Development economics Books

Book SynopsisIt is not only the beginning of 2020 but also the opening of a new decade. Many important issues impacting India as a nation a decade earlier will develop at an accelerated pace in this decade and change our politics, economy and society dramatically. We need to think about how to survive in the fast changing global environment in which ethereal assets like data and ideas are likely to carry more power than hard assets. India will continue to face a complex set of challenges to its national security in the next decade. Without mitigating its security challenges and investing in human capital, India cannot hope to become a global power with innovative technological capability. Having been through several conflicts and crises, there is a growing recognition that India needs a robust national security system. It is therefore important now to imagine 2030. We need to think about what kinds of security challenges India will face and what kind of solutions can emerge in the future.This collection of essays analyses the contemporary security situation and evaluates possible alternative scenarios for the future for implementing India`s national security policy. Drawing upon the expertise of some leading practitioners and scholars in the field, the volume offers a broad array of timely and relevant analysis of an evolving and uncertain security environment to provide the reader with an informed and balanced overview of India`s national security.

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Book SynopsisThe Remnants of Race Science traces the influence of ideas from the Global South on UNESCO’s race campaign, illuminating its relationship to notions of modernization and economic development.Trade ReviewBrilliantly and provocatively, The Remnants of Race Science reveals that the so-called decline of racial thought in human biology was really just a substitution of other more flexible ideas of human difference—mostly from the Global South—for the rigid racist typologies of the Global North. This more inclusive refiguring of racial difference would make possible the economic ‘development’ of people once excluded from modernity—which meant in practice their neocolonial incorporation into the netherworlds of global capitalism. In this paradigm-shifting book, Gil-Riaño thus offers us a new ‘southern’ vocabulary to talk about racism and antiracism. -- Warwick Anderson, author of Colonial Pathologies: American Tropical Medicine, Race, and Hygiene in the PhilippinesStarting with scientific research from the Southern Hemisphere, this important book overturns the common story of antiracist science as simplistically rooted in rejecting fixed biological kinds. Drawing from a transnational archive, Gil-Riaño shows how so-called anti-racist science was caught up in projects of improvement that rested on a multitude of other racisms. -- M. Murphy, author of The Economization of LifeLatin Americanists have long maintained that race and biology are shaped by culture, social organization, and economic conditions. In this deeply researched study, Gil-Riaño shows how Latin American racial ideas shaped the post–World War II human sciences and UNESCO projects. The human sciences did not renounce racial explanation—as so many believe—but folded them into global ideas about economic development. -- Karin Rosemblatt, author of The Science and Politics of Race in Mexico and the United States, 1910-1950Offers useful historical context to current debates about how to successfully build solidarity in science and society. * Science *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Remnants of Race SciencePart I: Confronting Racism in the Southern Hemisphere, 1890–19511. Substituting Race: Arthur Ramos, Bahia, and the “Nina Rodrigues School”2. Relocating Race Science After World War II: Situating the 1950 UNESCO Statement on Race in the Southern Hemisphere3. Vikings of the Sunrise: Alfred Metraux, Te Rangi Hīroa, and Polynesian Racial ResiliencePart II: Race in the Tropics and Highlands and the Quest for Economic Development, 1945–19624. A Tropical Laboratory: Race, Evolution, and the Demise of UNESCO’s Hylean Amazon Project5. “Peasants Without Land”: Race and Indigeneity in the ILO’s Puno-Tambopata ProjectPart III: Engineering Racial Harmony and Decolonization, 1952–19616. A Brazilian Racial Dilemma: Modernization and UNESCO’s Race Relations Studies in Brazil7. A White World Perspective and the Collapse of Global Race Relations InquiryConclusion: “Racism Continues to Haunt the World”NotesIndex

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Book SynopsisDickson D. Despommier proposes a visionary yet achievable plan for creating a new, self-sustaining urban landscape.

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Book SynopsisBranko Milanovic charts 200 years of the fascinating history of the discourse on inequality through portraits of six key economists, from Quesnay to Kuznets. In their work and lives, we see how differently each conceived of inequality, and how the subject, prominent in their times, was eclipsed during the Cold War and has become central once again.Trade ReviewA timely book that brings the weight of the past to bear on one of the most pressing issues of our time…Milanovic is a clear and direct writer, unafraid of making strong judgements and with an idiosyncratic eye for detail. That makes for original, and sometimes amusingly wry, revelations. -- Darrin M. McMahon * Literary Review *Inequality is back, as a political topic and as a focus of study. In this fascinating book, Milanovic, one of the world’s most influential scholars of inequality, examines what leading economists of the past have had to say on this issue. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *A history of the changing ways economists have broached the subject [of inequality] since the French Revolution…[Milanovic] describes how Western economists were in thrall to an unholy combination of extremely simplistic assumptions and extremely complex mathematical models. -- Jennifer Szalai * New York Times *For anybody interested in inequality—and we all should be—anything by Milanovic is an essential read…This book is a great scene setter for the modern debate, not least in illustrating the link between ideas of inequality and the times in which ideas are formed. -- Diane Coyle * Enlightened Economist *An in-depth contextual analysis of how economic minds from Adam Smith to Karl Marx have shaped our understanding of class, income and wealth…This is a vital reference for the economic and philosophical theories underpinning our understanding of inequality today. -- Tej Parikh * Financial Times *An absorbing account of how thinking about inequality has evolved…Milanovic mixes his methodical examination of the evolution of economic thought about inequality with fascinating portraits of great economists and the society and polity of their times. -- Zia Qureshi * Finance & Development *A captivating journey through the time of ideas, with an impact on current events. -- Julien Damon * Les Echoes *A noted economist examines the thinking of six of his predecessors on how income is distributed and the conditions that favor or hinder the accumulation of wealth. * Kirkus Reviews *[A] sweeping survey of more than 200 years of philosophical thought about inequality. * Publishers Weekly *Fascinating and often surprising, offering new insight into iconic figures like Smith and Marx and unexpected perspectives on their work. Branko Milanovic shows that the writings of centuries past have much to teach us about inequality, especially about class and power. A truly important book. -- Angus Deaton, Nobel Laureate in Economic SciencesWhat do we talk about when we talk about economic inequality? To those who came of age after the 2008 financial crisis and Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century—an era marked by a widening fracture between rich and poor, especially within Western nations—the question might seem obvious. But as Branko Milanovic shows in his indispensable chronicle of the concept, we underestimate just how young, limited, and fraught our current understanding of inequality is—and how diverse its range of forebears. Researched with forensic thoroughness, and hardly shy about its political implications, Visions of Inequality presents a rare and rewarding combination of economic and conceptual history. -- Anton Jäger, Catholic University of LeuvenA fascinating journey across the history of economic thought through the lens of inequality. Milanovic’s erudite and thought-provoking exploration casts new light both on the analysis of income concentration and on the ideological travails of economics as a discipline. -- Ingrid Bleynat, King's College LondonImagine being able to ask Smith, Marx, and Pareto round for dinner and a chat about how each of them sees inequality. In effect, that’s what Branko Milanovic does in this new book. As he shows, economists’ interest in the subject is by no means a new phenomenon—but what counts, and who counts, in any analysis of inequality has varied dramatically over time. Recognizing this fact should make us reflect on how our own contemporary assays of inequality are more limited than we think. Taking us on an eye-opening tour from Quesnay to Kuznets, Milanovic shows us how inequality and capitalism have always intertwined. -- Mark Blyth, Brown University

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Book SynopsisVietnam focuses on how the country's governance shapes its politics, economy, social development, and international relations, as well as on the reforms required if it is to become a sustainable and modern high-income nation in the coming decades. This book features work by scholars from Vietnam, North America, and Europe.Trade ReviewIf you are going to read only one book on Vietnam to get up to speed with the state of scholarship on the country, this should be the one. A stellar cast of scholars looking at Vietnam from the rise of the party-state to its socioeconomic and diplomatic evolution gives readers an admirable compendium. -- Nayan Chanda, Ashoka University, former editor of Far Eastern Economic Review This volume is essential reading for anyone interested in how Vietnam transitioned from a poor, isolated country one generation ago to a rising Asian success story. Contributions cover both the economics and the politics of this ongoing transformation. -- David Dollar, Brookings Institution, former World Bank country economist for Vietnam and China This compilation provides a penetrating ringside glimpse into how Vietnam transitioned from a crippled centrally-planned economy into a global trading powerhouse and from a diplomatic pariah into a close partner of the U.S. and the West. The authors, including Vietnamese practitioners in and foreign advisers to the country's remarkable reform, detail the challenges Vietnam faces along the road to becoming a high-income nation, including a rigid political system, rampant corruption, growing economic inequality, serious environmental degradation, and a weak secondary education system. It is an invaluable read for anyone trying to understand this complex and dynamic country. -- Murray Hiebert, Center for Strategic and International Studies, author of Under Beijing's Shadow: Southeast Asia's China Challenge This is a critically important book that will be embraced by scholars of Vietnam and economic/political development more generally. The editors have assembled an astounding group of experts in a range of specialties from political science to economics to health to diplomatic history. Each chapter provides new insights that will enrich the knowledge of even long-term students of the country. -- Edmund Malesky, Duke University How can a communist party state coexist with a plural society? Read this book to find out! -- Stein Tonnesson, Peace Research Institute Oslo

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Book SynopsisReconstructs the intellectual climate of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to illuminate the intricate ideological transformation that occurred, wherein the pursuit of material interests - so long condemned as the deadly sin of avarice - was assigned the role of containing the unruly and destructive passions of man.Trade Review"Hirschman's volume stands as a principal contribution to the growing literature that is beginning to reshape our understanding of the legitimating beliefs undergirding the rise of the modern market economy."--Robert Wuthnow, American Journal of Sociology "A fresh and exciting argument of a fascinating thesis."--Nannerl O. Keohane, Journal of Interdisciplinary HistoryTable of ContentsForeword, by Amartya Sen ix Preface to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition xxi Acknowledgments xxv Introduction 3 PART ONE. How the Interests were Called Upon to Counteract the Passions 7 The Idea of Glory and Its Downfall 9 Man "as he really is" 12 Repressing and Harnessing the Passions 14 The Principle of the Countervailing Passion 20 "Interest" and "Interests" as Tamers of the Passions 31 Interest as a New Paradigm 42; Assets of an Interest-Governed World: Predictability and Constancy 48 Money-Making and Commerce as Innocent and Doux 56 Money-Making as a Calm Passion 63 PART TWO. How Economic Expansion was Expected to Improve the Political Order 67 Elements of a Doctrine 70 1. Montesquieu 70 2. Sir James Steuart 81 3. John Millar 87 Related yet Discordant Views 93 1. The Physiocrats 96 2. Adam Smith and the End of a Vision 100 PART THREE. Reflections on an Episode in Intellectual History 115 Where the Montesquieu-Steuart Vision Went Wrong 117 The Promise of an Interest-Governed World versus the Protestant Ethic 128 Contemporary Notes 132 Afterword by Jeremy Adelman 137 Notes 145 Index 155

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Book SynopsisThe Essential Hirschman brings together some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers. Albert O. Hirschman was a master essayist, one who possessed the rare ability to blend the precision of economics with the elegance of literary imagination. In an age in whichTrade Review"Adelman ... has done an excellent job of bringing together articles that express Hirschman's skepticism, as well as brilliant observation, often consisting of brilliant juxtapositions of unlikely sources... [T]hose who do sink their teeth into this work will be highly rewarded."--ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction by Jeremy Adelman vii -- Development -- Political Economics and Possibilism 1 Underdevelopment, Obstacles to the Perception of Change, and Leadership 35 The Rise and Decline of Development Economics 49 The Changing Tolerance for Income Inequality in the Course of Economic Development 74 The Political Economy of Import-Substituting Industrialization in Latin America 102 The Search for Paradigms as a Hindrance to Understanding 137 A Generalized Linkage Approach to Development, with Special Reference to Staples 155 -- Markets -- The Concept of Interest: From Euphemism to Tautology 195 Rival Views of Market Society 214 Against Parsimony: Three Easy Ways of Complicating Some Categories of Economic Discourse 248 Three Uses of Political Economy in Analyzing European Integration 265 -- Democracy -- Opinionated Opinions and Democracy 284 Reactionary Rhetoric 293 Exit, Voice, and the State 309 Morality and the Social Sciences: A Durable Tension 331 Social Conflicts as Pillars of Democratic Market Society 345 Afterword by Emma Rothschild and Amartya Sen 363 Acknowledgments 369 Index 373

