How Stock Buybacks Undermine Sustainable Prosperity

By William Lazonick and Ken Jacobson

“The debate on the role of stock buybacks in the performance of the U.S. economy is heating up. There are executives, journalists, and academics who, like us, argue that corporation’s repurchases of shares on the open market —the vast majority of buybacks—do great damage to the economy because they undermine stable and equitable growth.”…