Politicians and business execs cheer when the stock market is booming. The Dow is trotted out as a sign that the economy is thriving — and people panic when the market is down.
But a soaring stock market doesn’t necessarily mean the economy is strong. What’s good for corporations isn’t always what’s best for its workers and consumers. And only about half of Americans own stocks in companies — meaning that millions are left out when the market surges.
So what exactly is the stock market measuring?
Vox tackled this question in the seventh episode of our new Netflix show, Explained. We’ll have new episodes every Wednesday on topics ranging from cryptocurrency to the racial wealth gap to cricket and more. If you like our videos, then you’ll love this show; it’s our most ambitious video project to date.
To watch, search “Explained” on Netflix or go to Netflix.com/explained. Click the “My List” button to make sure you don’t miss an episode!
Learn more:
7 reasons not to completely lose it over the stock market’s huge swings (Emily Stewart, Vox)
The stock market is President Trump’s best friend (Jim Tankersley, Vox)
How Wall Street learned to stop worrying and love Trump (Emily Stewart, Vox)
The Stock Market Is Not the Economy (Ben Casselman, FiveThirtyEight)
While Trump Touts Stock Market, Many Americans Are Left Out of the Conversation (Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR)
We All Have a Stake in the Stock Market, Right? Guess Again (Patricia Cohen, New York Times)
How a small Wisconsin town is making some hedge funds very nervous (Leslie Picker and Dawn Giel cover the Wausau Paper bankruptcy for CNBC. We spoke to a former Wausau Paper employee and CEO for this episode.)
Is shareholder value a myth? (Lizzie O’Leary interviews Lynn Stout, whom we also interviewed for this episode, for Marketplace)
The market risk that makes Nobel laureate Robert Shiller ‘lie awake worrying’ (Robert Shiller, whom we interviewed for this episode, discusses the biggest risks to the market on CNBC)
Central Wisconsin Village Faces Financial Crisis After Closure of Paper Mill (Glen Moberg reports on the closing of the Wausau Paper for Wisconsin Public Radio)
Brokaw residents losing hope for mill town’s future (Glen Moberg on the impact of the Wausau Paper closing, Wisconsin Public Radio)