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Book SynopsisIn doing so he makes a persuasive connection between nation building and global governance-raising important questions about whose nations are being built and why.Trade ReviewAn admirable study of the development machinery in Honduras... A wonderful and compelling guide through the world of development. This work should get students, scholars, and the general public to seriously rethink it as anything but charitable, temporary, or minimal in its import. American Journal of Sociology A detailed overview of how development works in a specific context, it could be well utilized in graduate courses as well as advanced undergraduate courses in globalization and development... A good read in a literary sense, holding the reader's attention by carefully revealing detail after detail to unveil the hidden layers and the inner workings of economic development and political globalization. Contemporary Sociology A rigorous ethnography of the practice of the global actors based in Honduras... There is now an enormous literature that questions the ideological stratagems of the globalization industry as propelled by the claims of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund... Jackson goes deeper than these accounts... What he illuminates is the mechanism by which this democratic powerlessness is produced, one in which consent rather than coercion is the dominant lever. NACLA Report on the Americas This book definitely should go on your list of globalization readings! -- Tanya Golash-Boza Social Forces 2007Table of ContentsList of Tables and FiguresPrefaceAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction: The Globalizers in HondurasPart I: Who Are the Globalizers?1. The Institutions2. The People3. The Expats4. The LocalsPart II: The Globalizers in Action5. Global Governance6. Building Dams7. Fixing Dams8. Making Maquiladoras9. Legitimating Maquiladoras10. Rebuilding after Hurricane MitchConclusion: Maintaining Global GovernanceNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThis book captures an epochal juncture of two of the world's most transformative processes: the People's Republic of China's rapidly expanding sphere of influence across the global south and the disintegration of the Amazonian, Cerrado, and Andean biomes. The intersection of these two processes took another step in April 2020, when Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a "New Health Silk Road" agenda of aid and investment that would wind through South America, extending the Eurasian-African "Belt and Road Initiative" to a series of mine, port, energy, infrastructure, and agrobusiness megaprojects in the Latin American tropics. Through thirty short essays, this volume brings together an impressive array of contributors, from economists, anthropologists, and political scientists to Black, feminist, and Indigenous community organizers, Chinese stakeholders, environmental activists, and local journalists to offer a pathbreaking analysis of China's presence in South America. As cracks in the progressive legacy of the Pink Tide and the failures of ecocidal right-wing populisms shape new political economies and geopolitical possibilities, this book provides a grassroots-based account of a post-US centered world order, and an accompanying map of the stakes for South America that highlights emerging voices and forms of resistance.Trade Review"A result of deep and probing research, The Tropical Silk Road offers new critical writings, field observations, and ideas that situate the fate of Amazonian societies in the wake of China's bid for global prominence. The diverse array of experts in fine-tuned conversation with one another makes this a truly remarkable and exciting collection."—Long Bui, University of California, Irvine"The Tropical Silk Road is both an impressively ambitious and readable volume. An international cavalcade of authors examines contemporary China's outreach into Latin America, offering an engaging balance of thoughtful, interdisciplinary perspectives with considerable heft."—Carlos Rojas, Duke University"[Tropical Silk Road] is as ambitious as it is eclectic, and its contributors bring a range of valuable insights to bear on some of the most important political and economic developments facing the region."—Matthew Abel, NACLA Report on the AmericasTable of Contents0.0 Acknowledgments —Paul Amar, Lisa Rofel, María Amelia Viteri, Consuelo Fernández-Salvador, and Fernando Brancoli 0.1 Introduction: China Stepping Out, the Amazon Biome, and South American Populism —Paul Amar, Lisa Rofel, María Amelia Viteri, Consuelo Fernández-Salvador, and Fernando Brancoli 1.1: China's State and Social Media Narratives about Brazil during the COVID-19 Pandemic —Li Zhang 1.2: Cracks in the Coca Codo Sinclair Hydroelectric Project: Infrastructures and Disaster from a Masculine Vision of Development —Pedro Gutiérrez Guevara, Sofía Carpio, and Mayra Flores 1.3: Brazil and China's "Inevitable Marriage"? Post-Bolsonaro Futures and Beijing's Shift from North America to South America —Zhou Zhiwei 1.4: The China-Ecuador Relationship: From Correa's Neodevelopmentalist "Reformism" to Moreno's "Postreformism" during China's Credit Crunch (2006–2021) —Milton Reyes Herrera 1.5: China Studies in Brazil: Leste Vermelho and Innovations in South-South Academic Partnership —Andrea Piazzaroli Longobardi 1.6: Chinese Financing and Direct Foreign Investment in Ecuador: An Interests and Benefits Perspective on Relations between States through the Lens of the Win-Win Principle —David Mosquera Narváez 2.1: An Indigenous Theory of Risk: The Cosmopolitan Munduruku Analyze Chinese Megaprojects at Tapajós–Teles Pires —Luísa Pontes Molina and Alessandra Korap Silva Munduruku 2.2: Challenges for the Shuar in the Face of Globalization and Extractivism: Reflections from the Shuar Federation of Zamora Chinchipe —Jefferson Pullaguari 2.3: "Yes, We Do Know Why We Protest": Indigenous Challenges to Extractivism in Ecuador, Looking Beyond the National Strike of October 2019 —Julia Correa, Israel Chumapi, Paúl Ghaitai Males, Jennifer Yajaira Masaquiza, Rina Pakari Marcillo, and David Menacho 3.1: From Elusiveness to Ideological Extravaganza: Gender and Sexuality in Brazil-China Relations —Cai Yiping and Sonia Correa 3.2: The Refraction of Chinese Capital in Amazonian Entrepôts and the Infrastructure of a Global Sacrifice Zone —Gustavo Oliveira 3.3: "The Bank We Want": Chinese and Brazilian Activism around and within the BRICS New Development Bank —Laura Trajber Waisbich 3.4: Río Blanco: The Big Stumbling Block to the Advancement of China's Mining Interests in Ecuador —The Yasunidos Guapondélig Collective 3.5: Protectionism for Business, Precarization for Labor: China's Investment-Protection Treaties and Community Struggles in the Latin American and Caribbean Region —Ana Saggioro Garcia and Rodrigo Curty Pereira 4.1: A Mine, a Dam, and the Chinese-Ecuadorian Politics of Knowledge —Karolien van Teijlingen and Juan Pablo Hidalgo Bastidas 4.2: Rafael Correa's Administration of Promises and the Impact of Its Policies on the Human Rights of Indigenous Groups —Emilia Bonilla 4.3: China Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation in the Tapajós River "Logistics Corridor": A Case Study of Socioenvironmental Transformation in Brazil's Northeast —Alana Camoça and Bruno Hendler 4.4: Deforestation, Enclosures, and Militias: The Logistics "Revolution" in the Port of Cajueiro, Maranhão —Sabrina Felipe and Lucilene Raimunda Costa 5.1: Hungry and Backward Waters: Events, Actors, and Challenges Surrounding the Coca Codo Sinclair Hydroelectric Project in Times of COVID-19 —Sigrid Vásconez D. 5.2: Electrification of Forest Biomes: Xingu-Rio Lines, Chinese Presence, and the Sociotechnological Impact of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam —Laís Forti Thomaz, Aline Regina Alves Martins, and Diego Trindade d'Ávila Magalhães 5.3: Vanity Projects, Waterfall Implosions, and the Local Impacts of Megaproject Partnerships —Consuelo Fernández-Salvador and María Amelia Viteri 5.4: "Yes We Do Exist": Ferrogrão Railway, Indigenous Voices in the Trail of Trade Corridors, and Building the Axis of "Brazilian Pragmatist Policy" toward China —Diana Aguiar 5.5: Green Marketing Extractivism in the Amazon: Imaginaries of the Ministry versus Realities of the Land —Maria Elena Rodríguez 6.1: Steel Industry's Legacies on the Outskirts of Rio de Janeiro and White Brazilian Capital-State Alliances: A Feminist Approach —Ana Luisa Queiroz, Marina Praça, and Yasmin Bitencourt 6.2: Rio de Janeiro's Unruly Carbon Periphery: Community Entrepreneurs, Chinese Investors, and the Reappropriation of the Ruins of the COMPERJ Oil Port-and-Pipeline Megaproject —Fernando Brancoli and Wander Guerra 6.3: From Cheap Credit to Rapid Frustration: Real Estate in Rio de Janeiro —Pedro Henrique Vasques 6.4: The China-Ecuador Economic Relationship's Impact on Unemployment during the Administration of President Moreno —David F. Delgado del Hierro 7.1: Savage Factories of the Manaus Free Trade Zone: Chinese Investments in the Amazon and Social Impacts on Workers —Cleiton Ferreira Maciel Brito 7.2: National Development Priorities and Transnational Workplace Inequalities: Challenges for China's State-Sponsored Construction Projects in Ecuador —Rui Jie Peng 7.3: Rio's Phantom Dubai?: Porto do Açu, Chinese Investments, and the Geopolitical Specter of Brazilian Mineral Booms —Marcos A. Pedlowski

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Book SynopsisTells the story of Jamaican “scammers” who use crime to gain autonomy, opportunity, and repair There is romance in stealing from the rich to give to the poor, but how does that change when those perceived rich are elderly white North Americans and the poor are young Black Jamaicans? In this innovative ethnography, Jovan Scott Lewis tells the story of Omar, Junior, and Dwayne. Young and poor, they strive to make a living in Montego Bay, where call centers and tourism are the two main industries in the struggling economy. Their experience of grinding poverty and drastically limited opportunity leads them to conclude that scamming is the best means of gaining wealth and advancement. Otherwise, they are doomed to live in “sufferation”—an inescapable poverty that breeds misery, frustration, and vexation. In the Jamaican lottery scam run by these men, targets are told they have qualified for a large loan or award if they pay taxes or transfer fees. When the fees are paid, the award never arrives, netting the scammers tens of thousands of U.S. dollars. Through interviews, historical sources, song lyrics, and court testimonies, Lewis examines how these scammers justify their deceit, discovering an ethical narrative that reformulates ideas of crime and transgression and their relationship to race, justice, and debt. Scammer’s Yard describes how these young men, seeking to overcome inequality and achieve autonomy, come to view crime as a form of liberation. Their logic raises unsettling questions about a world economy that relegates postcolonial populations to deprivation even while expecting them to follow the rules of capitalism that exacerbate their dispossession. In this groundbreaking account, Lewis asks whether true reparation for the legacy of colonialism is to be found only through radical—even criminal—means. Trade Review"Jovan Scott Lewis’s sophisticated and nuanced account of Jamaican lotto scammers’ efforts to escape ‘sufferation’ positions their ethics of seizure within the logic of reparations. If the historical generation of wealth has been criminal—the result of imperialism, slavery, and debt—then its redistribution offers a way to reimagine the postcolonial present and its models of sovereignty. Scammer’s Yard is a must read for those interested in the value of blackness in the wake of the plantation!"—Deborah A. Thomas, University of Pennsylvania"Scammer’s Yard repositions a network of impoverished, aspirational Jamaicans at the frontier of post-colonial, racial capitalism. Combining sharp-eyed ethnography, rich historical detail, and brilliant analysis, Jovan Scott Lewis takes seriously scammers’ attempts to redress colonial brutality by using scams—in their contradictory glory—as a means of laying claim to reparations. An instant classic, this book is essential reading for anthropologists, political theorists, and scholars of the Black Atlantic or anyone looking for new tools to radically reimagine markets and the forms of radicalized violence and criminality they reproduce."—Noelle Stout, author of Dispossessed: How Predatory Bureaucracy Foreclosed on the American Middle Class "A page turner . . . the richness of the ethnography is as gratifying as Lewis’ deft blending of the empirical data and conceptual framework."—Antipode"Timely and necessary."—Ethnic and Racial Studies " This impressive work deftly weaves together and advances important theoretical constructs, which deepen readers' understanding of this research."—CHOICE"Scammer’s Yard, by Jovan Scott Lewis, is a rich ethnography of the existential question of Black repair."—Transforming Anthropology"Potentially transformative for the terrain of Black and Caribbean studies to the extent that it encourages us to strain against easy gestures to unitary futures on which discourses of reparations so readily rely."—Small Axe"An important ethnography in contesting the pathologizing of the urban poor and the villification of the scammer as a heartless, predatory criminal figure... the author makes a critical intervention to theory and praxes of libration by offering seizure as an ethical postcolonial mode for not only coping with but also challenging political-economic stagnation. "—American AnthropologistTable of ContentsContentsIntroduction: To Be Poor Is a Crime1. The Planation Remains: A History of Sufferation2. Free Zones: Manipulated Development after Structural Adjustment3. Black Markets: The Color of Crime4. Repairing Blackness: Seizing Reparations through the ScamConclusion: Black Life beyond RepairAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisBeleaguered by mutual recrimination between rich and poor countries, squeezed by the zero-sum arithmetic of a shrinking global carbon budget, and overtaken by shifts in economic and hence bargaining power between these countries, international cooperation on climate change has floundered. Given these three factors - which Arvind Subramanian and Aaditya Mattoo call the “narrative,” “adding up,” and “new world” problems - the wonder is not the current impasse; it is, rather, the belief that progress might be possible at all.In this book, the authors argue that any chance of progress must address each of these problems in a radically different way. First, the old narrative of recrimination must cede to a narrative based on recognition of common interests. Second, leaders must shift the focus away from emissions cuts to technology generation. Third, the old “cash-for-cuts” approach must be abandoned for one that requires contributions from all countries calibrated in magnitude and form to their current level of development and future prospects.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the author focuses on the intersection of two major bodies of policy and practice: knowledge economy and ICTs on one hand, and sustainable economic development on the other. It aims to provide a broad-ranging account of the social and economic terrain demarcated by this intersection in order to reach conclusions and offer guidelines for policy development. Although based on the case of a developing country (Vietnam) its analyses, arguments and conclusions are of universal relevance. Key features comprehensive picture of a society from the perspective of knowledge for development Intersection of ICTs (Information and Communications Technology), knowledge, and sustainable economic development Can be used in courses of sociology, political economy, development economics, knowledge economics, information and telecommunication technology, sustainable development, and public administration.

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Book SynopsisThe MDG Gap Task Force Report systematically tracks existing international commitments and their fulfilment at the international level in the areas of official development assistance, trade, debt relief, and access to essential medicines and technology as defined by the targets and indicators of MDG 8. The MDG Gap Task Force Report 2014 will build on the 2013 Report, by drawing lessons learned from monitoring MDG 8 and analysing conceptual gaps created by how MDG was originally defined. This should provide insight to discussions on the post-2015 agenda. The Task Force consists of more than 30 UN entities, including participation from the World Bank and the IMF, as well as the OECD and WTO. The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat and UNDP and are the lead agencies in coordinating the work of the Task Force.

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Book SynopsisThis report analyses the state of the world economy, a year and half after the Covid-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The first part of the Report outlines key macro-financial aspects of the global economy, focusing, in particular, on the prospects for a growth recovery while analyzing possible threats from public and private debt, from inflationary spikes as well as from a return to the policies of the past. It pays particular attention to the situation of developing countries in the system of global finance, and discusses issues of debt sustainability. As this year marks its 40th anniversary, the Report also revisits the analyses provided in previous editions in response to shocks, setbacks, and crises that have hampered development during the era of hyper-globalization and underscores its abiding call for an inclusive global economic governance. The second part focuses on climate adaptation. It calls for a transformative approach to climate adaptation, with large-scale public investment programmes to adapt to future as well as current threats, and green industrial policies to drive growth and job creation. It also details reforms of the international financial system needed to get more climate adaptation funds flowing to developing countries

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Book SynopsisThis publication outlines the region's economic performance in 2020 and analyses trends in the early months of 2021, as well as the outlook for the rest of the year. It examines the external and domestic factors that have influenced the region's economic performance, analyses the characteristics of growth, prices and the labour market, and draws attention to some of the macroeconomic policy challenges of the prevailing external conditions, amid mounting uncertainty stemming mainly from political factors. It analyses the dynamics of investment and its determinants, with a view to identifying the different variables on which public policy can act to influence the trajectory of investment. This edition also analyses the impact of the crisis caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the region's labour markets, with a comparison of historical trends, and particular emphasis placed on the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on female and youth employment

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Book SynopsisThis book presents, for the first time in English, a collection of speeches delivered by Wen Jiabao, China’s Premier from 2003 to 2013, at the six successive Summer Davos Forums held in China from 2007 to 2012, his special address at the 2009 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and the transcripts of his question and answer sessions at these events. Offering important insights not only into how China’s macroeconomic policies have responded to domestic and global challenges in the past six years, this book also reveals the strength and purpose of Wen Jiabao and the Chinese leadership as they steered the country through the global financial crisis, made important contributions to global economic recovery, and enhanced China’s capacity for long-term and sustainable economic and social development through nationwide investments in education, environmental conservation, healthcare, and technological innovation.Table of Contents ix Preface 1 2007 Summer Davos Forum 7 Opening Ceremony Speech: A Growing China Embraces a Bright Future 17 Premier Wen answers questions at the Opening Ceremony 23 Premier Wen answers questions at a Meeting with Entrepreneurs 29 2008 Summer Davos Forum 35 Opening Ceremony Speech: Reform and Opening-up - The Eternal Driving Force for China’s Development 47 Premier Wen answers questions at the Opening Ceremony and at a Meeting with Entrepreneurs 55 2009 Annual Meeting Of The World Economic Forum 61 Opening Ceremony Speech: Strengthen Confidence and Work Together for a New Round of World Economic Growth Contents The Chinese University Press 77 Premier Wen answers questions at the Opening Ceremony 83 Premier Wen answers questions at a Business Working Lunch 91 2009 Summer Davos Forum 97 Opening Ceremony Speech: Build up in an All-roundWay - The Internal Dynamism of China’s Economic Development 117 Premier Wen answers questions at the Opening Ceremony and at a Meeting with Entrepreneurs 137 2010 Summer Davos Forum 143 Opening Ceremony Speech: Consolidate the Upward Momentum and Promote Sustained Growth 161 Premier Wen answers questions at the Opening Ceremony and at a Meeting with Entrepreneurs 173 2011 Summer Davos Forum 179 Opening Ceremony Speech: Promote Sound, Sustainable, and Quality Development 191 Premier Wen answers questions at the Opening Ceremony and at a Meeting with Entrepreneurs The Chinese University Press 209 2012 Summer Davos Forum 215 Opening Ceremony Speech: Towards a Brighter Future of the Chinese Economy 241 Premier Wen answers questions at the Opening Ceremony and at a Meeting with Entrepreneurs 257 Appendix: Review of the Work of the Government in the Past Five Years

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Book SynopsisEconomic and other outcomes differ vastly among individuals, groups, and nations. Many explanations have been offered for the differences. Some believe that those with less fortunate outcomes are victims of genetics. Others believe that those who are less fortunate are victims of the more fortunate.Discrimination and Disparities gathers a wide array of empirical evidence to challenge the idea that different economic outcomes can be explained by any one factor, be it discrimination, exploitation, or genetics. This revised and enlarged edition also analyzes the human consequences of the prevailing social vision of these disparities and the policies based on that vision--from educational disasters to widespread crime and violence.

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Book SynopsisFrom a renowned pioneer of the anti-globalization movement, a primer on working towards a localized world From disappearing livelihoods to financial instability, from climate chaos to an epidemic of depression, we face crises on a number of seemingly unrelated fronts. This well-referenced book traces the common roots of these problems in a globalized economy that is incompatible with life on a finite planet. But Local is Our Future does more than just describe the problem: it describes the policy shifts and grassroots steps – many of them already underway around the world – that can move us towards the local and, thereby, towards a better world.

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Book SynopsisJoin Frieda as she learns how to make a difference in the world! This is the story about a young girl named Frieda who embarks on a wonderful adventure to bring about positive change in the world. One day, Ana from the United Nations visits Frieda's school to teach her class about the Sustainable Development Goals–the world's plan to reduce poverty and protect the planet by 2030. Frieda develops a global perspective and is encouraged to take action against the biggest issues of our day: from combating climate change and protecting endangered species to ending poverty and fighting inequality. But most important, Frieda learns that "everyone must work together to make the world much better for all". With colourful illustrations, engaging text, and tips on how to change the world, children will discover what they can do to make a difference" in their lives and the lives around them.

