The Speculation Economy
How Finance Triumphed Over Industry
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Available: 11/01/08
6.11 x 9.15 · 416 pages
9781576756287
CDN $34.95
· pb
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In this groundbreaking book, Lawrence E. Mitchell traces the origins of modern business's obsession with stock price to the first decade of the 20th century.
American businesses today are obsessed with the price of their stock. How did this situation come about? When did the stock market become the driver of the American economy? Lawrence E. Mitchell identifies the moment in American history when finance triumphed over industry. He shows how the birth of the giant modern corporation spurred the rise of the stock market and how, by the dawn of the 1920s, the stock market left behind its business origins to become the very reason for the creation of business itself.
"A fascinating account of the early 20th century emergence of a stock-market-oriented economy." (BusinessWeek)
LAWRENCE E. MITCHELL is Theodore Rinehart Professor of Business Law at The George Washington University Law School and has been a leading corporate and business law scholar for twenty years. One of the founders of the progressive corporate law movement, Mitchell has written extensively on a variety of topics. His books include Stacked Deck: A Story of Selfishness in America and Corporate Irresponsibility: America's Newest Export.
