Are Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy? (Update)

20 October - 48 mins
Podcast Series Freakonomics Radio

They say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and employees. Can they both be right? (Probably not.) 

 

SOURCES:Brendan Ballou, C.E.O. of the Public Integrity Project.Dan Glickberg, venture-capital investor.Hannah Howard, food writer.Sachin Khajuria, investor. 

RESOURCES:Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America, by Brendan Ballou (2023).Two and Twenty: How the Masters of Private Equity Always Win, by Sachin Khajuria (2022)."Local Journalism under Private Equity Ownership," by Michael Ewens, Arpit Gupta, and Sabrina T. Howell (NBER Working Paper, 2022).“Owner Incentives and Per...

48 mins

Series Episodes

691. Is This What a “Good Billionaire” Looks Like? Playing

691. Is This What a “Good Billionaire” Looks Like?

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688. When Is a Bet Not a Bet? Playing

688. When Is a Bet Not a Bet?

That’s the question at the heart of a battle between Kalshi and state gambling regulators. As prediction markets boom, there are other questions, too — about insider trading, market manipulation, and whether the public has turned against them. (Part two of a two-part series.)

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687. Are Prediction Markets the Best Forecasting Tool Ever — or Just Another Casino? Playing

687. Are Prediction Markets the Best Forecasting Tool Ever — or Just Another Casino?

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48 mins

18 September Finished

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