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Book SynopsisWhat makes countries rich? What makes countries poor? Europe''s Growth Champion: Insights from the Economic Rise of Poland seeks to answer these questions, and many more, through a study of one of the biggest, and least heard about, economic success stories. Over the last twenty-five years Poland has transitioned from a perennially backward, poor, and peripheral country to unexpectedly join the ranks of the world''s high income countries. Europe''s Growth Champion is about the lessons learned from Poland''s remarkable experience, the conditions that keep countries poor, and the challenges that countries need to face in order to grow. It defines a new growth model that Poland and its Eastern European peers need to adopt to grow and catch up with their Western counterparts. Poland''s economic rise emphasizes the importance of the fundamental sources of growth- institutions, culture, ideas, and leaders- in economic development. It demonstrates that a shift from an extractive society, wherTrade ReviewThe clarity of the author's reasoning is in fact one of the book's greatest merits * Guzowski, Piotr, EH.Net *Poland's economic success over the last three decades is nothing short of remarkable. This insightful book shows how Poland owes its success to its ability to build broadly inclusive economic institutions, and traces the roots of ability to build broadly inclusive economic institutions, and traces the roots of this institutional transformation to the country's history, to its political transition driven by its middle class, to the anchor that the European Union provided, and to good political leadership. A must read for anybody who wants to understand the process of economic reform, especially today when we are witnessing the rise of an authoritarian government in Poland threatening to reverse some of these achievements. * Daron Acemoglu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US *An ambitious and successful effort at explaining the evolution of Poland from feudalismto communism and to today' success story. Full of insights, with deep lessons about development in general. A pleasure to read. * Olivier Blanchard, Peterson Institute, US, former Chief Economist of the IMF *This highly readable book provides a comprehensive and novel explanation of Poland's rise to the ranks of high-income economies over the course of a single generation. The book will be essential reading for economists and economic policy-makers, including those in Poland, who face the daunting task of creating and implementing a new economic model for the future. * Dale Jorgenson, Harvard University, US *Based on comprehensive comparative research and rich personal experience, Piatkowski wrote a unique book on the post-communist transformation to a market-based, democratic and civic society. This is a tour de force on socio- socioeconomicchanges in Poland-a country that almost 30 years ago initiated the historic process of transition and was the most successful economy to cope with its immense challenges. Piatkowski persuasively explains how this happened and what is the likely future not only for Poland, but also for the whole post-communist region and Europe. * Grzegorz W. Kolodko *Most countries in the world are trapped in poverty or middle-income status. However, a country's destiny can change. Piatkowski analyzes Poland's recent success of ascending from a relatively poor to a high-income country in a generation's time. The book provides both inspiration and useful lessons for countries still struggling to change the fate of their nations. * Justin Yifu Lin, Peking University, China, former Chief Economist of the World Bank *What did Poland do to become the most successful European economy in the past thirty years? This brilliant and original book answers the question and rekindles the debate on whether successful economic development is driven by good institutions, good policies, lucky geography . . . or all three. * Branko Milanovic, Graduate Center City University of New York, US *No country did better than Poland after the fall of communism. This book dissects not just the specific policies that made this successful transition possible, but also its deeper roots in culture, institutions, and ideas-providing some surprising answers along the way. Piatkowski has written a deeply hopeful book that shows the way forward for Poland and other similarly situated economies. * Dani Rodrik, Harvard University, US *A new book on Poland's success, Europe's Growth Champion, by Marcin Piatkowski, highlights a paradox. What outsiders saw, and Poles bemoaned, in 1989 was indeed dreadful, a destitute country with dire infrastructure, pitiful wages, clapped-out industry and bankrupt public finances. But the deeper legacy of communism, the book argues, was a positive one. . . . Mr Piatkowski's arguments deserve careful consideration. The question of why some countries get rich and others stay poor is the most important economic puzzle of our times, and one that economists themselves struggle to solve. * Edward Lucas, The Times *A deep, surprising and cleverly written book about Europe's untold success story. * Tim Harford, author of Fifty Inventions That Shaped The Modern Economy and The Undercover Economist *Europe's Growth Champion is an in-depth analysis of why and how Poland has managed to build a competitive and inclusive market economy just within one generation. Marcin Piatowski's careful and theoretically sound analysis of what has and has not worked in Poland is a great guide for any reformer-and the reassurance that market reforms can deliver if correctly designed and implemented. * Sergei Guriev, Chief Economist, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development *"Poland has entered its true Golden Age," writes Marcin Piatowski in this lucid and stimulating account of Poland's transformation. * Tony Barber, Financial Times *Today, many take Poland's postcommunist economic success for granted, but that was never true. Piatkowski underscores how extractive Poland's old economic system was and how harmful its old elite. He shows convincingly that Poland's transformation proves that success is possible also where rent seeking is deeply entrenched. But it requires a real shock that breaks the old system and its ruling class. New institutions as well as a different culture are needed and they can be built. * Anders Åslund, Atlantic Council, Washington, DC *One of the main reasons why countries in Central and Eastern Europe are poorer than Western European countries is because they often reverse important reforms. Poland is no exception in this regard, this time around despite an enviable economic and social performance since the transition and the historically unparalleled anchoring that the European Union provides. This book not only provides an excellent analysis of the fundamental factors that brought about this unprecedented growth spurt in Poland, but it also offers a strong hope that these factors will be robust enough to prevent reform reversals and keep Poland on its rapid convergence trajectory. I can only hope that the author is right about this. A must read for economists, policymakers and politicians in the region. * Istvan Szekely, Director, European Commission, DG ECFIN *Piatkowski's book provides the most thorough analysis so far of the reasons behind Poland's economic successes since it embarked on the transition to the market economy. Blending advanced economic analysis together with a deep historical perspective, this book is a great example of how contemporary economic methods can deliver very fruitful insights and enlighten policy debates. * Prof. Gerard Roland, E. Morris Cox Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley *Europe's Growth Champion. Insights from the Economic Rise of Poland is a groundbreaking analysis, a pioneering work on post-communist development in Poland and in Central and Eastern Europe, and a crucial guide to understanding how to achieve developmental success in the post-communist context. It should be read by anyone who is interested in development and postcommunist economic transition in Poland and beyond, or in root causes, institutional arrangements, state policies and other factors of contemporary development successes. * Andrzej Bolesta, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Europe-Asia Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Fundamental Sources of Growth: Institutions, Culture and Ideas 2: From Black Death to black hole 3: What the Black Death was to Western Europe, Communism was to Central and Eastern Europe 4: Poland's Transition Success Story 5: Drivers of Poland's Successful Transition 6: Fundamental Sources of Poland's Growth: The Role of Institutions 7: The Role of Culture, Ideas, and Leadership 8: Will Poland's Success Continue? Projections, Scenarios, and Risks 9: The New Growth Model for Central and Eastern Europe: "The Warsaw Consensus" 10: Conclusions and the Way Forward

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Book SynopsisOn 25 September 2015, countries adopted a set of 17 goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda to be achieved by 2030. For the goals to be reached, everyone needs to do their part: governments, the private sector, civil society and people like you. Elyx, the United Nations' digital ambassador, uses various expressions and actions to help demonstrate the meaning of each goal. Created by French artist YAK, Elyx has no race, sex or nationality and is a universal character promoting the importance of the United Nations' work.

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Book SynopsisThe Butterfly Defect addresses the widening gap between the new systemic risks generated by globalization and their effective management. It shows how the dynamics of turbo-charged globalization has the potential and power to destabilize our societies. Drawing on the latest insights from a wide variety of disciplines, Ian Goldin and Mike MariathasaTrade ReviewFinalist for the 2015 Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book Prize "[The authors demonstrate] that the increasing interconnectedness of the world makes the world's economics, infrastructure, health and social conditions behave [as] an interconnected meteorological system. The next big crisis will be of unexpected origin."--Professor Rober J. Shiller, Wall Street Journal "This is an important and thought-provoking book."--Shawn Donnan, Financial Times "This book covers many different sectors and points out that globalization brings opportunities as well as threats; readers from diverse professional and academic backgrounds will gain insights."--Library Journal "The arguments put forward are cohesive and coherent with well-constructed logical chapters, good, well thought out examples and jargon free language... Upon reflection of this book, I was left with a clear and defined picture of how systemic risk effects systems and how globalization inherently increases these risks."--Jason Paul Stansbie, Leonardo Reviews "Although the authors' prose is clear and unburdened by jargon, the nature of the topic means this is not a light read. But it will reward the persistent. The issues they raise, and the interconnections they identify, are such that specialists will come away with a deeper understanding of the risks involved in each of the specific fields they cover... To paraphrase John F. Kennedy, this book should be widely read not because it is easy, but because it is hard."--Survival Global Politics and Strategy "In this context of uncertainty about the future of globalization, the book is a very timely intervention, as it focuses exactly on the risks created by the process of globalization itself. The authors have formidable expertise."--Dariusz Wojcik, Journal of Economic Geography "A timely addition to the nascent literature on CT-inspired methods and models... Bound to trigger debate and invite (if not beckon) its readers to pursue further the ideas discussed on its pages."--Emilian Kavalski, Political Studies ReviewTable of ContentsList of Boxes, Illustrations, and Tables ix Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 1 Globalization and Risk in the Twenty-First Century 9 Globalization and Integration 10 Global Connectivity and Complex Systems 13 Globalization and the Changing Nature of Risk 23 Globalization: A Double-Edged Sword 30 The Way Forward 33 2 The Financial Sector 36 with Co-Pierre Georg and Tiffany Vogel The Financial Crisis of 2007/2008 37 Financial Globalization in the Twenty-First Century 39 Complexity and Systemic Risk 54 Global Financial Governance 60 Lessons for the Financial Sector 64 3 Supply Chain Risks 70 Global Supply Chains 72 Supply Chain Risk 79 From Management of Risk to Risk Management 90 Lessons for Supply Chain Management 95 4 Infrastructure Risks 100 Transportation 101 Energy 105 The Internet 112 Lessons for Global Infrastructure 120 5 Ecological Risks 123 The Nature of Environmental Risk 124 Risks from the Environment 129 Risks to the Environment 133 Can Globalization Be Good for the Environment? 138 The Export of Pollution 139 Lessons for Managing Environmental Risk 141 6 Pandemics and Health Risks 144 Pandemic Risk 145 Globalization and Health Risks 147 Case Studies 150 Noninfectious Diseases 159 Global Cooperation and Disease Control 160 Lessons from Pandemic Management 164 7 Inequality and Social Risks 168 Global Integration and Inequality 169 The Channels of Inequality 180 The Risks of Inequality 181 Lessons for Challenging Global Inequalities 195 8 Managing Systemic Risk 198 Moving Forward, Not Backward 200 Confronting a New Challenge? 202 The Need to Reform Global Governance 206 Why Reform Has Been So Sluggish 209 Lessons for Global Policy Reform 212 Managing Systemic Risk 219 Notes 221 References 257 Index 285

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Book SynopsisEvery four years since 2004, the Copenhagen Consensus Center has organized and hosted a high profile thought experiment about how a hypothetical extra $75 billion of development assistance money might best be spent to solve twelve of the major crises facing the world today. Collated in this specially commissioned book, a group of more than 50 experts make their cases for investment, discussing how to combat problems ranging from armed conflicts, corruption and trade barriers, to natural disasters, hunger, education and climate change. For each case, ''Alternative Perspectives'' are also included to provide a critique and make other suggestions for investment. In addition, a panel of senior economists, including four Nobel Laureates, rank the attractiveness of each policy proposal in terms of its anticipated cost-benefit ratio. This thought-provoking book opens up debate, encouraging readers to come up with their own rankings and decide which solutions are smarter than others.Trade ReviewPraise for the Copenhagen Consensus 2004–2013: 'I have served on four Copenhagen Consensus committees of experts since 2004. All involved hard choices among attractive alternatives to meet crucial objectives for development and health. And the reason I keep serving? I learn so much.' Thomas C. Schelling, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Maryland, and Nobel Laureate in EconomicsPraise for the Copenhagen Consensus 2004–2013: 'The Copenhagen Consensus brings together an impressive roster of minds, and while not everyone agrees with the composition and ordering of Lomborg's priorities lists - climate change tends to rank lower than many stakeholders would like, for example - as a point of departure for discussion, the exercise of priority-setting is a sound one.' Tom Zeller, Jr, The Huffington PostPraise for the Copenhagen Consensus 2004–2013: '[The] Copenhagen Consensus is an outstanding, visionary idea and deserves global coverage.' The EconomistPraise for the Copenhagen Consensus 2004–2013: 'The selection of zinc supplements by the Copenhagen Consensus as the top global remedy for hunger and malnutrition was one of the main drivers for our $3 million initiative 'Zinc Saves Kids' with UNICEF. We are now expanding this effort to help the 450,000 kids at risk of dying every year, working with the United Nations Foundation, the Gates Foundation and others.' Stephen R. Wilkinson, Executive Director, International Zinc AssociationPraise for the Copenhagen Consensus 2004–2013: 'One of the greatest leadership skills discussed in the Global Leadership Forum in Washington DC (October 2012) was the Copenhagen Consensus simulation. This activity was very important because it gave us the opportunity to work together on a key leadership skill: building consensus around difficult issues.' Naglaa Hassab, Humphrey Fellow, MBA student in Economic Development, Finance and Banking, EgyptTable of ContentsIntroduction Bjørn Lomborg; Part I. The Solutions: 1. Armed conflicts J. Paul Dunne; 1.1 Alternative perspective Anke Hoeffler; 1.2 Alternative perspective Andrew Mack; 2. The challenge of ecosystems and biodiversity Salman Hussain, Anil Markandya, Luke Brander, Alistair McVittie, Rudolf de Groot, Olivier Vardakoulias, Alfred Wagtendonk and Peter H. Verburg; 2.1 Alternative perspective Juha V. Siikamäki; 2.2 Alternative perspective John C. Whitehead and Paul E. Chambers; 3. Chronic disease prevention and control Prabhat Jha, Rachel Nugent, Stéphane Verguet, David Bloom and Ryan Hum; 3.1 Alternative perspective Julia Fox-Rushby; 3.2 Alternative perspective Marc Suhrcke; 4. Climate change: CO2 abatement Richard S. J. Tol; Technology-led mitigation Isabel Galiana and Christopher Green; Climate-engineering R&D J. Eric Bickel and Lee Lane; Climate-change adaptation Francesco Bosello, Carlo Carraro and Enrica De Cian; 4.1 Alternative perspective Samuel Fankhauser; 4.2 Alternative perspective Anil Markandya; 5. Education: the case for improving school quality and student health as a development strategy Peter F. Orazem; 5.1. Alternative perspective Lant Pritchett; 5.2 Alternative perspective George Psacharopoulos; 6. Hunger and malnutrition: investments to reduce hunger and undernutrition John Hoddinott, Mark Rosegrant and Maximo Torero; 6.1 Alternative perspective Anil B. Deolalikar; 6.2 Alternative perspective Beatrice Lorge Rogers; 7. Infectious disease, injury, and reproductive health Dean T. Jamison, Prabhat Jha, Ramanan Laxminarayan and Toby Ord; 7.1 Alternative perspective Till Bärnighausen, David Bloom and Salal Humair; 7.2 Alternative perspective David Canning; 8. Policy options for reducing losses from natural disasters: allocating $75 billion Howard Kunreuther and Erwann Michel-Kerjan; 8.1 Alternative perspective Stéphane Hallegatte; 8.2 Alternative perspective Ilan Noy; 9. Population growth Hans-Peter Kohler; 9.1 Alternative perspective Oded Galor; 9.2 Alternative perspective David Lam; 10. Water and sanitation Frank Rijsberman and Alix Peterson Zwane; 10.1 Alternative perspective W. Michael Hanemann; 10.2 Alternative perspective Guy Hutton; 11. Corruption and policy reform Susan Rose-Ackerman and Rory Truex; 12. Trade barriers and subsidies: multilateral and regional reform opportunities Kym Anderson; Part II. Ranking the Opportunities: Expert Panel Ranking Finn E. Kydland, Robert Mundell, Thomas Schelling, Vernon Smith and Nancy Stokey; Conclusion: making your own prioritisation Bjørn Lomborg; Index.

