"This book investigates three sets of questions raised by the economic downturn, corresponding to the three sections of the book. The first concerns issues of ethics and social responsibility in economic policymaking and in business and finance; how the costs of the downturn have fallen within the population -- in terms of lost incomes, lost jobs, declining wealth, unmanageable debt burdens, reductions in spending on necessities, lost homes, and other problems of insecurity and financial distress; and lastly: concerns the rise of unmet basic needs -- for food, shelter and health care -- during the downturn"--