Economic theory and philosophy Books

Book SynopsisThis is the best-selling book written by the co-founder of the Fairtrade movement, Francisco Van der Hoff Boersma. It tells the fascinating story of how Fairtrade began and how it has evolved as a potent solution to rural poverty. It offers practical and tested solutions to alleviate global poverty and a vision of world-dignity and self-reliance. This 'little yellow book' is a charter for everyone who is looking to create an alternative, more equitable and harmonious world. Written by the co-founder of Fairtrade movement, Francisco Van der Hoff Boersma, it uses models of Fairtrade and small-scale organic farming to explain why Fairtrade farmers don't need all the money and luxury that is deemed so important in the West to thrive. By earning a fair wage for their produce and through hard work, they can create inclusive, vibrant communities of people who are interconnected, valued and celebrated. The author also tells the fascinating story of how Fairtrade began and how it has evolved as a potent solution to rural poverty.This best-selling book is an inspiring account of the campesino movement that offers practical and tested solutions to alleviate global poverty and a vision of world-dignity and self- reliance.Trade ReviewVan der Hoff brings to life the story of Fairtrade, a story for the new world. He has demonstrated through word and action that by taking a vision and making it a reality, that a better world is indeed possible. His experience proves this: by plotting the route and leading by example, many more can follow - where people and planet are put first. Polly Higgins, Award-winning author of 'Eradicating Ecocide' and advocate for Ecocide law and Earth law

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Book SynopsisEconomists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to drop, and governments stagger under record deficits. "The End of Growth" proposes a startling diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history. The expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization is colliding with non-negotiable, natural limits. Richard Heinberg's latest landmark work goes to the heart of the ongoing financial crisis, explaining how and why it occurred, and what we must do to avert the worst potential outcomes. Written in an engaging, highly readable style, it shows why growth is being blocked by three factors: Resource depletion, Environmental impacts, and Crushing levels of debt. These converging limits will force us to re-evaluate cherished economic theories, and to reinvent money and commerce. "The End of Growth" describes what policy makers, communities and families can do to build a new economy that operates within Earth's budget of energy and resources. We can thrive during the transition if we set goals that promote human and environmental well-being, rather than continuing to pursue the now-unattainable prize of ever-expanding Gross Domestic Product.Trade ReviewRead this book and have the light switched on! - Caroline Lucas, MPTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: The New Normal Why Is Growth Ending? The End of Growth Should Come As no Surprise Why Is Growth So Important? But Isn't Growth normal? The Simple Math of Compounded Growth. The Peak Oil Scenario From Scary Theory to Scarier Reality Bursting Bubbles What Comes After Growth? A Guide to the Book 1. The Great Balloon Race Economic History in Ten Minutes Economics for the Hurried 20th-Century Economics Business Cycles, Interest Rates, and Central Banks Mad Money I Owe You 2. The Sound of Air Escaping Houses of Cards Setting the Stage: 1970 to 2001 Shadow Banks and the Housing Bubble What Goes Up The Mother of All Manias Limits to Debt All Loaned Up and nowhere to Go Stimulus Duds, Bailout Blanks Actions by Other nations and Their Central Banks After All the Arrows have Flown Deflation or Inflation? The Bridge to nowhere 3. Earth's Limits: Why Growth Won't Return Oil Other Energy Sources How Markets May Respond to Resource Scarcity: The Goldilocks Syndrome Water Food Metals and Other Minerals Climate Change, Pollution, Accidents, Environmental Decline, and natural Disasters 4. Won't Innovation, Substitution, and Efficiency Keep Us Growing? Substitutes Forever Energy Efficiency to the Rescue Business Development: The Cavalry's on the Way Moore's or Murphy's Law? Specialization and Globalization: Genies at Our Command 5. Shrinking Pie: Competition and Relative Growth in a Finite World The China Bubble Currency Wars Post-Growth Geopolitics Population Stress: Old vs. Young on a Full Planet The End of "Development"? The Post-Growth Struggle Between Rich and Poor 6. Managing Contraction, Redefining Progress The Default Scenario Haircuts for All...or Free Money? Post-Growth Money Post-Growth Economics Gross national Happiness Our Problems Are Resolvable In Principle 7. Life After Growth Setting Priorities Transition Towns Common Security Clubs Putting the new Economy on the Map What Might a Sustainable Society Look Like? Perspective Notes Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisLudwig Von Mises’s 1912 contribution to the theory of monetary policy and the current prevailing consensus in modern economic liberalism, The Theory of Money and Credit, was a milestone achievement. The author’s familiarity with the historical literature on banking and credit allows him to present a coherent theoretical structure that links private exchange between individuals, business and banks to condition the markets affecting money and credit. Through its wider influence on liberal thinkers and politicians, the Theory of Money and Credit has become a classic reference for those seeking to understand the advance of economic liberalism since the 20th century.Table of ContentsWays in to the Text Who was Ludwig von Mises? What does The Theory of Money and Credit Say? Why does The Theory of Money and Credit Matter? Section 1: Influences Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context Module 2: Academic Context Module 3: The Problem Module 4: The Author's Contribution Section 2: Ideas Module 5: Main Ideas Module 6: Secondary Ideas Module 7: Achievement Module 8: Place in the Author's Work Section 3: Impact Module 9: The First Responses Module 10: The Evolving Debate Module 11: Impact and Influence Today Module 12: Where Next? Glossary of Terms People Mentioned in the Text Works Cited

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Book SynopsisNever before has there been such a period of intense change at every level of our society. Almost everything that we took for granted is now open to debate, whether that be the relationship that Britain has with the rest of the world or, at a more personal level, how the company we work for adapts to an increasingly competitive marketplace, and how that will affect our jobs. Everything is up for debate. What we are all searching for is clarity, insights and a reminder of the lessons of history that are in danger of being forgotten. Fortunately, there is someone who has the answers, or at the very least, some insightful questions that should be asked. Capitalism in Crisis is the combined insights of three of the world’s top analytical brains who have been guiding businesses and governments in their quest to find answers and shape strategy. In this two-volume work, they have laid out the problems and shown the solutions in a highly accessible way using illustrations as well as text. They have proved that a picture is indeed worth much more than a thousand words.