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Book SynopsisFocuses on women and households as significant productive units of global production systems and brings gender and social reproduction into the theoretical center of global commodity and value chain analysis.Trade Review"A collective project between Virginia Tech and SUNY Binghamton, original essays from both novice researchers and senior scholars use ethnographic, archival, and some social survey data to provide alternatives to neoclassical and neoliberal economic analysis . . . Recommended." -- G. M. Massey * CHOICE *"[B]oth the analysis and case studies brought together in this book are based on strong scholarly research. Combined, they provide important insights into key aspects of the gendered dimensions of commodity chains, and rightly establish gender as central to the analysis. For those in accord with a World Systems perspective, the book is a must read that will provide a foundation for future investigation. For those with differing perspectives on gender, development, and global value chains, this is a thought-provoking book that will help to stimulate much needed future debate and research." -- Stephanie Ware Barrientos"Work on gender, while very difficult because of the resistance, is also very urgent. We have, as the saying goes, not a minute to lose, which is why this book constitutes an important contribution not merely to the social sciences but to the larger world political scene." * From the foreword by Immanuel Wallerstein *"This is a genuinely exciting collection that fills a critical need. Gendered Commodity Chains contains interesting empirical case studies, as well as probing conceptual pieces that synopsize larger bodies of recent research—and then push the envelope much further! It will be an invaluable addition to course readings in fields including development studies, comparative sociology, international studies, political economy, and feminist studies, and a must for academic libraries." -- David A. Smith, University of California * Irvine *"Wilma Dunaways's Gendered Commodity Chains: Seeing women's Work and Households in Global Production is a stunning collaboration that will inspire further conceptual work and research in fields as diverse as anthropology, economics, development studios, sociology, and geography. The prose is crystal clear, accessible, and compelling." -- Altha J. Cravey * American Journal of Sociology *"Wilma A. Dunaway's edited volume contributes to the fields of economics, development, and gender studies by drawing attention to fundamental features of the capitalist system that have long exploited women . . . Dunaway superbly describes how women's unpaid labor and home-based production lowers the value of labor power, cheapens wage rates, externalized costs to households, and creates levels of exploitation to the direct benefit of capitalists . . . Dunaway's volume provides a pivotal contribution to the study of commodity chains by exposing how capitalists externalize hidden costs to women's uncompensated and inequitable reproductive and productive labor with direct ramifications on the sustainability of households. Communities, local economies, and ecosystems worldwide." -- Nicole Coffey Kellett"This volume enters uncharted territory. As well as a range of sectors and geographical case studies, it provides a far-reaching theoretical reappraisal of the significance of women's work—both paid and unpaid, hidden and visible—to the accumulation of capital and the social reproduction systems that underlie the accumulation of capital. Unmissable." -- Professor Ruth Pearson * University of Leeds *"From theoretical and methodological analysis to empirical work, this volume fills a vacuum in commodity chain studies to show how 'gender is everywhere.' Gendered Commodity Chains will be of great use for teaching and research, with many policy implications and suggestions for future research." -- Lourdes Benería * Cornell University *

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Book SynopsisExamines the recent and diverse proliferation of responses that challenge, reform, and even retrench neoliberalism's hegemony in Latin America.Trade Review"Neoliberalism Interrupted is a timely book on the winds of change sweeping through Latin America. Covering a wide range of countries it provides many important reference points against which the wider phenomenon of the so-called Pink Tide can be viewed an assessed. Usefully, it deals not only with those countries that are often paradigmatically associated with the leading edge of resistance to neoliberalism (Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador) but also those countries where neoliberal socio-economic and political practices have remained firmly entrenched (Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador) or where assessment has been more ambiguous (Argentina) . . . [This] is a highly readable and engaging book for both students and seasoned scholars of Latin America. It deserves to be read widely."—Chris Hesketh, Bulletin of Latin American Research"Neoliberalism, Interrupted is an aptly titled volume that examines the current status of neoliberal economic policy and governmentality in Latin America . . . Fine-grained political analysis and rich empirical detail reveal that while Washington Consensus policies are no longer hegemonic in Latin America, neoliberal governance is entrenched and evolving . . . Each of the eight country case studies offers rich historical and political analysis that is alive to contradiction and complexity . . . [T]he case studies are valuable and clearly grounded in deep engagements with research sites."—Jennifer Goett, Journal of Anthropological Research"Mark Goodale and Nancy Postero's collection offers us a vivid panorama of neoliberalism and its interruption, keeping in mind broader patterns of political economic transformation and civil society struggle. The chapters forcefully demonstrate neoliberalism's investment in violence and regulation, while opening our eyes to civil society's spaces to challenge them. From Buenos Aires to Venezuela, from race to gender, this collection represents an important theoretical and critical engagement with Latin America's current realities."—Sarah A. Radcliffe, University of Cambridge, author of Indigenous Development in the Andes: Culture, Power, and Transnationalism"Neoliberalism, Interrupted makes an important contribution to studying Latin America's rapidly changing socio-political landscape. The volume's authors remind us that the region presents a rich laboratory for experiments that defy existing categories of social and political theory in contradictory, but potentially exciting new ways."—Philip Oxhorn, McGill University"This book will resonate with all those interested in one of the most important political questions for Latin America today. The authors resist the temptation to provide easy answers—the essays are subtle and effective, their sophistication buttressed by empirical and theoretical rigor."—Sian Lazar, University of Cambridge"This timely collection brings together diverse disciplinary perspectives to explore the limits of neoliberal governmentality in contemporary Latin America. The contributors provide fine-grained, ethnographic analysis of alternatives to the 'Washington consensus,' both grandiose and grassroots, revealing in the process the promises and contradictions of 'post-neoliberal' political programs and social projects."—Patrick C. Wilson, University of Lethbridge

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""Winner of the Gyorgy Ranki Prize, Economic History Association""Essential reading for economic historians."---Anne McCants, Journal of Economic History"[A] compendious history. . . . The geographic breadth and temporal length of [Ogilvie's] coverage make The European Guilds unique."---Marc Levinson, Wall Street Journal"The new and highly comprehensive book by Sheilagh Ogilvie . . . . likely to stand as one of the more important works of economic history from the last decade."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution"A major contribution to economic history and institutional economics."---Mark Koyama, The Review of Austrian Economics"A comprehensive study of European guilds."---Steven A. Epstein, H-France Review"Ogilvie has re-galvanised the debate on guilds."---Richard Goddard, Medieval Archaeology"A learned and comprehensive study of an institution that stood at the heart of the European non-agricultural economy for over seven centuries."---Jan de Vries, EH.net"Ogilvie’s wide-ranging and scrutinous analysis of craft guilds is an essential and stimulating read for all scholars interested in guilds and institutions."---Arie van Steensel, Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History"Ogilvie’s arguments are so well established in empirical terms, and so thoroughly designed, that all those who harbor more friendly attitudes toward guilds will have serious difficulties refuting her conclusions. . . . A unique contribution to the history of guilds.—Josef Ehmer, Renaissance Quarterly"

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Book SynopsisGDP is much more than a simple statistic. It has become the overarching benchmark of success and a powerful ordering principle at the heart of the global economy. But the convergence of major economic, social and environmental crises has exposed the flaws of our economic system which values GDP above all else as a measure of prosperity and growth. In this provocative and inspiring new book, political economist Lorenzo Fioramonti sets out his vision of a world after GDP. Focusing on pioneering research on alternative metrics of progress, governance innovation and institutional change, he makes a compelling case for the profound and positive transformations that could be achieved through a post-GDP system of development. From a new role for small business, households and civil society to a radical evolution of democracy and international relations, Fioramonti sets out a combination of top-down reforms and bottom-up pressures whose impact, he argues, would be unprecedented, making it possible to build a more equitable, sustainable and happy society.Trade Review "Fioramonti's critique of the limitations of GDP is extremely well constructed, highly appropriate and relevant."—Colin Crouch, University of Warwick, UK "What governments don't track today is often far more important than what they do because what we measure changes how we behave – and how we think. And changing what we think is essential if we are to build a more sustainable economic system. Read this fascinating and well-written book – and change the way you think!"—Graeme Maxton, Secretary General of the Club of Rome and bestselling author of The End of Progress "An original, comprehensive and compelling analysis of the problems with GDP and how to make the world better without it."—Robert Costanza, Australian National University and editor-in-chief of Solutions "A well-written and persuasive analysis of how to change the world by moving beyond the current narrow focus on GDP."—Herman Daly, founder of Ecological Economics and Emeritus Professor, University of Maryland "comprehensive, passionate and detailed overview" —Edoardo Campanella, International Affairs"Prof. Fioramonti’s The World After GDP is a very important study in helping us to understand the role of GDP in getting the world into its present condition, and what aspects of our understanding of GDP may help guide us through the coming era of great change. "—Defense & Foreign Affairs Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Figures and Tables Introduction Chapter 1 The making of a post-GDP world Chapter 2 The rise and fall of the GDP ideology Chapter 3 Post-GDP economy Chapter 4 Post-GDP politics Chapter 5 Post-GDP world Conclusion References

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Book SynopsisInfrastructure forms the economic backbone of modern society. It is a key determinant of economic competitiveness, social well-being and environmental sustainability. Yet infrastructure systems (energy, transport, water, waste and ICT) in advanced economies globally face serious challenges. For the first time, a leading team of researchers sets out a systematic approach to making long-term choices about national infrastructure systems. Great Britain is used as a case study to demonstrate how the methodologies and accompanying models can be effectively applied in a national infrastructure assessment. Lessons and insights for other industrialised nations and emerging economies are highlighted, demonstrating practical scenarios for delivering infrastructure services in a wide range of future socio-economic and environmental conditions. The Future of National Infrastructure provides practitioners, policy-makers, and academics with the concepts, models and tools needed to identify and test Table of ContentsList of contributors; Preface; Part I. A System-of-Systems Approach: 1. Introducing national infrastructure assessment Jim W. Hall, Robert J. Nicholls, Adrian J. Hickford and Martino Tran; 2. A framework for analysing the long-term performance of interdependent infrastructure systems Jim W. Hall, Alexander Otto, Adrian J. Hickford, Robert J. Nicholls and Martino Tran; Part II. Analysing National Infrastructure: 3. Future demand for infrastructure services Chris Thoung, Rachel Beaven, Chengchao Zuo, Mark Birkin, Peter Tyler, Douglas Crawford-Brown, Edward J. Oughton and Scott Kelly; 4. Energy systems assessment Pranab Baruah, Modassar Chaudry, Meysam Qadrdan, Nick Eyre and Nick Jenkins; 5. Transport systems assessment Simon P. Blainey and John M. Preston; 6. Water supply systems assessment Mike Simpson, Matthew C. Ives, Jim W. Hall and Chris G. Kilsby; 7. Wastewater systems assessment Lucy Manning, David W. Graham and Jim W. Hall; 8. Solid waste systems assessment Geoff V. R. Watson, Anne Stringfellow, William Powrie, David A. Turner and Jon Coello; 9. Digital communications and information systems Edward J. Oughton, Martino Tran, Cliff B. Jones and Razgar Ebrahimy; Part III. Integrative Perspectives for the Future: 10. Assessing the performance of national infrastructure strategies Martino Tran, Jim W. Hall, Robert J. Nicholls and Adrian J. Hickford; 11. Quantifying interdependencies: the energy-transport and water-energy nexus Martino Tran, Edward A. Byers, Simon P. Blainey, Pranab Baruah, Modassar Chaudry, Meysam Qadrdan, Nick Eyre and Nick Jenkins; 12. Analysing the risks of failure of interdependent infrastructure networks Raghav Pant, Scott Thacker, Jim W. Hall, Stuart Barr, David Alderson and Scott Kelly; 13. Database, simulation modelling and visualisation for national infrastructure assessment Stuart Barr, David Alderson, Matthew C. Ives and Craig Robson; 14. Governance of interdependent infrastructure networks Ralitsa Hiteva and Jim W. Watson; 15. The future of national infrastructure Jim W. Hall, Robert J. Nicholls, Martino Tran and Adrian J. Hickford; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis Research Handbook on Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies provides a range of contextualized perspectives on entrepreneurship in emerging economies. Featuring contributions from leading experts, it explores the various social and institutional contexts that produce and affect entrepreneurship. This Research Handbook portrays the theories, processes and practices of entrepreneurship in emerging economies as being markedly different from those in developed, post-industrial economies, emphasizing how national context shapes incentives for entrepreneurial efforts. Exploring multiple theories of entrepreneurship, chapters dissect the opportunities - and barriers - emerging from various institutions and social practices from the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Comprehensive and incisive, this Research Handbook is an ideal guide for researchers and both undergraduate and postgraduate students working on emerging economies, particularly those with an interest in global entrepreneurship. It will also benefit policy-makers seeking to develop entrepreneurial activity in developing economies. Contributors include: M. Akoorie, A. Al Mulla, G. Anggadwita, N. Birdthistle, L.-P. Dana, B. Dye, K. Dye, A. Egbetokun, E. Elkaroui, B. Fang, H. Febriansyah, A. Flynn, A. Forouharfar, L. Galloway, J. Gibb, A. Gkikas, J.G. Hussain, A. Icha-Ituma, P.A. Igwe, O. Kolade, K.T.Z. Lwin, A. Mohsen, H. Mustafa, H. Nyugen, R. Palali , S. Pattinson, I. Peiris, T.S.H. Pham, D. Rae, V. Ramadani, L. Sarfaraz, J.M. Scott, M. Sherif, P. Sinha, M.N. Tunio, R. Wanjiru, C.W. Watson, H. ZarroukTrade Review'Contextualizing entrepreneurship is about acknowledging variety in forms, outcomes and entrepreneurial actions. This Research Handbook illustrates the heterogeneity of entrepreneurship in emerging countries around the world, including a number of countries we know little about. The contributors present fascinating insights about entrepreneurship from a broad variety of geographical contexts. I recommend this book to anyone interested in entrepreneurial diversity in emerging countries.' --Friederike Welter, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung Bonn and University of Siegen, GermanyTable of ContentsContents: 1 Introduction to the Research Handbook on Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies 1 Jonathan M. Scott, Paresha Sinha, Jenny Gibb and Mich.le Akoorie PART I MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 2 Green entrepreneurship prospects and challenges: the context of Afghanistan 27 Ahsanullah Mohsen, Veland Ramadani and L.o-Paul Dana 3 A contextualized study of entrepreneurship in the Arab states prior to the Arab Spring: reviewing the impact of entrepreneurship on political stability 44 Amir Forouharfar 4 Entrepreneurial orientation in small firms: a qualitative exploration in the context of an emerging economy 64 Hajer Zarrouk, Laura Galloway, Mohamed Sherif, Elarbi Elkaroui and Anas Al Mulla 5 A new perspective on categorizing the level of economic development with respect to entrepreneurship 83 Leyla Sarfaraz PART II SOUTH ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA 6 Entrepreneurial opportunities and the role of contextual embeddedness 106 Indu Peiris, Mich.le Akoorie and Paresha Sinha 7 Academic entrepreneurship in developing countries: contextualizing recent debate 130 Muhammad Nawaz Tunio 8 Bolivia: land of the Aymar.s and Quechuas 147 L.o-Paul Dana PART III EAST ASIA AND MARITIME SOUTHEAST ASIA 9 The entrepreneurial role of Indonesian universities in the economic development of rural communities: in search of empowerment 160 Hary Febriansyah, C.W. Watson and Aineias Gkikas 10 Entrepreneurship in Indonesia: some contextual aspects 179 Grisna Anggadwita and Ramo Palalić 11 Entrepreneurs in the Philippines: creative deviance as a response to institutional anomie 205 Bruce Dye and Kelly Dye 12 Entrepreneurial intentions of immigrant Chinese students in Ireland 223 Antoinette Flynn, Naomi Birdthistle and Boyu Fang PART IV MAINLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA 13 Using trust-based social capital in coping with institutional constraints: the case of entrepreneurs in Myanmar 241 Khine Tin Zar Lwin, Paresha Sinha and Jenny Gibb 14 An exploration of Vietnamese entrepreneurs 266 Hang T.T. Nyugen and Hanh Song Thi Pham 15 Bazaar entrepreneurship as social and institutional practice: the case of Malaysian accounting research 286 Hasri Mustafa PART V SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 16 Supporting sustainable, equitable growth in sub-Saharan Africa: a conceptual model for enabling social enterprise governance 302 Steven Pattinson and Roseline Wanjiru 17 A review of ten years of African entrepreneurship research 325 Paul Agu Igwe and Afam Icha-Ituma 18 Entrepreneurial resilience in turbulent environments: the role of spiritual capital 354 Oluwaseun Kolade, Abiodun Egbetokun, David Rae and Javed Hussain Index 373

