The End of Theory: Financial Crises, the Failure of Economics, and the Sweep

Bookstaber's groundbreaking paradigm promises to do a far better job at preventing crises and managing those that break out. As he explains, our varied memories and imaginations color our economic behavior in unexpected hues. Agent-based modeling embraces these nuances by avoiding the mechanistic, unrealistic structure of our current economic approach. Bookstaber tackles issues such as radical uncertainty, when circumstances take place beyond our anticipation, and emergence, when innocent, everyday interactions combine to create sudden chaos. Starting with the realization that future crises cannot be predicted by the past, he proposes an approach that recognizes the human narrative while addressing market realities. Sweeping aside the historic failure of twentieth-century economics, The End of Theory offers a novel and innovative perspective, along with a more realistic and human framework, to help prevent today's financial system from blowing up again.

Richard Bookstaber has overseen risk management at investment banks Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers, as well as major hedge funds such as Moore Capital and Bridgewater. He has also held positions at the U.S. Treasury, and is currently at the University of California. He is the author most recently of A Demon of Our Own Design (Wiley).

"Greg Mankiw said a decade ago, ¿The fact that modern macroeconomic research is not widely used in practical policymaking is prima facie evidence that it is of little use for this purpose.' In The End of Theory, Richard Bookstaber explains why this is so, and presents an alternative to change this situation. Showing that agent-based modeling provides a way of recognizing patterns that emerge as economic crises develop, Bookstaber's approach should help dampen crises and their impacts. What could be more important?"--Alan Kirman, director of studies, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and emeritus professor of economics, Aix-Marseille University