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Book SynopsisIn a time of unprecedented economic uncertainty, this book provides empirical guidance to the economy and what to expect in the near and distant future. Beginning with a historic look at major contributions to economic indicators and business cycles starting with Wesley Clair Mitchell (1913) to Burns and Mitchell (1946), to Moore (1961) and Zarnowitz (1992), this book explores time series forecasting and economic cycles, which are currently maintained and enhanced by The Conference Board. Given their highly statistically significant relationship with GDP and the unemployment rate, these relationships are particularly useful for practitioners to help predict business cycles.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Economic Growth and Business Cycles in the United States. - Chapter 2. Mr. Wesley Clair Mitchell: The Advent of U.S. and NBER Business Cycle Research. - Chapter 3. Measuring Business Activity, An Introductions to the Contributions of Mr. Persons, Mr. Schumpeter, Mr. Haberler, and Mr. Eckstein. - Chapter 4. Mr. Burns and Mr. Mitchell on Measuring Business Cycles. - Chapter 5. Mr. Geoffrey Moore and NBER Business Cycle Research. - Chapter 6. Mr. Victor Zarnowitz and Economic Forecasting, and NBER Business Cycle Research. - Chapter 7. Regression and Time Series Modeling of Real GDP, the Unemployment Rate, and the Impact of Leading Economic Indicators on Forecasting Accuracy. - Chapter 8. Granger-Causality Testing and LEI Forecasting of Quarterly Mergers and the Unemployment Rate. - Chapter 9. Active Management in Portfolio Selection and Management within Business Cycles and Present-Day COVID. - Chapter 10. Testing and Forecasting the Unemployment Rate with the Most Current Data, TCB LEI, data as of 11/05/2021. - Chapter 11. Conclusions and Summary.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a comprehensive overview of the development of various schools of economic thought. Written for students of economics and anyone interested in the history of economics, it introduces the economic thinking of major economists, including Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes, and explains how classical economics and modern schools of economic thought evolved also in relation to the social conditions and real economic problems they were trying to address. It covers topics such as the evolution of classical economics, the marginal revolution, the theory of capital and the Cambridge controversies, Keynes's General Theory, the neoclassical synthesis, and the history of macroeconomics. The author also reflects on the contemporary influence of various schools of economic thought and what answers they offer to present-day problems. The second edition is completely updated and offers two new chapters, one on the methodology of economics and another on

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Book SynopsisMany experts attribute the Nordic region’s high levels of happiness to factors such as greater relative national wealth, wellfunctioning institutions, or the welfare state model. Instead, economist Christian Bjørnskov argues that the true key to national happiness is social trust — the ability to trust other people one does not know personally.The populations in three of the five Nordic countries are also characterized by a very strong sense of personal freedom. These two factors contribute to a fuller and richer life. Bjørnskov ends by discussing to what extent these elements can be exported to other parts of the world.

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Book SynopsisIndia is at a crossroads today. Its growth rate, while respectable relative to other large countries, is too low for the jobs our youth need. Intense competition in low-skilled manufacturing, increasing protectionism globally and growing automation make the situation still more difficult. Divisive majoritarianism does not help. India broke away from the standard development pathfrom agriculture to low-skilled manufacturing, then high-skilled manufacturing and, finally, servicesa long time back by leapfrogging the intermediate steps. Rather than attempting to revert to development paths that may not be feasible any more, we must embark on a truly Indian path.

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Book SynopsisIn Making Wonderful, Martin M. Tweedale tells how an ideology in the West energized an economic expansion that has led to ecological disaster. He takes us back to the rise of cities and autocratic rulers, analyzing how respect for custom and tradition gave way to the dominance of top-down rational planning and organization. Then in response came a highly attractive myth of an eventual future rid of all of humankind's ills, one in which life would be “made wonderful.” Originating in Zoroastrianism and, through Jewish apocalyptic works, flowing into early Christianity, this myth produced utopian beliefs that set the West apart from the other civilizations. Tweedale shows how these beliefs became popular among Western elites in the early modern period and eventually resulted in the distinctly Western doctrine of progress. This doctrine, an almost religious faith in the capacity of science and technology to improve human life, released economic expansion from traditional constraints and has led to our current environmental emergency. Exploring sources from philosophy, religion, and the history of ideas, Making Wonderful is for all readers who are intellectually curious about the roots of our eco-catastrophe.Trade Review"Making Wonderful is a vast, multi-disciplinary analysis of the ideological roots of the prevailing “eco-catastrophe” that locates it in certain dramatic shifts in the climate of ideas in European and European-colonial cultures. Martin M. Tweedale makes a compelling claim for the power of ideology and its cultural imaginary in his account of the roots of the ecological crisis." Jason M. Wirth, Seattle University"Making Wonderful stands out both for the breadth of historical scholarship and for the masterful manner in which Martin M. Tweedale shows how a plurality of distinct ideas came together to form an ideational whole whose effects far exceed those of its parts." Philip Rose, University of Windsor"The madness that drove us to the brink of making the only planet we have unlivable for our descendants has its ultimate origin, Tweedale tells us, in the rise of cities in Mesopotamia some 6,000 years ago.... Tweedale’s argument makes a lot of sense." Alex Rettie, Alberta Views Magazine, January 1, 2024Table of ContentsAcknowledgments | ix Preface | xi Introduction | xvii 1 Human Life before There Were Cities | 1 2 The Trauma of Urban-Dominated Civilization | 19 3 Designers of the Inner Self | 39 4 From Zarathustra to Revolutionary Millennialism | 77 5 Apocalyptic Thought in the Medieval West | 139 6 Reformation and Utopia | 167 7 Secularizing the Millennium | 225 8 The Cult of Science | 277 9 The Vulgarization of the Millennium | 317 Conclusion Unleashing the Western Gesellschaft | 359 Notes | 381 Works Cited | 411 Index | 417

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Book SynopsisAs we find ourselves at the cusp of an economic downturn, there has been a clear reinvigoration of Keynesian economics as governments are attempting to stimulate the market through public funds. Forming his economic theories in the wake of the Great Depression, John Maynard Keynes argued that a healthy economy depended on the total spending of consumers, business investors and, most importantly, governments too. Keynes formulated that governments should take control of the economy in the short term, rather than relying on the market, because, as he eloquently put it 'in the long run, we are all dead'. This graphic guide is the ideal introduction to one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, at a time when his theories may be crucial to our economic survival. Through a deft mixture of words and images, "Introducing Keynes" is a timely, accessible and enjoyable read.