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA New York Times Bestseller Winner of the 2017 PROSE Award in U.S. History, Association of American Publishers #36 on Bloomberg's "50 Most Influential" List One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best Economics Books of 2016 One of Foreign Affairs' Editors' Picks 2016 One of The Economist's Economics and Business Books of the Year 2016 One of The Wall Street Journal's "The 20 Books That Defined Our Year" 2016 One of the Washington Post's Best Economics Books 2016 One of Bloomberg View's Great History Books of 2016 One of Bloomberg's Best Books of 2016 One of The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2016 One of Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Books of 2016 in History One of the Strategy+Business Best Business Books 2016 in Economy One of Bloomberg View's "Five Books to Change Conservatives' Minds," chosen by Cass Sunstein Shortlisted for the 2016 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award One of The NewYorker.com Page-Turner blog's "The Books We Loved in 2016" Longlisted for the 2016 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature, McGill University "The Rise and Fall of American Growth... is the Thomas Piketty-esque economic must read of the year."--Rana Foroohar, Time "This is a book well worth reading--a magisterial combination of deep technological history, vivid portraits of daily life over the past six generations and careful economic analysis... [The Rise and Fall of American Growth] will challenge your views about the future; [and] it will definitely transform how you see the past."--Paul Krugman, New York Times Book Review "[An] authoritative examination of innovation through the ages."--Neil Irwin, New York Times "Robert Gordon has written a magnificent book on the economic history of the United States over the last one and a half centuries... The book is without peer in providing a statistical analysis of the uneven pace of growth and technological change, in describing the technologies that led to the remarkable progress during the special century, and in concluding with a provocative hypothesis that the future is unlikely to bring anything approaching the economic gains of the earlier period... If you want to understand our history and the economic dilemmas faced by the nation today, you can spend many a fruitful hour reading Gordon's landmark study."--William D. Nordhaus, New York Review of Books "Mr. Gordon uses exhaustive historic data to buttress his thesis."--Greg Ip, Wall Street Journal "[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] is full of wonder for the miraculous things that America has accomplished."--Edward Glaeser, Wall Street Journal "A masterful study to be read and reread by anyone interested in today's political economy."--Kirkus "Normally, these kinds of big-think books end with a whimper, as the author totally fails to identify solutions to the problem he is writing about. But Gordon's conclusion offers some admirably definitive policy advice."--Matthew Yglesias, Vox "Magnificent... Gordon presents his case... with great style and panache, supporting his argument with vivid examples as well as econometric data... Even if history changes direction... this book will survive as a superb reconstruction of material life in America in the heyday of industrial capitalism."--Economist "Every presidential candidate should be asked what policies he or she would offer to increase the pace of U.S. productivity growth and to narrow the widening gap between winners and losers in the economy. Bob Gordon's list is a good place to start."--David Wessel, WSJ.com's Think Tank blog "[W]hat may be the year's most important book on economics has already been published... What Gordon has provided is not a rejection of technology but a sobering reminder of its limits."--Robert Samuelson, Washington Post "Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is an extraordinary work of economic scholarship... Moreover, this is one of the rare economics books that is on the one hand deeply analytical ... And on the other a pleasure to read... [A] landmark work."--Lawrence Summers, Prospect "Ambitious... The hefty tome, minutely detailed yet dauntingly broad in scope, offers a lively portrayal of the evolution of American living standards since the Civil War."--Eduardo Porter, New York Times "Two years ago a huge book on economics took the world by storm. Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century ... became a surprise bestseller... Robert Gordon's tome on American economic growth stretches to 768 pages and its central message is arguably more important."--David Smith, Sunday Times "A landmark new book."--Gavin Kelly, The Guardian "Looking ahead, judging presidents by policies rather than outcomes may be all the more important. In a new book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, the economist Robert Gordon argues that we are in the midst of an era of meager technological change. Yes, we now have smartphones and Twitter, but previous generations introduced electric lighting, indoor plumbing and the internal combustion engine. In Mr. Gordon's view, technological change is just not what it used to be, and we had better get used to slower growth in productivity and incomes."--N. Gregory Mankiw, New York Times "The Rise and Fall of American Growth is likely to be the most interesting and important economics book of the year. It provides a splendid analytic take on the potency of past economic growth, which transformed the world from the end of the nineteenth century onward... Gordon's book serves as a powerful reminder that the U.S. economy really has gone through a protracted slowdown and that this decline has been caused by the stagnation in technological progress."--Tyler Cowen, Foreign Affairs "[A]n important new book."--Martin Ford, Huffington Post "[A] lightning bolt of a new book."--Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect "So powerful and intriguing are the facts and arguments marshaled by Gordon that even informed critics who think he is wrong recommend that readers plow through his The Rise and Fall of American Growth, with its 60 graphics and 64 tables spread over more than 700 pages. You don't need to be an economist to appreciate or understand the book. His thesis is straightforward."--David Cay Johnston, Al Jazeera America.com "What is novel about Gordon's approach to this problem is that he doesn't try to find political causes for our economic woes... [E]xhaustive and sweeping in scope, and novel in its thinking about growth."--Chris Matthews, Fortune.com "[A] fascinating new book."--Jeffrey Sachs, Boston Globe "One of the most important books of recent years... Powerful and impressive."--Cass R. Sunstein, Bloomberg View "This is a tremendous, sobering piece of research, which does a lot to explain the febrile, nervous state of modern Western democracies."--Marcus Tanner, The Independent "A new book by economist Robert Gordon--The Rise and Fall of American Growth--is causing quite a stir."--City A.M. "If he's right, and one links this with growing income inequality, our would-be leaders will have difficulty in making the case for achieving the American dream through steady incremental progress achieved through collaboration and political compromise."--Michael Hoffmann, Desert Sun "Robert Gordon's new book on productivity in the U.S. economy, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, is masterful... Gordon skillfully lays out myriad information about the history and trends of productivity. One can learn a great deal."--Edward Lotterman, St. Paul Pioneer Press "[I]mpressive."--Peter Martin, Sydney Morning Herald "In his unsettling new book, Gordon, who teaches at Northwestern, weighs in on the role of technology in the U.S. over the past century-and-a-half. He does so forcefully, so forcefully, in fact, as to wipe the smiles off the faces of most techno-optimists, myself included."--Peter A. Coclanis, Charlotte Observer "[A] thoughtful new book."--David D. Haynes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] is this year's equivalent to Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century: an essential read for all economists, who are unanimously floored by its boldness and scope even if they don't agree with its conclusions."--Adam Davidson, New York Times Magazine "Gordon makes a compelling case for why the era of fast growth in America ended around 1970 and will not return in the foreseeable future, if ever."--Dick Meyer, DecodeDC "Gordon argues that we are not going to get another surge soon and that there are several headwinds that are going to work against faster growth, including income inequality, education as a differentiator and not an equalizer, the debt overhang, and demography."--John Mason, TheStreet.com "[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] challenges every political claim, and every pundit's remedy, regarding how to get the lackluster American economy to boom again in the decades ahead, as it once did a half-century or more ago... [The book] represents the culmination of Gordon's many years of investigation into this key economic question of our age, namely: 'Why is it that the American economy has never been able to return to the happy boom years of our grandparents' time?' Why is it that, decade after decade, administration after administration, annualized productivity growth has only been about one-half to one-third that of the age of Truman and Eisenhower?"--Paul Kennedy, Tribune Content Agency "[M]asterful... Gordon skillfully lays out information about the history and trends of productivity. One can learn a great deal... The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a rare example of a work with solid economics that can be understood, and enjoyed, by nearly any lay person."--Ed Lotterman, Idaho Statesman "As an economic historian, Gordon is beyond reproach."--Edward Luce, Financial Times "Provocative."--Associated Press "The Rise and Fall of American Growth, is a deep dive into the past with an eye to the future... [The book] is part of a fascinating debate about future prospects for the American economy."--Knowledge@Wharton "[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] has set the wonky world of economics aflame."--Ryan Craig, TechCrunch "Magisterial."--John Kay, Financial Times "[A] contentious new book."--Margaret Wente, The Globe & Mail "[A] fabulous new book... [I]mpressive."--Dr. Mike Walden, Morganton News Herald "Northwestern Bob Gordon's new book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, offers a deeper explanation for the underlying mechanics behind slowed economic growth."--Jon Hartley, Forbes.com "So much of what the presidential candidates and the American people want to accomplish over the next four years and beyond depends on the U.S. economy growing faster, and more inclusively, than it has in recent years. This year's hot economics book, The Rise and Fall of American Growth, by one of America's most distinguished macroeconomists, Robert Gordon, casts a pall on whether this is possible, arguing that the U.S. had a golden century of increasing innovation from roughly 1870 to 1970, but this was unique."--Robert Litan, Fortune.com "Gordon's book offers the definitive account of how the many technological innovations between 1870 and 1940 dramatically improved life in the United States."--Richard A. Epstein, Hoover Institution's Defining Ideas blog "[M]agiserial... The Northwestern University professor lays out the case that the productivity miracle underlying the American way of life was largely a one-time deal."--Matt Phillips, Quartz "Robert Gordon's new book The Rise and Fall of American Growth has taken the economics world by storm this winter."--Myles Udland, Business Insider "[M]assive."--Ben Casselman, FiveThirty Eight "[G]roundbreaking."--Zeeshan Aleem, Mic "With a painstaking--and fascinating--historical analysis of American productivity, [Gordon] argues that the innovations of today pale in comparison to earlier in our history and that we might actually be entering a period of prolonged stagnation. He may very well be right."--Greg Satell, Forbes.com "[P]rovocative."--Barrie McKenna, The Globe & Mail "[I]nfluential."--Martin Neil Baily, Fortune.com "[A] stimulating book."--George Will, Washington Post "Compulsive reading."--Andrew Hilton, Financial World "Gordon is not an alarmist, far from it. His is a sober voice of concern, of caution, which needs to be heard by those in the helm in America. And a fascinating lesson for ambitious and growing countries like India."--Dr R Balashankar, Sunday Guardian "[A] fascinating convergence of green and mainstream thought."--Tom Horton, Chesapeake Bay Journal "[T]his panoramic book makes good reading."--Shane Greenstein, Harvard Magazine "The book's great contribution is the tapestry it weaves of all the innovations that changed most Americans' lives beyond recognition in the century from 1870 to 1970."--Martin Sandbu, Financial Times "The Rise and Fall of American Growth is unquestionably an important book that raises fundamental questions about the United States' economy and society."--New Criterion "[A] masterpiece."--Martin Wolf, Financial Times "[An] impressive book... Gordon's book provides sufficient ammunition to show the colossal problems facing capitalism."--Socialism Today "Rich with detailed information, meticulous observations, and even anecdotes and stories ... a fascinating read."--Ricardo F. Levi, Corriere della Sera "The Rise and Fall of American Growth is essential reading for anyone interested in economics."--Choice "In an important new book, economist Robert Gordon makes the case for pessimism. He believes that technologies like smartphones, robots, and artificial intelligence aren't going to have the kind of big impact on the economy that earlier inventions--like the internal combustion engine and electricity--did."--Timothy B. Lee, Vox "Robert Gordon has written an engaging economic-based history of America... Gordon is to be commended for helping to stimulate a national debate on the current low level of economic productivity."--Allan Hauer, Innovation: The Journal of Technology & Commercialization "If you want to see how far we have come and how tough life was a century and a half ago, read Gordon's book."--David R. Henderson, Regulation "A fantastic read."--Bill Gates, GatesNotes "The book is well written, and one can only be in awe of Gordon's mastery of the factual history of the American standard of living."--Robert A. Margo, EH.net "Monumental."--John Cassidy, NewYorker.com "Zeitgeist-defining."--Myles Udland, Business Insider "[A] magisterial treatise."--Nick Gillespie, Reason.com "[A]n essential read for anyone interested not only in US economic history but also American economic prospects ... a tremendous achievement."--Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist "A comprehensive history of American economic growth."--Eric Rauchway, American Prospect "Professor Robert J. Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is a magisterial volume that will benefit any serious student of economics, demographics or history."--Wendell Cox, New Geography "A wonderful new book."--Jeff Sachs, Boston Globe "The most important economics book of 2016."--Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune "This spectacular history traces the rise and the plateau of the American economy since industrialization."--Jay Weiser, Weekly Standard "[A] landmark book... An impressive history of how the American people progressed in their standards of living and productivity in the 'golden century' of 1870-1970."--Stephen M. Millett, Strategy & Leadership "Gordon's encyclopedic The Rise and Fall of American Growth, a new history of modern U.S. economic life, [is] perhaps the best yet written."--Jonathan Levy, Dissent "One of our greatest economic historians... Gordon's exhaustive research program ... has knocked me back on my intellectual heels."--J. Bradford DeLong, Strategy + Business "This is the most important book on economics in many years."--Martin Wolf, Financial Times "Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth set out a thesis of technological diminishing returns that does much to explain an age of economic pessimism."--Lorien Kite, Financial Times "In the course of Gordon's book, a vivid picture of everyday life as our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived it emerges... What lingers in my mind, alongside these ideas, is a new, weightier sense of the past, and of what the people who lived in it ate, touched, heard, saw, and did. Reading The Rise and Fall of American Growth, I thought a lot about my grandparents. Gordon's book has made their lives more real to me."--Joshua Rothman, NewYorker.com's Page-Turner blog "Magisterial... While the book has gotten attention because of its bold projection of slow growth in the future, this is actually just one small element of a magnificent and detailed presentation of how our economy has changed since 1870. Most people don't fully appreciate what life was like in the past and Gordon gives a blow-by-blow description of how people lived in America from 1870 on. In addition, he carefully explains how each new innovation was created and how its adoption changed people's lives."--Stephen Rose, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas "Gordon constructs a strong case using conventional economic principles and exacting data measurement."--Don Pittis, CBC News "Gordon's genius is to weave together economic history with the story of the technology, know-how, politic, demographics and medicine that made the astonishing progress of the US perhaps the most remarkable ever."--Sean O'Grady, The Independent

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Myrna F. Bernath Book Award, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations""Meyerowitz's narrative puts into dialogue the usually separate histories of development doctrine, post-1960s leftism, global feminism, and the economics of microcredit. . . . A War on Global Poverty fills an important gap in the literature."---Nils Gilman, Journal of American History"Joanne Meyerowitz’s A War on Global Poverty: The Lost Promise of Redistribution and the Rise of Microcredit makes clear that the US welfare state has always had an international dimension. We can’t understand how the social safety net eroded without examining its reach abroad."---Maia Silber, Chicago Review"Meyerowitz rightly foregrounds the significance of gendered notions of uplift and empowerment in remaking international aid." * Boston Review *

