Saturday, December 26, 2009

Financial sector is too big and unproductive

Several top economists have commented that the financial sector has grown to be too big. They do not create any value, in terms of actual production of goods and services to improve the quality of life. They are a drain on the productive economy and take away the best brains in recent years. They create bubbles and led to the collapse of the financial system.

I agree with these views. You can watch a video of the speeches given by these top economists in the academic section of Temasek Review.

Dangers of Big Banks

Read this article.

Paul Volcker on Financial Innovation

Speaking to a group of senior finance executives, as reported in The Wall Street Journal on Monday, Mr. Volcker made his point even more forcefully. There is no benefit to running our financial system in its current fashion, with high risks (for society) and high returns (for top bankers). Most of financial innovation, in his view, is not just worthless to society – it is downright dangerous to our broader economic health.