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Book SynopsisConsumers, investors, and corporations orient their activities toward a future that contains opportunities and risks. How do these actors assess uncertainty? Jens Beckert adds a new chapter to the theory of capitalism by showing how fictional expectations drive modern economies—or throw them into crisis when imagined futures fail to materialize.Trade ReviewBeckert’s breathtaking, erudite new book illuminates what is distinctive about modern capitalism. Traditional societies were oriented to the past and the never-ending replication of the social order—today everything we do is based on imagined futures comprising fictions about how the world might be. We innovate, build entire industries, and invest based on what we can envision. We are often wrong, but Beckert argues passionately that Homo economicus is far from a calculating actor who bases decisions on hard evidence—he is a fantasist and visionary. -- Frank Dobbin, Harvard UniversityMuch of the literature in the sociology of markets has focused on making sense of the social structuring of markets by governments, firms, networks, and market devices. Jens Beckert’s book reminds us that the people who produce markets have to figure out what the future is like in order to build it. This act of imagination and the leap into an uncertain future is at the core of the dynamics of markets, entrepreneurship, and the creation of new markets. His provocative book considers how the role of imagining the future affects money and credit, investment, innovation, and consumption. -- Neil Fligstein, University of California, BerkeleyHow do we—as consumers and creators, investors and economic actors—approach the unknowability of future markets? [Beckert] mounts an original argument that our fictional expectations, collectively-held images, and finally dreams of the future not only guide our forecasts and choices but generate actual economic activity. -- David Slocum * Forbes.com *[Beckert] makes a thorough, exhaustively documented argument in support of what many have suspected about capitalism: It's a castle in the air, built on fantasy shading into fraud. He makes a compelling case that no corner of the market is untouched by the process of generating imagined futures. The novelty of his work lies in offering a way to understand that process as a social system in which everyone, from individuals to institutions, is implicated. Among the most daring and distinctive aspects of this book is Beckert's argument that literary theory can be used to analyze phenomena that economics has been unable to explain or predict…Beckert does for modern denizens of capitalism what Toto did for Dorothy and her companions in The Wizard of Oz: He pulls back the curtain on the great spectacle that has long enchanted, bewildered, and frightened so many. -- Brooke Harrington * The Atlantic *Imagined Futures achieves its objective of making a case for the significance of fictional expectations and their necessary (presumably insufficient) role in the capitalist system in a manner not previously done before. The book is therefore a great contribution to our knowledge about the sociological sources of psychological processes in knowledge creation. -- Mehmet Kerem Coban * LSE Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisThis book promises to be the definitive guide to the field. It provides a highly sophisticated yet exceptionally clear explanation of game theory, with a host of applications to legal issues.Trade ReviewGame Theory and the Law promises to be the definitive guide to the field. It provides a highly sophisticated yet exceptionally clear explanation of game theory, with a host of applications to legal issues. The authors have not only synthesized the existing scholarship, but also created the foundation for the next generation of research in law and economics. -- Daniel A. Farber, University of Minnesota Law SchoolThe most comprehensive and encompassing treatment of this approach… [This] is the first nontechnical, modern introduction to how (noncooperative) game theory can be applied specifically to legal analysis… Game Theory and the Law is a user-friendly analysis of concrete, numerical examples, rather than a theoretical presentation of abstract concepts. The authors introduce and explain, with actual legal cases or hypotheticals, the salient issues of modern game theory. This breadth of coverage is remarkable. This is not just a textbook; it is also something of a research monograph, introducing many new models attributable to the authors alone. -- Peter H. Huang * Jurimetrics Journal *Game Theory and the Law is an important book. It is important in the sense that it will serve as a catalyst for an expanded use of game-theoretic models in the study of law. It will be a book that people will one day recognize as having had a considerable influence on its field. And it will receive the praise that accompanies such influence. Happily, such influence will be beneficial to the field of law and such praise will be richly deserved, because Game Theory and the Law is an extremely intelligent and thoughtful text… One of the features of the book that is most striking (and, for my part, most welcome) is the thoughtful and sensible manner in which they approach the use of game theory. Unlike many proponents of game-theoretic analysis, they do not present it as the only legitimate approach to social-scientific analysis. The authors present game theory as a powerful tool that can be used along with other approaches to enhance our understanding of the role of law in social life… The persuasiveness of their general argument for the utility of game theory derives from a combination of the power of their insights along with the sensibility of their analysis. The book is written in a clear, concise and interesting manner. Its bibliographic references render it a source book for additional research in both game theory and law. This is a book that should be read by scholars of law in particular and scholars of political behavior in particular. -- Jack Knight * Law and Politics Book Review *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Understanding Strategic Behavior Bibliographic Notes Simultaneous Decisionmaking and the Normal Form Game The Normal Form Game Using Different Games to Compare Legal Regimes The Nash Equilibrium Civil Liability, Accident Law, and Strategic Behavior Legal Rules and the Idea of Strict Dominance Collective Action Problems and the Two-by-Two Game The Problem of Multiple Nash Equilibria Summary Bibliographic Notes Dynamic Interaction and the Extensive Form Game The Extensive Form Game and Backwards Induction A Dynamic Model