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Book SynopsisCovering pertinent areas of sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) this forward-looking book examines SRI in developing markets including its evolution, principles and concepts. It explores the drivers and challenges in developing economies and analyses the theoretical underpinnings to critical issues pertaining to SRI.This timely book investigates investment strategies and philosophies that attempt to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns into investment decision-making. In turn it provides an in-depth review of a number of different motivations for SRI, including: personal values and goals, institutional missions, and the demands of clients, constituents or plan participants. Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Developing Markets further defines how to integrate ESG issues into investment portfolios, looking to sustainable and responsible investors with a focus on financial performance, who believe in using these investments to promote ESG practices.With a focus on sustainability in relation to business and investment, this expansive book will be a useful guide for finance, business, environment, geography and innovation students, and researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in understanding sustainable and responsible investment, specifically for developing countries.Trade Review‘This edited book provides a rich and comprehensive examination of sustainable and responsible investment in developing countries. The book fills many gaps in existing books on investments in developing economies. I strongly recommend the book to everyone interested in responsible investments.’ -- Robert Lensink, University of Groningen, the Netherlands‘This edited volume presents an excellent contribution to the emerging area of sustainable and responsible investment (SRI), especially as it focuses on developing countries. It is a useful resource for researchers, policymakers, international development agencies, practitioners and university students. It presents an encyclopedic coverage of the main issues on SRI. I am glad to endorse this book and recommend it to everyone interested in understanding SRI in developing economies.’ -- Victor Murinde, SOAS University of London, UK‘At a time when issues pertaining to sustainable and ethical investment are assuming increasing global priority, this book could not be more relevant. Focusing on sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) in developing economies, the book fills a gap in the development and finance literatures with expert and incisive analysis of the relevance of SRI to sectors such as banking, insurance, energy, tourism and agriculture. It will prove to be an essential resource for investors and policymakers as well as everyone else who is concerned about how private investment can be aligned with environmental sustainability and social objectives. I strongly recommend it.’ -- Roy Sudharshan Canagarajah, World BankTable of ContentsContents: PART I OVERVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT 1 Introduction to Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Developing Markets 2 Joshua Yindenaba Abor PART II SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT: EVOLUTION, PRINCIPLES AND IMPACT 2 Evolution, principles and concepts of sustainable and responsible investment 12 Joshua Yindenaba Abor, Benjamin Agyeman and Mary Wamaitha 3 Drivers and challenges of sustainable and responsible investment in developing economies 36 Lordina Amoah, Dennis Venunye Hehetror, Richard Kotey and Olagunju Ashimolowo 4 Impact investing in developing markets 50 Zubeiru Salifu, Joshua Yindenaba Abor, Mabouba Diagne and Elizabeth Muthuma 5 Investing for impact on the African continent: an overview 73 Xolisa Dhlamini and Stephanie Giamporcaro PART III LONG-TERM RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT, GOVERNANCE, FIDUCIARY CAPITALISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 6 Long-term responsible investment and corporate social responsibility 91 Paul Terna Gbahabo, Lwanga Elizabeth Nanziri and Tendayi Chapoto 7 Corporate governance and sustainability ethics in developing countries 115 George Nana Agyekum Donkor, Daniel Ofori-Sasu, Thankom Arun and Joshua Yindenaba Abor 8 The rise of fiduciary capitalism in developing countries 128 Michelle Filson and Joshua Yindenaba Abor 9 Sustainable development: conceptual and theoretical insights in the Global South 141 Asaah Sumaila Mohammed, Dede Woade Gafa and Raymond Aitibasa Atanga PART IV FINANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY 10 Sustainable financing in developing economies 159 Mumbi Maria Wachira, Khadijah Iddrisu, Gifty Abban and Joshua Yindenaba Abor 11 Environmental and climate finance in developing countries 172 Mawuena Akosua Cudjoe, Joshua Yindenaba Abor and Jako Volschenk 12 Sustainable banking in developing economies 190 Janet Talata Abor, Joshua Yindenaba Abor and Ahmad Hassan Ahmad 13 Sustainable risk financing and insurance in developing markets 204 Joshua Yindenaba Abor, Margaret Asare, Susana Yamoah, Gideon Ataraire and Abdul Latif Alhassan 14 Sustainable private equity and venture capital in developing economies 220 Elikplimi Komla Agbloyor, Isaac Kofi Bekoe and Joshua Yindenaba Abor 15 Crowdfunding and sustainable enterprises in developing markets 234 George Acheampong, Alex Akpabli and Joshua Yindenaba Abor PART V SECTOR-SPECIFIC SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT 16 Sustainable tourism in Africa 245 Kobby Mensah, Eunice Fay Amissah and Noel Nutsugah 17 Sustainable real estate investment and finance in developing economies: challenges and opportunities 262 Frank K. Ametefe, Precious A. Brenni and François Viruly 18 Sustainable and responsible agricultural investment in developing countries 285 Haruna Issahaku, Paul Kwame Nkegbe and Jeremiah Ogaga Ejemeyovwi 19 Sustainable and responsible mining investment in developing economies 304 Benjamin Nii Ayi Aryee, Hudson Mtegha and Michael Sandow Ali 20 Sustainable and responsible energy investment in developing economies 321 Benjamin Agyeman, Joshua Yindenaba Abor and Amin Karimu PART VI SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE VALUATION 21 Sustainable and responsible investment and asset selection 347 William Coffie, Vera Ogeh Fiador and Abacha Isa 22 Valuation of sustainable investment 363 Emmanuel Acheampong-Bonsu, Jackie Wolgast and Teddy Ossei Kwakye PART VII EMERGING TRENDS AND REGULATION OF SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT 23 COVID-19 pandemic and sustainable and responsible development: agenda for reform and prevention of another crisis 382 Michael Effah Asamoah, Emmanuel Joel Aikins Abakah and Lungile Ntsalaze 24 Regulation of sustainable and responsible investment in developing countries 396 Bright Kojo Tsikata, Lordina Amoah and Joshua Ogwal Index

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Book SynopsisHoracio Ortiz provides a critical analysis of the social institutions and practices that produce and regulate stock pricing and valuation. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted among financial professionals in New York and Paris, this book shows how the political imaginaries that underpin financial markets legitimize global inequalities.Trade ReviewIt is a cause for celebration that this gem of a book is finally coming out in English and in an updated version. A real gift to the reader, The Everyday Practice of Valuation and Investment offers both a thick ethnographic description of the moral worlds of the people who inhabit the financial industry and a rich conceptual apparatus to develop a rigorous 'political anthropology' of global finance. -- Marion Fourcade, author of Economists and Societies: Discipline and Profession in the United States, Britain, and France, 1890s to 1990sSince fieldwork two decades ago, Ortiz has studied and taught in schools of finance. He now researches and teaches the anthropology of finance in China. His empirical observations are fresh and sharp, but his philosophical clarity is outstanding. Market prices do not measure the truth of finance, and its workers’ imaginaries miss out most of humanity. Consequently, global distributive justice is ignored, and the financial crisis is permanent. -- Keith Hart, author of Self in the World: Connecting Life's ExtremesThis book displays Ortiz’s distinctive combination of hugely skilled fieldwork and theoretical sophistication. Here, for the first time, the insights of this subtle thinker are laid out in full for Anglophone readers. Ortiz’s politically inflected anthropology of finance throws vital new light on everyday practices that profoundly shape today’s world. -- Donald MacKenzie, author of Trading at the Speed of Light: How Ultrafast Algorithms Are Transforming Financial MarketsThis book still has something important to teach us. Personal, ethical and political imaginaries are at the core of how finance works – we need to take them seriously to understand, critique and influence the financial system. * LSE Review of Books *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The Organizational Space of Financial Value2. Valuation as a Personal Opinion3. The Truth of Value as the Result of Efficient Markets4. Financial Value as Political AssemblageConclusionBibliographyNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisProtracted economic crises, accelerating inequalities, and increased resource scarcity present significant challenges for the majority of Africa's urban population. Limited state capacity and widespread infrastructure deficiencies common in cities across the continent often require residents to draw on their own resources, knowledge, and expertise to resolve these life and livelihood dilemmas. DIY Urbanism in Africa investigates these practices. It develops a theoretical framework through which to analyze them, and it presents a series of case studies to demonstrate how residents invent new DIY tactics and strategies in response to security, place-making, or economic problems. This book offers a timely critical intervention into literatures on urban development and politics in Africa. It is valuable to students, policymakers, and urban practitioners keen to understand the mechanisms and political implications of widespread dynamics now shaping Africa's expanding urban environments.Trade ReviewThis lively and important new collection pushes the study of the politics of urban development in African cities in to new terrain. A must-read for students of the African city. * Claire Mercer, London School of Economics, UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Conceptual Framing 1. DIY Urbanisms Old and New 2. DIY Urbanism in Distressed Cities in Africa 3. Reconnaissance Discourse of DIY and Urban Living in Nigeria 4. DIY Urbanism in an African Context and its Potential as a Collaborative Placemaking Tool for Bridging Africa’s Urban Infrastructure Deficit Part II: Case Studies 5. Political Economy of Community-led Security Provisioning in Urban Africa 6. The Production of Urban Space through Multi-scaled Political Networks in Lagos, Nigeria 7. Historicizing Precarity and DIY Urbanism in Accra, Ghana 8. Exploring Street Informality as Design Method: Experiences from Nigerian and Ghanaian Cities 9. Self-made Urbanism Handbook: The Case of Freetown, Sierra Leone 10. Resistance or Utopia? DIY Eco-communities in Durban, South Africa 11. Disability and Urbanism in Malawi 12. DIY Urbanism in Boom and Bust: a Perspective from Africa’s Copperbelt Conclusion

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Book SynopsisPresents a unified theory of economic growth since the dawn of civilization. This title provides a comprehensive overview of the three phases of the development process. It analyzes the Malthusian theory and its empirical support. It examines theories of demographic transition and their empirical significance.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2011 "Galor is the founder of unified growth theory. The theory seeks to uncover the principal forces behind the world's transition from the subsistence livelihoods experienced by early antecessors to the exponential increases in living standards that came with the Industrial Revolution... This book is a must for anyone interested in economic growth."--Choice "Galor provides a mass of data and theory that may help to frame the role of education in creating economic sustainability."--Josephine Gatti, International Social Science Review "[T]he contribution to economic science provided by Oded Galor poses an intellectual challenge for more general macroeconomic models ... which still need to provide comprehensive and endogenous explanations regarding the radical changes that affected the world economy in the aftermath of the economic and financial crisis."--Gianfranco Di Vaio, Journal of European and Economic History "This volume must be highly recommended to anyone interested in economic growth and comparative development."--Christopher Bliss, European LegacyTable of ContentsPreface xv CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Toward a Unified Theory of Economic Growth 3 1.2 Origins of Global Disparity in Living Standards 6 1.2.1 Catalysts for the Engine of Transition from Stagnation to Growth 6 1.2.2 Persistence of Prehistorical Biogeographical Conditions 7 1.2.3 Convergence Clubs 8 CHAPTER 2: From Stagnation to Growth 9 2.1 The Malthusian Epoch 10 2.1.1 Stagnation of Income per Capita in the Long Run 11 2.1.2 Population Dynamism 12 2.1.3 Fertility and Mortality 14 2.1.4 Fluctuations in Income and Population 15 2.1.5 Technological Progress 16 2.1.6 Main Characteristics of the Epoch 17 2.2 The Post-Malthusian Regime 17 2.2.1 Take-off in Income per Capita 18 2.2.2 Spike in Population Growth 18 2.2.3 Fertility and Mortality 23 2.2.4 Industrialization and Urbanization 25 2.2.5 Globalization and the Pace of Industrialization 27 2.2.6 Central Features of the Regime 29 2.3 Industrialization and Human Capital Formation 30 2.3.1 Industrial Demand for Education 31 2.3.2 Land Concentration and Human Capital Formation 37 2.3.3 Land Reforms and Education Reforms 39 2.3.4 Political and Education Reforms 42 2.3.5 Human Capital Formation in Less Developed Economies 45 2.3.6 Main Insights 45 2.4 The Demographic Transition 46 2.4.1 Decline in Population Growth 46 2.4.2 Fertility Decline 49 2.4.3 Mortality Decline 51 2.4.4 Life Expectancy 52 2.4.5 Central Characteristics 54 2.5 The Modern Growth Regime 55 2.5.1 Rapid Industrialization and Human Capital Formation 55 2.5.2 Sustained Growth of Income per Capita 57 2.5.3 Divergence in Income and Population across the Globe 57 2.5.4 Insights for Comparative Development 64 2.6 Concluding Remarks 65 CHAPTER 3: The Malthusian Theory 67 3.1 The Basic Structure of the Model 68 3.1.1 Production 69 3.1.2 Preferences and Budget Constraints 69 3.1.3 Optimization 70 3.2 The Evolution of the Economy 70 3.2.1 Population Dynamics 70 3.2.2 The Time Path of Income per Worker 72 3.3 Testable Predictions 74 3.4 Empirical Framework 74 3.4.1 Empirical Strategy 74 3.4.2 The Data 77 3.4.3 The Neolithic Revolution and Technological Advancement 78 3.4.4 Basic Regression Model 79 3.5 Cross-Country Evidence 80 3.5.1 Population Density in 1500 CE 81 3.5.2 Population Density in Earlier Historical Periods 86 3.5.3 Income per Capita versus Population Density 92 3.5.4 Effect of Technological Sophistication 96 3.5.5 Robustness to Technology Diffusion and Geographical Features 103 3.5.6 Rejection of Alternative Theories 105 3.6 Concluding Remarks 108 3.7 Appendix 110 3.7.1 First-Stage Regressions 110 3.7.2 Variable Definitions and Sources 110 CHAPTER 4: Theories of the Demographic Transition 115 4.1 The Rise in Income per Capita 116 4.1.1 The Theory and Its Testable Predictions 116 4.1.2 The Evidence 118 4.2 The Decline in Infant and Child Mortality 120 4.2.1 The Central Hypothesis 120 4.2.2 Evidence 121 4.3 The Rise in Demand for Human Capital 123 4.3.1 The Theory 125 4.3.2 Evidence: Education and the Demographic Transition 127 4.3.3 Quantity-Quality Trade-off in the Modern Era 129 4.4 The Rise in Demand for Human Capital: Reinforcing Mechanisms 130 4.4.1 The Decline in Child Labor 131 4.4.2 The Rise in Life Expectancy 131 4.4.3 Evolution of Preferences for Offspring Quality 132 4.5 The Decline in the Gender Gap 132 4.5.1 The Theory and Its Testable Predictions 133 4.5.2 The Evidence 135 4.6 The Old-Age Security Hypothesis 136 4.7 Concluding Remarks 136 4.8 Appendix 138 4.8.1 Optimal Investment in Child Quality 138 4.8.2 Optimal Investment in Child Quantity 139 CHAPTER 5: Unified Growth Theory 140 5.1 The Fundamental Challenge 142 5.2 Incompatibility of Non-Unified Growth Theories 143 5.2.1 The Malthusian Theory 143 5.2.2 Theories of Modern Economic Growth 145 5.3 Central Building Blocks 146 5.3.1 The Malthusian Elements 147 5.3.2 Engines of Technological Progress 147 5.3.3 The Origin of Human Capital Formation 148 5.3.4 The Trigger of the Demographic Transition 148 5.4 The Basic Structure of the Model 149 5.4.1 Production of Final Output 149 5.4.2 Preferences and Budget Constraints 150 5.4.3 Production of Human Capital 151 5.4.4 Optimization 152 5.5 Evolution of Technology, Population, and Effective Resources 155 5.5.1 Technological Progress 155 5.5.2 Population 155 5.5.3 Effective Resources 156 5.6 The Dynamical System 156 5.6.1 The Dynamics of Technology and Education 157 5.6.2 Global Dynamics 161 5.7 From Malthusian Stagnation to Sustained Growth 164 5.8 Main Hypotheses 166 5.9 Complementary Mechanisms 170 5.9.1 Sources of Human Capital Formation 170 5.9.2 Triggers of the Demographic Transition 171 5.9.3 Engines of Technological Progress 172 5.9.4 The Transition from an Agricultural to an Industrial Economy 172 5.10 Calibrations of Unified Growth Theory 174 5.11 Concluding Remarks 177 5.12 Appendix: Optimal Investment in Child Quality 178 CHAPTER 6: Unified Growth Theory and Comparative Development 179 6.1 Country-Specific Characteristics and the Growth Process 182 6.1.1 Factors Contributing to Technological Progress 183 6.1.2 Reinforcing Elements in Human Capital Formation 185 6.1.3 The Dynamics of Technology and Education 187 6.2 Variation in Technological Progress and Comparative Development 189 6.3 Variation in Human Capital and Comparative Development 191 6.3.1 The Emergence of Human Capital--Promoting Institutions 193 6.3.2 Globalization and Divergence 198 6.4 Persistence of Deeply Rooted Biogeographical Factors 208 6.4.1 The Neolithic Revolution and Comparative Development 208 6.4.2 The Out-of-Africa Hypothesis and Comparative Development 217 6.5 Multiple Growth Regimes and Convergence Clubs 226 6.6 Concluding Remarks 229 CHAPTER 7: Human Evolution and the Process of Development 232 7.1 Natural Selection and the Origins of Economic Growth 233 7.2 Primary Ingredients 235 7.2.1 The Darwinian Elements 235 7.2.2 The Malthusian Components 237 7.2.3 Determinants of Technological Progress and Human Capital Formation 237 7.2.4 The Trigger of the Demographic Transition 238 7.3 The Basic Structure of the Model 238 7.3.1 Production of Final Output 239 7.3.2 Preferences and Budget Constraints 240 7.3.3 Production of Human Capital 241 7.3.4 Optimization 242 7.3.5 Distribution of Types and Human Capital Formation 246 7.3.6 Time Path of the Macroeconomic Variables 249 7.4 The Dynamical System 254 7.4.1 Conditional Dynamics of Technology and Education 254 7.4.2 Conditional Dynamics of Technology and Effective Resources 259 7.4.3 Conditional Steady-State Equilibria 260 7.4.4 Human Evolution and the Transition from Stagnation to Growth 261 7.5 Failed Take-off Attempts 265 7.6 Main Hypotheses and Their Empirical Assessment 266 7.7 Complementary Mechanisms 269 7.7.1 Evolution of Entrepreneurial Spirit and Economic Growth 270 7.7.2 Evolution of Life Expectancy and Economic Growth 273 7.8 Concluding Remarks 278 7.9 Appendix 279 7.9.1 Conditional Dynamics of Technology and Education 279 7.9.2 Conditional Dynamics of Technology and Effective Resources 280 CHAPTER 8: Concluding Remarks 285 References 289 Name Index 311 Subject Index 317

