"The Privatization of Risk" Panel Discussion

September 29, 2009

Decades of privatization have shifted the burden of risk from government and institutions to individuals and families. As a result, many Americans now find themselves unable to cope with the financial strains of employment and investment insecurity, as well as the costs of health care and pension financing. Collectively, these are the most pressing domestic concerns in the United States today.

The Museum of American Finance and the Social Science Research Council present an expert panel on the problems posed by risk privatization and what can be done to address them. “The Privatization of Risk: Understanding Risk Shifts in Healthcare, Pensions, Employment and Finance” will feature noted experts Jacob Hacker, Katherine Newman, Mitchell Orenstein and Robert E. Wright. All four panelists are editors of recent or upcoming volumes in the Privatization of Risk Book Series—a series of short, accessible books on risk privatization produced by the Social Science Research Council and Columbia University Press. Dr. Richard Sylla, Henry Kaufman Professor of the History of Financial Institutions and Markets at the NYU Stern School of Business, moderates the discussion.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.