of Preemption and Strategic Commitment Subgame Perfection Summary Bibliographic Notes Information Revelation, Disclosure Laws, and Renegotiation Incorporating Beliefs into the Solution Concept The Perfect Bayesian Equilibrium Solution Concept Verifiable Information, Voluntary Disclosure, and the Unraveling Result Disclosure Laws and the Limits of Unraveling Observable Information, Norms, and the Problem of Renegotiation Optimal Incentives and the Need for Renegotiation Limiting the Ability of Parties to Renegotiate Summary Bibliographic Notes Signaling, Screening, and Nonverifiable Information Signaling and Screening Modeling Nonverifiable Information Signals and the Effects of Legal Rules Information Revelation and Contract Default Rules Screening and the Role of Legal Rules Summary Bibliographic Notes Reputation and Repeated Games Backwards Induction and Its Limits Infinitely Repeated Games, Tacit Collusion, and Folk Theorems Reputation, Predation, and Cooperation Summary Bibliographic Notes Collective Action, Embedded Games, and the Limits of Simple Models Collective Action and the Role of Law Embedded Games Understanding the Structure of Large Games Collective Action and Private Information Collective Action Problems in Sequential Decisionmaking Herd Behavior Summary Bibliographic Notes Noncooperative Bargaining Modeling the Division of Gains from Trade Legal Rules as Exit Options Bargaining and Corporate Reorganizations Collective Bargaining and Exit Options Summary Bibliographic Notes Bargaining and Information Basic Models of the Litigation Process Modeling Separate Trials for Liability and Damages Information and Selection Bias Discovery Rules and Verifiable Information Summary Bibliographic Notes Conclusion: Information and the Limits of Law Notes References Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisFollowing a brief historical overview showing how the problem of incentives has come to the fore in the past two centuries, the authors their work to exploring principal-agent models and various extensions thereof in light of three types of information problems: adverse selection, moral hazard, and non-verifiability.Trade Review"Incentive theory is at the very core of economics. This text is a masterly exposition of the modern theory by one of the pioneers of the field, Jean-Jacques Laffont, together with one of its rising stars, David Martimort." - Eric Maskin, Institute for Advanced Study "This book will surely be the standard technical reference in an important field for a number of years - possibly for many if the field ceases to develop so rapidly. It is indeed a fine contribution to the economics literature." - Sir James Mirrlees, Cambridge University, 1996 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences "The most important development in economics in the last forty years has been the study of incentives to achieve potential mutual gains when the parties have different degrees of knowledge. The time is ripe for a synthesis and systematization. Jean-Jacques Laffont has been one of the most important contributors to the field over the years, and David Martimort has shown his capacity for highly original work. This book combines clarity, thoroughness, and great respect for historical development." - Kenneth J. Arrow, Stanford University, 1972 Nobel Laureate in Economic SciencesTable of Contentsxi Foreword Introduction 1 1 Incentives in Economic Thought 7 1.1 Adam Smith and Incentive Contracts in Agriculture 8 1.2 Chester Barnard and Incentives in Management 11 1.3 Hume, Wicksell, Groves: The Free-Rider Problem 14 1.4 Borda, Bowen, Vickrey: Incentives in Voting 15 1.5 Leon Walras and the Regulation of Natural Monopolies 18 1.6 Knight, Arrow, Pauly: Incentives in Insurance 18 1.7 Sidgwick, Vickrey, Mirrlees: Redistribution and Incentives 20 1.8 Dupuit, Edgeworth, Pigou: Price Discrimination 22 1.9 Incentives in Planned Economies 23 1.10 Leonid Hurwicz and Mechanism Design 25 1.11 Auctions 27 2 The Rent Extraction-Efficiency Trade-Off 28 2.1 The Basic Model 32 2.2 The Complete Information Optimal Contract 33 2.3 Incentive Feasible Menu of Contracts 36 2.4 Information Rents 39 2.5 The Optimization Program of the Principal 40 2.6 The Rent Extraction-Efficiency Trade-Off 41 2.7 The Theory of the Firm Under Asymmetric Information 46 2.8 Asymmetric Information and Marginal Cost Pricing 48 2.9 The Revelation Principle 48 2.10 A More General Utility Function for the Agent 51 2.11 Ex Ante versus Ex Post Participation Constraints 57 2.12 Commitment 63 2.13 Stochastic Mechanisms 65 2.14 Informative Signals to Improve Contracting 68 2.15 Contract Theory at Work 72 Appendix 81 3 Incentive and Participation Constraints with Adverse Selection 82 3.1 More than Two Types 86 3.2 Multidimensional Asymmetric Information 93 3.3 Type-Dependent Participation Constraint and Countervailing Incentives 101 3.4 Random Participation Constraint 115 3.5 Limited Liability 118 3.6 Audit Mechanisms and Costly State Verification 121 3.7 Redistributive Concerns and the Efficiency-Equity Trade-Off 134 Appendices 130 4 Moral Hazard: The Basic Trade-Offs 145 4.1 The Model 148 4.2 Risk Neutrality and First-Best Implementation 153 4.3 The Trade-Off Between Limited Liability Rent Extraction and Efficiency 155 4.4 The Trade-Off Between Insurance and Efficiency 158 4.5 More than Two Levels of Performance 163 4.6 Informative Signals to Improve Contracting 167 4.7 Moral Hazard and the Theory of the Firm 172 4.8 Contract Theory at Work 174 4.9 Commitment Under Moral Hazard 184 Appendices 185 5 Incentive and Participation Constraints with Moral Hazard 187 5.1 More than Two Levels of Effort 191 5.2 The Multitask Incentive Problem 203 5.3 Nonseparability of the Utility Function 226 5.4 Redistribution and Moral Hazard 232 Appendices 235 6 Nonverifiability 260 6.1 No Contract at Date 0 and Ex Post Bargaining 242 6.2 Incentive Compatible Contract 244 6.3 Nash Implementation 246 6.4 Subgame-Perfect Implementation 256 6.5 Risk Aversion 261 6.6 Concluding Remarks 264 7 Mixed Models 265 7.1 Adverse Selection Followed by Moral Hazard 269 7.2 Moral Hazard Followed by Adverse Selection 294 7.3 Moral Hazard Followed by Nonverifiability 298 8 Dynamics Under Full Commitment 303 8.1 Repeated Adverse Selection 307 8.2 Repeated Moral Hazard 319 8.3 Constraints on Transfers: The Role of Implicit Incentives 342 9 Limits and Extensions 347 9.1 Informed Principal 351 9.2 Limits to Enforcement 360 9.3 Dynamics and Limited Commitment 364 9.4 The Hold-Up Problem 370 9.5 Limits to the Complexity of Contracts 375 9.6 Limits in the Action Space 387 9.7 Limits to Rational Behavior 391 9.8 Endogenous Information Structures 395 References 399 Author Index 413 Subject Index 417