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIt seems safe to say that Capital in the Twenty-First Century, the magnum opus of the French economist Thomas Piketty, will be the most important economics book of the year—and maybe of the decade. -- Paul Krugman * New York Times *The book aims to revolutionize the way people think about the economic history of the past two centuries. It may well manage the feat. * The Economist *Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century is an intellectual tour de force, a triumph of economic history over the theoretical, mathematical modeling that has come to dominate the economics profession in recent years. -- Steven Pearlstein * Washington Post *Piketty has written an extraordinarily important book…In its scale and sweep it brings us back to the founders of political economy. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *A sweeping account of rising inequality…Piketty has written a book that nobody interested in a defining issue of our era can afford to ignore. -- John Cassidy * New Yorker *Stands a fair chance of becoming the most influential work of economics yet published in our young century. It is the most important study of inequality in over fifty years. -- Timothy Shenk * The Nation *At a time when the concentration of wealth and income in the hands of a few has resurfaced as a central political issue, Piketty doesn’t just offer invaluable documentation of what is happening, with unmatched historical depth. He also offers what amounts to a unified field theory of inequality, one that integrates economic growth, the distribution of income between capital and labor, and the distribution of wealth and income among individuals into a single frame…Piketty has transformed our economic discourse; we’ll never talk about wealth and inequality the same way we used to. -- Paul Krugman * New York Review of Books *The most remarkable work of economics in recent years, if not decades…The discipline of economics, Piketty argues, remains trapped in a juvenile passion for mathematics, divorced from history and its sister social sciences. His work aims to change that. -- Nick Pearce * New Statesman *Magnificent…Even though it is a work more concerned with the past 200 years, it’s no coincidence that the full title of Piketty’s book is Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Its ambition is to shape debates about the next two centuries, not the past two. And in that it may succeed. -- Christopher Croke * The Australian *Piketty’s ground-breaking work on the historical evolution of income distribution is impressive…One of the best economic books in decades. -- Paul Sweeney * Irish Times *[Piketty] is just about to emerge as the most important thinker of his generation…He demonstrates that there is no reason to believe that capitalism can ever solve the problem of inequality, which he insists is getting worse rather than better. From the banking crisis of 2008 to the Occupy movement of 2011, this much has been intuited by ordinary people. The singular significance of his book is that it proves ‘scientifically’ that this intuition is correct. This is why his book has crossed over into the mainstream—it says what many people have already been thinking. -- Andrew Hussey * The Observer *The strength of Piketty’s book is his close attention to the different sources of inequality, the massive documentation underpinning his history and conclusions, and his impressive culls from sociology and literature, which exhibit the richness of ‘political economy’ compared to its thin mathematical successor that has attained such prominence…A timely intervention in the current debate about inequality and its causes. -- Robert Skidelsky * Prospect *A monumental book that will influence economic analysis (and perhaps policymaking) in the years to come. In the way it is written and the importance of the questions it asks, it is a book the classic authors of economics could have written if they lived today and had access to the vast empirical material Piketty and his colleagues collected. -- Branko Milanovic * American Prospect *This book has all the makings of a classic. It has already changed the way economists think about inequality. One hopes that these ideas will percolate into the chambers of policy-makers in governments and lending institutions and bring about changes in their policies to reduce inequality. -- K. Subramanian * The Hindu *Piketty’s book is revolutionary…[His] multi-century portrait of wealth and income obliterates economists’ complacent narratives…We are still seeking an economy that is both vibrant and humane, where mutual advantage is real and mutual aid possible. The one we have isn’t it. -- Jedediah Purdy * Los Angeles Review of Books *Piketty demonstrates in terrifying detail, with painstaking statistical research, that free-market capitalism, in the absence of major state redistribution, produces profound economic inequalities. -- Michael Robbins * Chicago Tribune *An extraordinary sweep of history backed by remarkably detailed data and analysis…Piketty’s economic analysis and historical proofs are breathtaking. -- Robert B. Reich * The Guardian *Piketty’s treatment of inequality is perfectly matched to its moment. Like [Paul] Kennedy a generation ago, Piketty has emerged as a rock star of the policy-intellectual world…But make no mistake, his work richly deserves all the attention it is receiving…By focusing attention on what has happened to a fortunate few among us, and by opening up for debate issues around the long-run functioning of our market system, Capital in the Twenty-First Century has made a profoundly important contribution. -- Lawrence H. Summers * Democracy *What makes Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century such a triumph is that it seems to have been written specifically to demolish the great economic shibboleths of our time…Piketty’s magnum opus. -- Thomas Frank * Salon *Capital reflects decades of work in collecting national income data across centuries, countries, and class, done in partnership with academics across the globe. But beyond its remarkably rich and instructive history, the book’s deep and novel understanding of inequality in the economy has drawn well-deserved attention…The book is an attempt to ground the debate over inequality in strong empirical data, put the question of distribution back into economics, and open the debate not just to the entirety of the social sciences but to people themselves. -- Mike Konczal * Boston Review *[A] 700-page punch in the plutocracy’s pampered gut…It’s been half a century since a book of economic history broke out of its academic silo with such fireworks. -- Giles Whittell * The Times *Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics has done the definitive comparative historical research on income inequality in his Capital in the Twenty-First Century. -- Paul Starr * New York Review of Books *Bracing…Piketty provides a fresh and sweeping analysis of the world’s economic history that puts into question many of our core beliefs about the organization of market economies. His most startling news is that the belief that inequality will eventually stabilize and subside on its own, a long-held tenet of free market capitalism, is wrong. Rather, the economic forces concentrating more and more wealth into the hands of the fortunate few are almost sure to prevail for a very long time. -- Eduardo Porter * New York Times *About as close to a blockbuster as there is in the world of economic literature—easily the most discussed book of its genre in years…Piketty challenges one of the underpinnings of modern democracies—namely, that growth and productivity make each generation better off than the previous one. -- Barrie McKenna * Globe and Mail *Piketty has unearthed the history of income distribution for at least the past hundred years in every major capitalist nation. It makes for fascinating, grim and alarming reading…Piketty gives us the most important work of economics since John Maynard Keynes’s General Theory. -- Harold Meyerson * Washington Post *The strength of [Piketty's] thesis is that it is founded on evidence rather than ideology…What Piketty has done is provide a strong factual understanding for how modern capitalist economies diverge from the image of risk-taking and productive commercial activity. At the very least, the book effectively debunks the notion that there is an economic imperative for low tax rates and a smaller state. -- Oliver Kamm * The Times *Defies left and right orthodoxy by arguing that worsening inequality is an inevitable outcome of free market capitalism…Without what [Piketty] acknowledges is a politically unrealistic global wealth tax, he sees the United States and the developed world on a path toward a degree of inequality that will reach levels likely to cause severe social disruption. -- Thomas B. Edsall * New York Times *Piketty's magnum opus…A lucid tale of why inequality in the world is increasing, and what we should be doing about it. The right leaning crowd may be dismayed with his prescriptions of stiff global wealth taxes, but neither leftists nor rightists can dispute the data that he presents. -- Ajit Ranade * Business Today *Anyone remotely interested in economics needs to read Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. -- Matthew Yglesias * Slate *[A] timely, important book. -- Joseph E. Stiglitz * New York Times *Piketty’s genius lies in proving that inequality is growing and potentially threatens widespread political instability…Piketty has written a trenchant critique of our current economic system. -- Michael Washburn * Boston Globe *Piketty has looked at centuries of tax archives to formulate a theory of capitalism that is evidence-based and rigorously researched, but also attempts to answer the most basic questions in economic theory…Capital in the Twenty-First Century is already being hailed as a seminal work of economic thought, and with very good reason. -- Thomas Flynn * Daily Beast *Piketty solidifies and gives an intellectual edge to the view that something is wrong here, and something new and bold and radical has got to be done…People like me, and others, are certainly excited by the prospect of where Piketty might take us. -- Len McCluskey * The Guardian *The book is a terrific achievement. -- Alan Ryan * Literary Review *One of the strengths of Piketty’s book is the depth and rigor of his historical analysis. Yet it is changes taking place now that make his concerns especially urgent. -- Andrew Neather * London Evening Standard *There are books that you read and there are books that hit the nail on the head so hard that you want to get your teeth into them. Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century…clearly belongs to the second category. -- Perry Lam * South China Morning Post *[Piketty] has demolished the Western myth that all who work hard can expect success. -- Mary Riddell * The Telegraph *It’s going to be remembered as the economic tome of our era. Basically, Piketty has finally put to death, with data, the fallacies of trickle down economics…We can only hope that the politicians crafting today’s economic programs will take this book to heart. -- Rana Foroohar * Time *Magisterial…This book is economics at its best. -- Philip Roscoe * Times Higher Education *[A] seminal work on capitalism. -- Madan Sabnavis * Financial Express *Piketty has shown that we are living in a Second Gilded Age…Nestled under the book’s mass of data, elegant mathematical formulae, and literary references is an insistence that the turmoil of capitalism is a human turmoil, within the control of human beings. Piketty’s book is a call to citizenship, not as a series of fatalistic poses, but as a political responsibility. That spirit of engagement is more radical, at this moment in history, than any other proposal. -- Stephen Marche * Los Angeles Review of Books *Piketty hits bullseye after bullseye about the exacerbating inequalities that disfigure society—especially American society…For [those] who suffer from the relentless blather about why the minimum wage cannot be raised; why ‘job creators’ cannot be taxed; and why American society remains the most open in the world, Piketty is what the doctor ordered. -- Russell Jacoby * New Republic *Riveting…[Piketty] embodies a model of engaged and sophisticated public debate, the sort of which politicians can only dream…Capital inequality has dispossessed us of our ‘democratic sovereignty,’ and that’s something we should all really worry about…His book is as much a story about the limits of modern democratic politics as it is about the structures of inequality. -- Duncan Kelly * Times Literary Supplement *Very readable and often slyly witty…Piketty does economics in a new way; or more accurately, he returns to an older way…He argues that the degree of inequality is not just the product of economic forces; it is also the product of politics. -- George Fallis * Literary Review of Canada *Capital in the Twenty-First Century delivered a well placed kick up the backside to complacent mainstream economics. -- Paul Mason * The Observer *This book is the key to understanding how the automatic accumulation and concentration of wealth poses a threat to the peaceful economies in which entrepreneurs prosper. -- Geoffrey James * Inc. *Monumental…Translated beautifully by Arthur Goldhammer, [Capital in the Twenty-First Century]…smashed into the intellectual world with incredible force…One also has to admire the way Piketty marshals the data to create a sweeping historical narrative, in a style reminiscent of the great thinkers of the 19th century. -- Ben Chu * The Independent *Capital in the Twenty-First Century shows how privateers use privatization, debt creation and capital inflation as a mechanism for rent extraction, with catastrophic consequences for public services. -- Allyson Pollock * Times Higher Education *Piketty’s great achievement, and one possible reason for the enthusiastic reception of his book, is his effective empirical demonstration of a fact long denied by neoclassical economics and its champions throughout the world: markets, when left to their own devices, do not provide individuals with rewards that are proportional to their efforts…[This book] effectively demolishes mainstream myths about the ability of markets to combat inequality. -- Hassan Javid * Dawn *Monumental…[Piketty] documents a sharp increase in such inequality over the last 25 years, not only in the United States, but also in Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, with people with the highest incomes far outstripping the rest of society. The book is impressive in its wealth of information. -- Robert J. Shiller * New York Times *[Piketty’s] chief intellectual accomplishment is to show how the basic forces of capitalism tend inevitably toward an ever-greater accumulation of wealth at the tip of the pyramid…Piketty shows that the economics of the postwar era—when the West enjoyed strong, widely-shared growth—was a historical exception. For our Western democracies, it was also a political necessity. Capitalism is facing an existential challenge; smart plutocrats will be part of the solution. -- Chrystia Freeland * Politico *Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century is the most important economics book of the year, if not the decade…Capital in the Twenty-First Century essentially takes the existing debate on income inequality and supercharges it. It does so by asserting that in the long run the economic inequality that matters won’t be the gap between people who earn high salaries and those who earn low ones, it will be the gap between people who inherit large sums of money and those who don’t. -- Matthew Yglesias * Vox *Monumental…One of the most thorough and illuminating studies of capitalist economics since Karl Marx published the original Capital 150 years earlier. -- Gary Gerstle * Washington Post *Groundbreaking…The usefulness of economics is determined by the quality of data at our disposal. Piketty’s new volume offers a fresh perspective and a wealth of newly compiled data that will go a long way in helping us understand how capitalism actually works. -- Christopher Matthews * Fortune *Piketty draws on a vast store of historical data to argue that the broad dissemination of wealth that occurred during the decades following World War I was not, as economists then mistakenly believed, a natural state of capitalist equilibrium, but rather a halcyon interval between Belle Époque inequality and the rising inequality of our own era…[His] most provocative argument is that the discrepancy between the high returns to capital and much more modest overall economic growth—briefly annulled during the mid-century—ensures that the gulf between the rich (who profit from capital investments) and the middle class (who depend chiefly on income from labor) will only continue to grow. -- James Traub * Foreign Policy *Piketty’s main point, and his new and powerful contribution to an old topic: as long as the rate of return exceeds the rate of growth, the income and wealth of the rich will grow faster than the typical income from work…If the ownership of wealth in fact becomes even more concentrated during the rest of the twenty-first century, the outlook is pretty bleak unless you have a taste for oligarchy…Wouldn’t it be interesting if the United States were to become the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the last refuge of increasing inequality at the top (and perhaps also at the bottom)? Would that work for you? -- Robert Solow * New Republic *Argues that the great equalizing decades following World War II, which brought on the rise of the middle class in the United States, were but a historical anomaly. Armed with centuries of data, Piketty says the rich are going to continue to gobble up a greater share of income, and our current system will do nothing to reverse that trend. -- Shaila Dewan * New York Times Magazine *Though an heir to Tocqueville’s tradition of analytic history, Thomas Piketty has a message that could not be more different: Unless we act, inequality will grow much worse, eventually making a mockery of our democratic institutions. With wealth more and more concentrated, countries racing to cut taxes on capital, and inheritance coming to rival entrepreneurship as a source of riches, a new patrimonial elite may prove as inevitable as Tocqueville once believed democratic equality was…Perhaps with this magisterial book, the troubling realities Piketty unearths will become more visible and the rationalizations of the privileged that sustain them less dominant. Like Tocqueville, Piketty has given us a new image of ourselves. This time, it’s one we should resist, not welcome. -- Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson * American Prospect *A landmark book…which brings a ton of data to bear in reaching the commonsensical conclusion that inequality has to do with more than just blind market forces at work. -- George Packer * New Yorker *[Piketty] is now the most talked-about economist on the planet…The book analyzes hundreds of years of tax records from France, the U.K., the U.S., Germany and Japan to prove a simple idea: The rich really are getting richer. And their wealth doesn’t trickle down. It trickles up…The stark historical consequences of unchecked inequality are at the heart of Capital. -- Rana Foroohar * Time *Magisterial…Piketty provides a sweeping, data-driven narrative about inequality trends in the United States and other Western economies over the past century or more, identifies a worrisome increase in income and wealth concentration in a small percentage of the population since 1980, and warns that this trend won’t likely correct itself. -- Chad Stone * U.S. News & World Report *Piketty’s new book is an important contribution to understanding what we need to do to produce more growth, wider economic opportunity and greater social stability. -- David Cay Johnston * Al Jazeera America *The book has made everyone with a stake in capitalism sit up and take notice…[Piketty’s] analysis should challenge Americans to rethink our notions of wealth and poverty and whether any semblance of ‘equal opportunity’ actually exists. * America *Capital in the Twenty-First Century is written in the tradition of great economic texts…This book is significant for its findings, as well as for how Piketty arrives at them. It’s easy—and fun—to argue about ideas. It is much more difficult to argue about facts. Facts are what Piketty gives us, while pressing the reader to engage in the journey of sorting through their implications. -- Heather Boushey * American Prospect *How does a rigorous, seven-hundred page economic history become a lionized hit? Through the canny voice of professor Thomas Piketty, and his demystification of inherited wealth, Karl Marx’s true legacy, and what we mean when we talk about monetary ‘growth’ and ‘inequality.’ * Barnes and Noble Review *When it comes to economics…you need to get yourself a hold of Capital in the Twenty-First Century…Piketty’s study will have readers plotting capital’s downfall because what it shows is that the growing inequalities we are seeing between the haves and have nots are endemic to the system…We are entering a new age of capital, he argues; a time, similar to the early 19th century, when many will live off their money. Without the need for work. Meanwhile, those without capital will always struggle to keep ahead of debts. -- Thomas Quinn * Big Issue *Intellectually hefty…Piketty has already engendered vigorous argument. Capital is an arduous climb, but the subject is equally weighty, and it demands our best analyses, proposals and dialogues. Capital is an essential volume in the conversation. -- Earl Pike * Cleveland Plain Dealer *An important book…which paints a compelling, and scary, picture of the deep forces driving toward ever greater inequality in the modern world. Piketty’s historical focus adds power to his analysis of the trend toward greater financial inequality today. -- Charles R. Morris * Commonweal *This important and fascinating book surely ranks among the most influential economic analysis of recent decades. -- Andrew Berg * Finance & Development *Piketty has made his name central to serious discussions of inequality…[He] expands upon his empirical work of the last 10 years, while also setting forth a political theory of inequality. This last element of the book gives special attention to tax policy and makes some provocative suggestions—new and higher taxes on the very rich. -- Joseph Thorndike * Forbes *The most eagerly anticipated book on economics in many years. -- Toby Sanger * Globe and Mail *Is Piketty the new Karl Marx? Anybody who has read the latter will know he is not…Piketty has, more accurately, placed an unexploded bomb within mainstream, classical economics…The power of Piketty’s work is that it also challenges the narrative of the center-left under globalization, which believed upskilling the workforce, combined with mild redistribution, would promote social justice. This, Piketty demonstrates, is mistaken. All that social democracy and liberalism can produce, with their current policies, is the oligarch’s yacht co-existing with the food bank forever. Piketty’s Capital, unlike Marx’s Capital, contains solutions possible on the terrain of capitalism itself. -- Paul Mason * The Guardian *The big questions that concerned Mill, Marx and Smith are now rearing their heads afresh…Thomas Piketty—who spent long years, during which the mainstream neglected inequality, mapping the distribution of income—is making waves with Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Nodding at Marx, that title helps explain the attention, but his decidedly classical emphasis on historical dynamics in determining who gets what resonates in a world where an increasing proportion of citizens are feeling fleeced by the elite. * The Guardian *A big book in every sense of the word, using empirical evidence from 30 countries to describe how capitalism has evolved over the past 300 years and is now reverting to what Piketty calls the Downton Abbey world of a century ago…It is rare for economics books to fly off the shelves. Once in every generation, usually when the world has started to recover after a serious recession, there is a search for answers. Will Hutton’s The State We’re In was the must-buy book two decades ago just as Piketty’s is today. * The Guardian *Piketty says he wants the book to be widely read and his ideas debated. He has succeeded. Questions of economic theory have now reached an uncommonly large audience. One could, of course, fill a book twice the size with the reviews and the commentary Capital has prompted. But there is a better way into the debate than consuming the Piketty media phenomenon: spend a little valuable capital and read the original yourself. -- Ben Chu * The Independent *The enthusiastic reception in the United States of Piketty’s rigorous Capital in the Twenty-First Century, which answers the empirical spirit of the age with a welcome rush of statistics, may be a promising sign of renewal in the otherwise sedate intellectual pastures of the continent. To have made the word ‘redistribution’ utterable again by mainstream economists is already a considerable achievement…An unignorable account of the history of inequality in capitalist democracies. -- Thomas Meaney and Yascha Mounk * The Nation *Not since John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice in 1971 has a work of political theory been as rapturously received on the left as Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century…In this supposedly superficial and anti-intellectual age, his 690-page treatise on inequality, rich in empirical research, has resonated because it speaks to one of the central anxieties of our time: that society is becoming ever more fragmented as the very rich pull away from the rest. * New Statesman *Piketty, a prominent economist, explains the tendency in mature societies for wealth to concentrate in a few hands. -- Amy Merrick * New Yorker *[Piketty] has written a 700 page book on inequality which has achieved something few would have thought possible. He has rocked the neo-liberal economic establishment to its foundations…Even some of the most ideologically blinkered of free market economists, having read this book, now openly admit that Professor Piketty has laid down a challenge which they dare not ignore and which could change the political environment. -- John Palmer * Red Pepper *Drawing on hundreds of years of economic data (some of which has only recently become available to researchers) Piketty reaches a simple but disturbing conclusion: In the long run, the return on capital tends to be greater than the growth rate of the economies in which that capital is located…Readers can already guess the dire conclusion that flows from combining Piketty’s theory with the plausible assumption that unregulated wealth leads to plutocracy: If the only way to avoid plutocracy would be to employ political processes that the plutocrats themselves will eventually buy lock, stock and barrel, then the only way to avoid being ruled by the Lords of Capital is to become one of them. -- Paul Campos * Salon *[Piketty] has been perhaps the most important thinker on inequality of the past decade or so…Capital will change the political conversation in a more subtle way as well, by focusing it on wealth, not income. -- Jordan Weissmann * Slate *There is a huge amount to admire and welcome in this book…Like the radicals of the 1790s, who toasted Edmund Burke in gratitude for the fundamental debate his writings on the French Revolution had provoked, even those who find Piketty’s remedies unpalatable and in some ways worse than the disease he is trying to cure should nevertheless applaud his industry, his acuity, and his humane commitment to the ideal of rational, temperate and informed public debate. -- David Womersley * Standpoint *Clearly written, ambitious in scope, rooted in economics but drawing on insights from related fields like history and sociology, Piketty’s Capital resembles nothing so much as an old-fashioned work of political economy by the likes of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, or John Maynard Keynes…The book’s major strength lies in Piketty’s ability to see the big picture. His original and rigorously well-documented insights into the deep structures of capitalism show us how the dynamics of capital accumulation have played out historically over the past three centuries, and how they’re likely to develop in the century to come. -- Kathleen Geier * Washington Monthly *After receiving widespread attention in his native France, Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century has received even greater attention on this side of the Atlantic, and deservedly so. It offers a stark and depressing picture for those who believe that some combination of democratic politics and economic growth can protect us from rampant inequality. -- Kenneth Scheve and David Stasavage * Washington Post *Painstakingly details the dynamics of wealth and income inequality throughout the last two centuries, and offers a somewhat grim picture of the future of economic inequality. Along the way, Piketty also offers his theory of the cause of exploding executive pay and how we can successfully combat this destructive trend. -- Matt Bruenig * The Week *It’s a brilliant, surprisingly readable work that synthesizes a staggering amount of careful research to make the case that income inequality is no accident…[Piketty] has starkly and convincingly outlined the stakes for future generations. Either we’ll have a new birth of reformed capitalism…or we’ll have wealth concentration on such a colossal scale that it will threaten the democratic order. -- Ryan Cooper * The Week *It is a great work, a fearsome beast of analysis stuffed with an awesome amount of empirical data, and will surely be a landmark study in economics. * The Week *Rarely does a book come along…that completely alters the paradigm through which we frame our worldview. Thomas Piketty’s magisterial study of the structure of capitalism since the 18th century, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, is such a book…This book is more than a must read. It is a manual for action that provides a fresh framework for the new politics of the 21st century. -- Nathan Gardels * The WorldPost *[An] enormously important book. -- Doug Henwood * Bookforum *Essential reading for citizens of the here and now. Other economists should marvel at how that plain language can be put to work explaining the most complex of ideas, foremost among them the fact that economic inequality is at an all-time high—and is only bound to grow worse. * Kirkus Reviews *An explosive argument. * Liberation *A seminal book on the economic and social evolution of the planet… A masterpiece. -- Emmanuel Todd * Marianne *Outstanding… A political and theoretical bulldozer. * Mediapart *The book of the season. * Telerama *In this magisterial work, Thomas Piketty has performed a great service to the academy and to the public. He has written a pioneering book that is at once thoughtful, measured, and provocative. The force of his case rests not on a diatribe or a political agenda, but on carefully collected and analyzed data and reasoned thought. -- Rakesh Khurana, Harvard Business SchoolThis book is not only the definitive account of the historical evolution of inequality in advanced economies, it is also a magisterial treatise on capitalism’s inherent dynamics. Piketty ends his book with a ringing call for the global taxation of capital. Whether or not you agree with him on the solution, this book presents a stark challenge for those who would like to save capitalism from itself. -- Dani Rodrik, Institute for Advanced StudyThis is a truly path-breaking book offering a hard-hitting and well-founded critique of capitalism in the twenty-first century…Piketty shows himself to be not only a supereconomist but also a skilled politician. No wonder his thoughts have resonated even at the highest political levels. One can only hope that his work will actually influence adoption of his policy recommendations. -- Christel Lane * LSE Review of Books *As befits a book of such size, Capital is broad-ranging, both historically and geographically…Impressive. -- William Keegan * The Tablet *Piketty is offering something fresh in the discourse: an unimaginably massive data-set that traces the ebb and flow of wealth and productivity around the globe for three centuries…It’s a rare thing to see economists, especially pro-capitalist economists, praising taxation itself, but Piketty—careful, unemotional Piketty—dares…Besides, he says, the thing every red-blooded entrepreneur wants to see is people getting rich by their wits and deeds, not by the birthright of kings. -- Cory Doctorow * Boing Boing *A book of such magisterial sweep…Piketty deserves huge credit for kickstarting a debate about inequality and illuminating the distribution of income and wealth. -- Stephanie Flanders * The Guardian *Seven hundred pages on the evolution of inequality in economically advanced societies by the most fashionable new theorist to emerge for a long time. Many have been waiting for such a comprehensive critique of capitalism. -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *[A] most unlikely best seller, a crossover from the world of scholarship into general public discussion of a kind that seems rarer than it used to be. The book’s thesis—that economic inequality in the developed world is increasing, with potentially dire consequences for social justice and democratic governance—has struck a nerve in the American body politic. But its implications extend beyond the realm of political economy…The book invites the re-examination of deeply held assumptions about the world. -- A. O. Scott * New York Times *Using sophisticated computer modeling and analyses, the professor from the Paris School of Economics debunks a long-held assumption—that income from wages will tend to grow at roughly the same rate as wealth—and instead makes a compelling case that, over time, the apparatus of capitalism grows wealth faster than wages. Result: Inequality between the wealthy and everyone else will widen faster and faster; and, without progressive taxation, his data show we’ll return to levels of inequality not seen since America’s Gilded Age. -- Dean Paton * YES! *The depth and range of evidence Piketty marshals allows him to deliver a devastating blow to the confidence of many economists that capitalism is a tide that gradually lifts all boats. In the process, he mounts an effective critique of the tendency of economic writers on both left and right to rely on theories and formal systems…His book challenges both mainstream economists’ faith in untested mathematical models, as well as radicals’ resistance to subjecting Marx’s economic theory to rigorous testing. -- Michael W. Clune * Chronicle of Higher Education *In this monumental, vitally important work, [Piketty] forces us to reconsider what we think we know about the baseline functioning of capitalist economies over the long haul, and to grapple with the implications for ourselves and our times…Nearly every page of the book rewards a careful reading with new insights and intriguing questions. -- Matthew Carnes * America *We are in danger of entering into an era that, like the 19th century in France and England, is socially and politically dominated by those with vast amounts of inherited wealth…Piketty’s book is important because of the way he has clarified the magnitude of the problem and its dangers. And he has done so at a time of increasing soul-searching about the role technology plays in exacerbating inequality. -- David Rotman * Technology Review *This past July, I felt compelled to read Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century after reading several reviews and hearing about it from friends. I’m glad I did. I encourage you to read it too…I agree with his most important conclusions, and I hope his work will draw more smart people into the study of wealth and income inequality. -- Bill Gates * Gates Notes *[Piketty’s] overarching theme—that increased income disparity as a threat to democratic capitalism—remains prominent…His concerns about social unrest cannot be ignored. -- James Halteman * Christian Century *[A] sweeping study of wealth in the modern world…Full of insights but free of dogma, this is a seminal examination of how entrenched wealth and intractable inequality continue to shape the economy. * Publishers Weekly *The best business book on economics of the year. -- Daniel Gross * strategy+business *Throws much light upon one of the most important questions in economics: what determines the distribution of income and wealth. With an abundance of data and some simple and powerful theories, Piketty has made an immensely important contribution to the public debate. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *The year’s most popular and controversial book. -- Roland White * Sunday Times *Marx believed that free markets produce inequality, social division and violence. Piketty appears to side with Marx, but this is deceptive. When Piketty talks about ‘capital,’ he means the kind of investments held by today’s leisured rentier class whose money is tied up in property and pensions. Piketty argues that a free market overloaded with this kind of capital may or may not lead to anger and alienation, but it will certainly act like lumpy blockages in the smooth running of the economy. Piketty only wants the economy to work better. -- Nicholas Blincoe * The Telegraph *Capital in the Twenty-First Century is arguably the most important popular economics book in recent memory. It will take its place among other classics in the field that have survived changing theoretical and political fashions, such as its namesake by Karl Marx (Das Kapital, 1867) or other ambitiously titled books such as John Maynard Keynes’s The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1936). Anyone who wants to engage in an informed discussion about the economic landscape will have to read Piketty. -- Kate Bahn * Women’s Review of Books *Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century laid bare the deep structural forces that have made our brave new neoliberal economic order so dangerously topheavy and unstable. -- Chris Lehmann * In These Times *The extraordinary resonance of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century suggests that inequality has become the most pressing economic issue of our time. -- Michael Rosen * Times Literary Supplement *[Piketty’s] magnum opus, which kicked off years of debate over the causes of and potential solutions for deep poverty in wealthy societies. -- Martin Wolk * Los Angeles Times *Piketty presents the problem of inequality afresh, using new forms of historical narration and explanation that cut across disciplines and theoretical frameworks. -- William Davies * London Review of Books *Capital in the Twenty-First Century looks back in order to look forward, plumbing economic patterns from the 18th century onward and homing in on the staggering inequities that dominate our age. -- Hamilton Cain * The Atlantic *

