explores this idea thoroughly and reaches some surprising conclusions.With the newfound popularity of quantitative finance and risk management, the work of Fischer Black has garnered much attention. Business Cycles and Equilibrium-with its theory that economic and financial markets are in a continual equilibrium-is one of his books that still rings true today, given the current economic crisis. This Updated Edition clearly presents Black's classic theory on business cycles and the concept of equilibrium, and contains a new introduction by the person who knows Black best: Perry Mehrling, author of Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance (Wiley). Mehrling goes inside Black's life to uncover what was occurring during the time Black wrote Business Cycles and Equilibrium, while also shedding light on what Black would make of today's financial and economic meltdown and how he would best advise to move forward.The essays within this book reach some interesting conclusions concerning the role of equilibrium in a developed economyWarns about the use and abuse of modelingExplains the risky business of risk in a straightforward and accessible styleContains chapters dedicated to "the effects of uncontrolled banking," "the trouble with econometric models," and "the effects of noise on investing"Includes commentary on Black's life and work at the time Business Cycles and Equilibrium was written as well as insight as to what Black would make of the current financial meltdownEngaging and informative, the Updated Edition of Business Cycles and Equilibrium will give you a better understanding of what is really going on during these uncertain and volatile financial times.From the Inside FlapThroughout his career, Fischer Black described a view of business fluctuations based on the idea that a well-developed economy will be continually in equilibrium. In the essays that constitute this book, which is one of only two books Black ever wrote, he explores this idea thoroughly and reaches some surprising conclusions. With the newfound popularity of quantitative finance and risk management, the work of Fischer Black has garnered much attention. Even today, Black's Business Cycles and Equilibrium--which lays out his theory that economic and financial markets are in a continual equilibrium--still challenges our thinking, especially during our current economic crisis. This Updated Edition clearly presents Black's classic theory on business cycles and the concept of equilibrium, and contains a new Foreword by the person who knows Black best: Perry Mehrling, author of Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance. Mehrling places Black's book in the context of his own intellectual trajectory, shows how to read it as a challenge to the macroeconomic orthodoxy of his day, and suggests how Black might have used his theory to make sense of today's financial and economic meltdown. Filled with the practical perspectives of one of the most innovative minds in finance, the Updated Edition of Business Cycles and Equilibrium: Contains Fischer's original essays, which reach some interesting conclusions concerning the role of equilibrium in a developed economyWarns about the use and abuse of modelingExplains the risky business of risk in a straightforward and accessible styleIncludes discussions dedicated to "the effects of uncontrolled banking," "the trouble with econometric models," and "the effects of noise on investing"Provides enlightening commentary on Black's life and work at the time Business Cycles and Equilibrium was writtenEngaging and informative, th