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Book SynopsisThe global financial crisis has made it clear that powerful psychological forces are imperiling the wealth of nations. This title challenges the economic wisdom that got us into this mess, and puts forward a vision that transforms economics and restores prosperity. It asserts the necessity of an active government role in economic policymaking.Trade Review* Robert J. Shiller, Co-Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics* George A. Akerlof, Co-Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics * Winner of the 2009 International Book Award, getAbstract * Co-Winner of the 2010 Silver Medal Book Award in Entrepreneurship, Axiom Business * Co-Winner of the 2010 Robert Lane Award for the Best Book in Political Psychology, American Political Science Association * Winner of the 2009 Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security, TIAA-CREF * Winner of the 2009 Finance Book of the Year, CBN (China Business News) Financial Value Ranking * Shortlisted for the 2009 Business Book of the Year Award, Financial Times and Goldman Sachs * Featured on the Books of the Year list, Financial Times (FT.com)* Listed on Bloomberg.com in a review by James Pressley as two of "our favorite financial-crisis books this year" "Akerlof and Shiller are the first to try to rework economic theory for our times. The effort itself makes their book a milestone."--Louis Uchitelle, New York Times Book Review "There is barely a page of Animal Spirits without a fascinating fact or insight."--John Lanchester, New Yorker "Akerlof and Shiller succeed, too, in demonstrating that conventional macroeconomic analyses often fail because they omit not just readily observable facts like unemployment and institutions such as credit markets but also harder-to-document behavioral patterns that fall within the authors' notion of 'animal spirits.' Confidence plainly matters, and so does the absence of it. When the public mood swings from exuberance to anxiety, or even fear, the effect on asset prices as well as on economic activity outside the financial sector can be large."--Benjamin M. Friedman, New York Review of Books "Two of the most creative and respected economic thinkers currently at work, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, ... [have written] a fine book at exactly the right time."--Clive Crook, Financial Times "A truly innovative and bold work... At a time when plummeting confidence is dragging down the market and the economy, the authors' focus on the psychological aspect of economics is incredibly important."--Michael Mandel, BusinessWeek "Animal Spirits [is] ... the new must-read in Obamaworld."--Michael Grunwald, Time "[Animal Spirits] really applies to all the big areas where we need change."--Peter Orszag, Obama budget director (quoted from Time magazine article) "White House Budget Director Peter Orszag is a numbers guy, a propeller head as President Obama would say. But as David Von Drehle and I write in this week's print version of Time, Orszag has been spending his time recently reading not about spreadsheets, but about psychology. In particular, he has been reading a new book by the economists George Akerlof and Robert Shiller called Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives The Economy, and Why It Matters For Global Capitalism... We are, it turns out, slaves to the Animal Spirits. They have brought us to our knees. And now they are the only things that can save us."--Michael Scherer, Time.com's Swampland "In their new book, two of the most creative and respected economic thinkers currently at work, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, argue that the key is to recover Keynes's insight about 'animal spirits'--the attitudes and ideas that guide economic action. The orthodoxy needs to be rebuilt, and bringing these psychological factors into the core of economics is the way to do it... The connections between their thinking on the limits to conventional economics and the issues thrown up by the breakdown are plain, even if they were unable to make every link explicit. Even more than Akerlof and Shiller could have hoped, therefore, it is a fine book at exactly the right time... Animal Spirits carries its ambition lightly--but is ambitious nonetheless. Economists will see it as a kind of manifesto."--Clive Crook, Financial Times "An influential Democrat who was also one of the world's top-ten, highest-paid hedge fund managers last year thinks he knows which book is at the top of the White House reading list this spring: Animal Spirits, the powerful new blast of behavioural economics from Nobel prize-winner George Akerlof and Yale economist Robert Shiller."--Financial Times "Akerlof and Shiller remind us that emotional and intangible factors--such as confidence in institutions, illusions about the nature of money or a sense of being treated unfairly--can affect how people make decisions about borrowing, spending, saving and investing. Animal Spirits is an affectionate tribute to the man [John Maynard Keynes] whose ideas, unfashionable for the past 30 years, have resurged."--Nature "Animal Spirits is a welcome addition to our Hannitized national economic debate, in which anyone who advocates government spending risks being labeled a socialist... Animal Spirits is most compelling when the authors summon all the key behavioral patterns to explain vast, complex phenomena such as the Great Depression... Animal Spirits ... [is] aimed squarely at the general reader, and rightly so: Macroeconomics is now everybody's business--the banks are playing with our money."--Andrew Rosenblum, New York Observer "[A] lively new financial crisis book."--James Pressley, Bloomberg News "The two superstars have produced a truly innovative and bold work that attempts to show how psychological factors explain the origins of the current mess and offer clues for possible solutions. At a time when plummeting confidence is dragging down the market and the economy, the authors' focus on the psychological aspect of economics is incredibly important."--Michael Mandel, BusinessWeek "What Sigmund Freud did for the study of the mind, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller are doing for economics. Freud, healer or fake--take your pick--built a career and a field of medicine on the idea that people are driven by irrational forces. Akerlof, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics, and Shiller, the Yale economist who is the eminence grise of the housing meltdown, argue that massive government market intervention programs are the only way to turn fear into enthusiasm for spending and investing--the 'animal spirits' that are an essential part of recovery... Akerlof and Shiller pick up on the idea of the emotional impetus to investment. With elegant reasoning and lovely prose, they demonstrate that we'll all be wallowing in misery unless governments around world, especially the in the G7 nations, help to return markets to optimism... Animal Spirits is a fine discussion of the last few decades of development of economic theory, especially monetary economics."--Andrew Allentuck, The Globe & Mail "[T]his book is rather more than the usual lament about the failings of economics. Its authors are two of the discipline's leading lights... Most of the time, the unrealistic assumption of rationality serves economists fairly well. They should, however, be more prepared to depart from it, especially in times like these--even if that makes behaviour more difficult to describe in elegant equations. Messrs Akerlof and Shiller have therefore done their profession a service."--The Economist "With Animal Spirits we hone in on how incentives and narratives can be created to channel the human psychological factor into collectively healthy directions, and how to be aware of the fictions we tell ourselves about how we wish the world and greed and financial security worked. [Animal Spirits] sheds light on complex issues and leaves readers with a better grasp of undercurrents and--most importantly--a rediscovered belief in principles of common sense and caution."--Daily Kos "The new book from George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, Animal Spirits, has been getting a lot of press of late, and quite rightly: it's really good. It's not only very readable; it also offers a compelling vision of a very different type of macroeconomics--one where behavioral considerations are front and center, rather than simply providing what Clive Crook calls 'ad hoc modifications' to the standard, ridiculously oversimplified and unrealistic, model... [I]f you read only one book on this subject, make it Animal Spirits."