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Book SynopsisThis volume, in honor of Montek Singh Ahluwalia, brings together scholarship on various aspects of India's economic development. Exploring key economic challenges, the essays cover a wide range of topics-growth, inequality, macroeconomic performance, monetary policy, capital markets, infrastructure, human resources, services, global finance, climate change, and international trade.Trade Review... a valuable knowledge base on the recent developments of the Indian economy and its reform process ... * Chiara Mariotti, Economic Issues *Table of ContentsLIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ; FOREWORD BY DR MANMOHAN SINGH ; INTRODUCTION ; SECTION I: GROWTH, INEQUALITY, AND REFORM ; 1. Indian Economic Growth 1950-2008: Facts and Beliefs, Puzzles and Policies ; 2. Inequality and Equity during Rapid Growth Process ; 3. Two Episodes in the Reform Process ; SECTION II: MACROECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL POLICIES ; 4. Macroeconomic Performance and Policies, 2000-8 ; 5. India's Financial Sector and Monetary Policy Reforms: Fostering Growth while Containing Risk ; 6. India's Capital Markets, 1991-2008 ; SECTION III: SECTORAL PERSPECTIVES ; 7. Accelerating Agricultural Growth: Moving from Farming to Value Chains ; 8. Infrastructure at Crossroads ; 9. Social Sector Development: A Perspective from Punjab ; 10. Servicing India's GDP Growth ; SECTION IV: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ; 11. India in the World ; 12. India's Trade with the World: Retrospect and Prospect ; 13. A Global Deal on Climate Change: A Possible Role for India

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Book SynopsisThe focus is on ensuring macro-economic stability and prudent fiscal management through a fresh set of economic reforms and policy initiatives to counter risks of global slowdown.Table of ContentsVolume 1; Acknowledgments; Preface; Abbreviations; 1. Economic Outlook, Prospects, and Policy Challenges; 2. The Chakravyuha Challenge of the Indian Economy; 3. Spreading Jam across India's Economy; 4. Agriculture: More from Less; 5. Mother and Child; 6. Bounties for the Well-Off; 7. Fiscal Capacity for the 21st Century; 8. Preferential Trade Agreements; 9. The Fertiliser Sector; 10. Structural Changes in India's Labour Markets; 11. Powering "One India"; Technical Appendix; Volume 2; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; 1. State of the Economy: An Overview; 2. Public Finance; 3. Monetary Management and Financial Intermediation; 4. External Sector; 5. Prices, Agriculture, and Food Management; 6. Industrial, Corporate, and Infrastructure Performance; 7. Services Sector; 8. Climate Change and Sustainable Development; 9. Social Infrastructure, Employment, and Human Development

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