Shiller et la réglementation des produits financiers complexe

Texte intriguant de Robert Shiller dans le New York Times de dimanche. Dans Financial Innovation vs Consumer Protection, il aborde la question du rôle de la réglementation des produits financiers complexe et de la contribution d'une agence fédérale pour protéger les consommateurs. Sa réponse:

Our society needs financial innovation, and still seems vulnerable to changing animal spirits and speculative bubbles that create truly big problems. Even if they can be mitigated, periodic crises may not be preventable, at least not by banning abusive credit cards or even by throwing the bad guys in jail.

We need consumer products that people can use properly, and if this is what “plain vanilla” means, that’s a good thing. But we also need financial innovation that responds to central problems. The effectiveness of our free enterprise system depends on allowing business people to manage the myriad risks — including the risk of asset bubbles — that impinge on their operations in the long term. And this process needs constant change and improvement.

Au final, si vous êtes comme moi, vous trouverez difficile de comprendre exactement la direction vers laquelle il pointe...