--Felix Salmon, Portfolio.com "As George Akerlof and Robert Shiller show in a new book Animal Spirits, this is no freak storm. It may mark the long-awaited encounter between psychology and economics... Akerlof and Shiller's book is probably the first macroeconomic exploration of the subject that is accessible to those interested in the subject but who don't have the academic training to understand the detailed argument."--Mint "My book of the week is an easy one this time around: it's Animal Spirits, by Robert Shiller and George Akerlof... Admittedly, I'm biased as a fan of both Shiller's and Akerlof's. Believe me, however, when I say the blessedly brief Animal Spirits is a thoughtful and well-written look at how economics discarded psychology and lost its way on the trip from Adam Smith, through Keynesianism, to laissez-faire. The book puts the current crisis in a useful economic context, with consistent and practical selections from behavioral finance illuminating everything along the way... Highly recommended."--Paul Kedrosky, SeekingAlpha "Another contribution to the human-nature-ensures-economics-is-irrational school of thought. But, unlike many of the rants against people trying to make an honest profit, this is a measured examination of how the present crisis is explained in economic terms. And so it should be. George Akerlof is a Nobel prizewinner, Robert Shiller teaches at Yale and is the author of Irrational Exuberance, which should give you an idea of this one's approach. This fascinating work uses economics to explain real-life issues, such as real estate price cycles, to key policy problems, such as the relationship between inflation and employment."--Stephen Matchett, The Australian "George Akerlof and Rober Shiller's Animal Spirits is a plea to start believing our lying eyes rather than the model. Rather than try to explain away the apparent irrationality in human behaviour, Akerlof and Shiller say we need to try to understand it and shape policies that take it into account... The core message of Animal Spirits is that we should stop trying to cage the spirits and instead admit their central importance. Specifically, this means that world governments will need to intervene forcefully in the current economic crisis with both fiscal stimulus and direct measures to stimulate lending--to restore some of the confidence that the crash has sapped."--Matthew Yglesias, The National "In saluting Keynes' quip, Akerlof and Shiller argue that much of the story is in the unreliability and incompleteness of supposedly rational behavior--the micro-foundation of the free-market model. They contend that modern economics, even self-described Keynesian economics, has given short shrift to this core behavioral insight... Their best chapter is on the limited capacity of central banks to prevent or cure calamities."--Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect "Akerlof and Shiller take psychological research seriously, and it's refreshing to see that they're not trying to reinvent the wheel... The book is an interesting read and would probably be very useful for an undergrad class that needs an introduction to behavioral economics. A & S do a nice job of moving between the theoretical and the practical, the empirical and the implied. The writing is accessible and the topic is more than relevant to our current economic situation."--Orgtheory.net "Animal Spirits is succinct, clear and lively."--Brad Willis, Edmonton Journal "In an intriguing new book, Animal Spirits, US economists George Akerlof and Robert Shiller argue that psychology plays a far bigger role in determining economic outcomes than economists realize--and that, broadly speaking, people get what they expect. If we think good times are ahead, we act confidently in a way that creates them. And if we expect a downturn ahead, we act defensively and unwittingly ensure that's what we get."--Tim Colebatch, The Age "The authors are right in pointing out the inadequacy of conventional economics in understanding, not to say addressing, today's economic woes, because they fail to take into account these animal spirits."--Wan Lixin, Shanghai Daily "[Animal Spirits] is a short, thoughtful and sometimes simplistic book that calls for a different vision of economics... Animal Spirits may well be a GPS system for a changing economic future."--Gene Rebeck, Delta Sky "Animal Spirits presents a rigorous case for the importance of 'confidence multipliers' and 'stories' in explaining recent market behaviour and of 'fairness' and 'money illusion' in preventing wages from falling in recessions to the market-clearing rate. Written in an accessible style, the book provides a very useful practical primer for policy-makers, practitioners and academics on many aspects of the current crisis. The authors also make a compelling theoretical case for macroeconomists taking more account of the role of non-economic motives and irrational responses."--Richard Bronk, The Business Economist "[T]he authors do a superb job of conveying the importance of bevaioural economics to a non-specialist audience. They increase our understanding of recent economic events and they show that animal spirits affect how governments should manage the economy."--Natalie Gold, Times Higher Education "Animal Spirits offers a road map for reversing the financial misfortunes besetting us today. Read it and learn how leaders can channel animal spirits--the powerful forces of human psychology that are afoot in the world economy today."--Money Science "[T]his very book seems to be one of the 'must-reads' in the Obama administration."--Andreas Ernst, JASSS "Ideologists are likely to dismiss this volume. However, for other readers--whether their perspectives are quantitative or qualitative--Animal Spirits may fill a troubling gap in existing investigations of the causes of booms and busts."--Thomas H. Wilkins, Investment Professional "Akerlof and Shiller's book is an interesting and thought-provoking attempt to understand how underlying human psychology drives the economy. The questions they pose and the examples they provide should be read by any economist seeking to better understand the differences between what economics predict will occur, and how people actually behave as individuals and within larger groups."--Dmitri Leybman, Midway Review "Animal Spirits, which attempts to leverage the insights of behavioral economics to reanimate the vision of John Maynard Keynes, is perfectly timed for the present moment."--Nick Schulz, Wilson Quarterly "Animal Spirits is exceptional in showing how economics can be accessible and relevant in dealing with this awesome challenge."--Irish Times "George Akerlof and Robert Shiller have offered an attractive road map for a macroeconomics that might be inspired by the recent financial crisis."--Romar Correa, Economic & Political Weekly "I believe this book to be best suited for those individuals who come from different fields but have a keen interest in economics and finance."--Kristina Vasileva, Journal of General Management "It is perhaps the ultimate compliment to suggest that Russia's greatest writer would very much have agreed with Barany's depiction of the Russian military--and that his approach is a superior one for understanding Russian military politics."--John P. Moran, Perspectives on Politics "More important than the timeliness of the book was the legacy that it leaves behind. This book helps us to understand as never before how macroeconomics really works."--Stan C. Weeber, Journal of Global Analysis "Akerlof and Shiller deserve at least two cheers--one for providing a more solid psychological foundation for our understanding of confidence and another for re-introducing such an important concept into mainstream macroeconomics."--Martin Rapetti, Eastern Economic JournalTable of ContentsPreface to the Paperback Edition vii Preface xxi Acknowledgments xxvii Introduction 1 Part One: Animal Spirits ONE Confidence and Its Multipliers 11 TWO Fairness 19 THREE Corruption and Bad Faith 26 FOUR Money Illusion 41 FIVE Stories 51 Part Two: Eight Questions and Their Answers SIX Why Do Economies Fall into Depression? 59 SEVEN Why Do Central Bankers Have Power over the Economy (Insofar as They Do)? 74 POSTSCRIPT TO CHAPTER SEVEN The Current Financial Crisis: What Is to Be Done? 86 EIGHT Why Are There People Who Cannot Find a Job? 97 NINE Why Is There a Trade-off between Inflation and Unemployment in the Long Run? 107 TEN Why Is Saving for the Future So Arbitrary? 116 ELEVEN Why Are Financial Prices and Corporate Investments So Volatile? 131 TWELVE Why Do Real Estate Markets Go through Cycles? 149 THIRTEEN Why Is There Special Poverty among Minorities? 157 FOURTEEN Conclusion 167 Notes 177 References 199 Index 219

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"While it's difficult to pinpoint what type of trader would enjoy this book the most, I think there's something for everyone, whether you're a quaint, technical trader or a fundamentalist... I feel that I'm smarter after finishing this book; I thoroughly enjoyed the lengthy journey, and would recommend this to any stock market enthusiast."--Jeff Pierce, Seeking Alpha "A highly recommended, enjoyable, well-researched, and thought-provoking book for anyone interested in stock markets and the modeling of financial processes."--Rick Gorvett, Journal of Risk and Insurance "The book is written in a readable style and does not require technical knowledge. Any reader interested in a serious approach to the origin and possible prediction of financial bubbles will enjoy reading it."--Josep M. Porra, Journal of Statistical Physics "Sornette's book is not just about finance and economics; it is also a mesmerizing introduction to game theory, fractals, catastrophe theory, critical phenomena, and much more. No prior knowledge of finance or economics is needed to understand the book... Throughout the book, Sornette makes numerous, vivid comparisons with many other fields in which the various mathematical tools he describes can be applied."--Frank Cuypers, Physics TodayTable of ContentsPreface to the Princeton Science Library Edition xiii Preface to the 2002 Edition xix 1 Financial crashes: what, how, why, and when? 3 What Are Crashes, and Why Do We Care? 3 The Crash of October 1987 5 Historical Crashes 7 The Tulip Mania 7 The South Sea Bubble 9 The Great Crash of October 1929 12 Extreme Events in Complex Systems 15 Is Prediction Possible? A Working Hypothesis 20 2 Fundamentals of financial markets 26 The Basics 27 Price Trajectories 27 Return Trajectories 30 Return Distributions and Return Correlation 33 The Efficient Market Hypothesis and the Random Walk 38 The Random Walk 38 A Parable: How Information Is Incorporated in Prices, Thus Destroying Potential "Free Lunches" 42 Prices Are Unpredictable, or Are They? 45 Risk-Return Trade-Off 47 3 Financial crashes are "outliers" 49 What Are "Abnormal" Returns? 49 Drawdowns (Runs) 51 Definition of Drawdowns 51 Drawdowns and the Detection of "Outliers" 54 Expected Distribution of "Normal" Drawdowns 56 Drawdown Distributions of Stock Market Indices 60 The Dow Jones Industrial Average 60 The Nasdaq Composite Index 62 Further Tests 65 The Presence of Outliers Is a General Phenomenon 69 Main Stock Market Indices, Currencies, and Gold 70 Largest U.S. Companies 73 Synthesis 75 Symmetry-Breaking on Crash and Rally Days 76 Implications for Safety Regulations of Stock Markets 77 4 Positive feedbacks 81 Feedbacks and Self-Organization in Economics 82 Hedging Derivatives, Insurance Portfolios, and Rational Panics 89 "Herd" Behavior and "Crowd" Effect 91 Behavioral Economics 91 Herding 94 Empirical Evidence of Financial Analysts' Herding 96 Forces of Imitation 99 It Is Optimal to Imitate When Lacking Information 99 Mimetic Contagion and the Urn Models 104 Imitation from Evolutionary Psychology 106 Rumors 108 The Survival of the Fittest Idea 111 Gambling Spirits 112 "Anti-Imitation" and Self-Organization 114 Why It May Pay to Be in the Minority 114 El-Farol's Bar Problem 115 Minority Games 117 Imitation versus Contrarian Behavior 118 Cooperative Behaviors Resulting from Imitation 121 The Ising Model of Cooperative Behavior 122 Complex Evolutionary Adaptive Systems of Boundedly Rational Agents 130 5 Modeling financial bubbles and market crashes 134 What Is a Model? 134 Strategy for Model Construction in Finance 135 Basic Principles 135 The Principle of Absence of Arbitrage Opportunity 136 Existence of Rational Agents 137 "Rational Bubbles" and Goldstone Modes of the Price "Parity Symmetry" Breaking 139 Price Parity Symmetry 140 Speculation as Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking 144 Basic Ingredients of the Two Models 148 The Risk-Driven Model 150 Summary of the Main Properties of the Model 150 The Crash Hazard Rate Drives the Market Price 152 Imitation and Herding Drive the Crash Hazard Rate 155 The Price-Driven Model 162 Imitation and Herding Drive the Market Price 162 The Price Return Drives the Crash Hazard Rate 164 Risk-Driven versus Price-Driven Models 168 6 Hierarchies, complex fractal dimensions, and log-periodicity 171 Critical Phenomena by Imitation on Hierarchical Networks 173 The Underlying Hierarchical Structure of Social Networks 173 Critical Behavior in Hierarchical Networks 177 A Hierarchical Model of Financial Bubbles 181 Origin of Log-Periodicity in Hierarchical Systems 186 Discrete Scale Invariance 186 Fractal Dimensions 188 Organization Scale by Scale: The Renormalization Group 192 Principle and Illustration of the Renormalization Group 192 The Fractal Weierstrass Function: A Singular Time-Dependent Solution of the Renormalization Group 195 Complex Fractal Dimensions and Log-Periodicity 198 Importance and Usefulness of Discrete Scale Invariance 208 Existence of Relevant LengthScales 208 Prediction 209 Scenarios Leading to Discrete Scale Invariance and Log-Periodicity 210 Newcomb-Benford Law of First Digits and the Arithmetic System 211 The Log-Periodic Law of the Evolution of Life? 213 Nonlinear Trend-Following versus Nonlinear Fundamental Analysis Dynamics 217 Trend Following: Positive Nonlinear Feedback and Finite-Time Singularity 218 Reversal to the Fundamental Value: Negative Nonlinear Feedback 220 Some Characteristics of the Price Dynamics of the Nonlinear Dynamical Model 223 7 Autopsy of major crashes: universal exponents and logperiodicity 228 The Crash of October 1987 228 Precursory Pattern 231 Aftershock Patterns 236 The Crash of October 1929 239 The Three Hong Kong Crashes of 1987, 1994, and 1997 242 The Hong Kong Crashes 242 The Crash of October 1997 and Its Resonance on the U.S. Market 246 Currency Crashes 254 The Crash of August 1998 259 Nonparametric Test of Log-Periodicity 263 The Slow Crash of 1962 Ending the "Tronics" Boom 266 The Nasdaq Crash of April 2000 269 "Antibubbles" 275 The "Bearish" Regime on the Nikkei Starting from January 1, 1990 276 The Gold Deflation Price Starting in Mid-1980 278 Synthesis: "Emergent" Behavior of the Stock Market 279 8 Bubbles, crises, and crashes in emergent markets 281 Speculative Bubbles in Emerging Markets 281 Methodology 285 Latin-American Markets 286 Asian Markets 295 The Russian Stock Market 304 Correlations across Markets: Economic Contagion and Synchronization of Bubble Collapse 309 Implications for Mitigations of Crises 314 9 Prediction of bubbles, crashes, and antibubbles 320 The Nature of Predictions 320 How to Develop and Interpret Statistical Tests of Log-Periodicity 325 First Guidelines for Prediction 329 What Is the Predictive Power of Equation (15)? 329 How Long Prior to a Crash Can One Identify the Log-Periodic Signatures? 330 A Hierarchy of Prediction Schemes 334 The Simple Power Law 334 The "Linear" Log-Periodic Formula 335 The "Nonlinear" Log-Periodic Formula 336 The Shank's Transformation on a Hierarchy of Characteristic Times 336 Application to the October 1929 Crash 337 Application to the October 1987 Crash 338 Forward Predictions 338 Successful Prediction of the Nikkei 1999 Antibubble 339 Successful Prediction of the Nasdaq Crash of April 2000 342 The U.S. Market, December 1997 False Alarm 342 The U.S. Market, October 1999 False Alarm 346 Present Status of Forward Predictions 346 The Finite Probability That No Crash Will Occur during a Bubble 346 Estimation of the Statistical Significance of the Forward Predictions 347 Statistical Confidence of the Crash"Roulette" 347 Statistical Significance of a Single Successful Prediction via Bayes's Theorem 349 The Error Diagram and the Decision Process 351 Practical Implications on Different Trading Strategies 352 10 2050: The end of the growth era? 355 Stock Markets, Economics, and Population 355 The Pessimistic Viewpoint of "Natural" Scientists 357 The Optimistic Viewpoint of "Social" Scientists 359 Analysis of the Faster-Than-Exponential Growth of Population, GDP, and Financial Indices 361 Refinements of the Analysis 369 Complex Power Law Singularities 369 Prediction for the Coming Decade 371 The Aging "Baby Boomers" 377 Related Works and Evidence 378 Scenarios for the "Singularity" 383 Collapse 384 Transition to Sustainability 389 Resuming Accelerating Growth by Overpassing Fundamental Barriers 393 The Increasing Propensity to Emulate the Stock Market Approach 395 References 397 Index 419

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Economics may be the dismal science, but it provides essential language and concepts as we strive to balance needs, wants and resources."---Steven Mintz, Inside Higher Education

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Provocative . . . and well timed for an age of big deficits and high inflation." * The Economist *"Having given the magic money tree a good shake, governments are now grappling with inflation and swollen debts. A more sombre age calls for a more serious approach to economics. John Cochrane’s fiscal theory fits the bill."---Edward Chancellor, Reuters"The culmination of years of careful research. . . . [The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level] is not just about predicting the behaviour of the price level, but rather opens a whole new dimension for studying the political and redistributive implications of fiscal policy as expressed through the channel of monetary policy and inflation."---Michael Ben-Gad, Economic Affairs"Fiscal Theory of the Price Level . . . provides an elegant theoretical framework for both explaining the experiences of the 2010s and why the change in policy regime in the 2020s has led to high inflation and interest rates – and what will be required to return inflation to ‘normal’."---Melissa Davies, Society of Professional Economists

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Book SynopsisFocuses on representations of capitalism and their political effects. This edition includes an introduction in which the authors address critical responses to "The End of Capitalism" and outlines the economic research and activism they have been engaged in since the book was first published.Trade Review"Paralyzing problems are banished by this dazzlingly lucid, creative, and practical rethinking of class and economic transformation." - Meaghan Morris, Lingnan University, Hong Kong "Profoundly imaginative." - Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, City University of New York "Filled with insights, it is clearly written and well supported with good examples of actual, deconstructive practices." - International Journal of Urban and Regional Research"

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Book Synopsis'Value' seems like an elusive and abstract concept. Nonetheless, notions of value underpin how we understand our lives, from discussions about the economic contribution of different kinds of work and productive activity, to the prices we pay for the things we consume. So what is value, and where does it come from? In this new book, Frederick Harry Pitts charts the past, present and future of value within and beyond capitalist society, critically engaging with key concepts from classical and neoclassical political economy. Interrogating the processes and practices that attribute value to objects and activities, he considers debates over whether value lies within commodities or in their exchange, the politics of different theories of value, and how we measure value in a knowledge-based economy. This accessible and intriguing introduction to the complexities of value in modern society will be essential reading for any student or scholar working in political economy, economics, economic sociology or management.Trade Review“Clear, comprehensive and critical, Value is a gem of a book for both students and scholars who grapple with the problem of value in economic thought. Harry Pitts's introduction offers well-argued and detailed engagement with central approaches and debates that should not be missed.”Paul Mason, author of Postcapitalism “Harry Pitts has written an essential primer on that 'thing' that is central to economics, political economy and the social system they purport to explain – capitalism. Debunking all notions that there is anything scientific or objective about value, Harry teaches why we should understand it as a category of struggle, as 'something' that both emerges out of struggles and operates to fragment and suppress struggles.”David Harvie, co-author of Moments of Excess: Movements, Protest and Everyday Life""Value" is one of the most important concepts in economics, one that Marx deeply focused upon in his analysis of capitalist society. However there is a great deal of disagreement and confusion over the term, even among Marxists. In this handy book, Frederick Harry Pitts reconstructs debates over value within political economy, sociology, and critical theory, carefully weighing the analytical and political implications. Useful both as an introduction to value theory and as a reference for experts, Value is a book I anticipate coming back often as a teaching tool and as an aid for my own work."Gavin Mueller, Verso Books Blog - Authors' Favorite Books of the Year"The book is part of Polity’s fantastic What is Political Economy Series that presents other key concepts such as work, austerity and money. With Value, Pitts gives us a thorough theoretical examination of yet another major concept in economics and social study that has been taken for granted in the often neglected approaches of political economy. Pitts’ voice in the book is authoritative because he demonstrates a solid understanding of wide-ranging theories and disciplines." Zaynab El Bernoussi, Capital & Class

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Book SynopsisAn essential account of how the media devices we use today inherit the management practices governing factory labor This book argues that management is enabled by media forms, just as media gives life to management. Media technologies central to management have included the stopwatch, the punch card, the calculator, and the camera, while management theories are taught in printed and virtual textbooks and online through TED talks. In each stage of the evolving relationship between workers and employers, management innovations are learned through media, with media formats producing fresh opportunities for management.Drawing on rich historical and ethnographic case studies, this book approaches key instances of the industrial and service economy—the legacy of Toyotism in today’s software industry, labor mediators in electronics manufacturing in Central and Eastern Europe, and app-based food-delivery platforms in China—to push media and management studies in new directions. Media and Management offers a provocative insight on the future of labor and media that inevitably cross geographical boundaries.Trade Review "Allison Page’s Media and the Affective Life of Slavery powerfully analyzes how television, film, and new media use slavery to socialize viewers into racialized understandings of American citizenship. Through film, television, apps, and video games, she shows how media representations of slavery underwrote forms of liberal and neoliberal subjectivity. This is one of the most brilliant takes on the intersections between media, affect, citizenship, and race; we would do well to study its insights."—Roderick A. Ferguson, Yale University "Allison Page’s Media and the Affective Life of Slavery offers a compelling and much needed archival media history of how the national story America tells itself about itself is renewed."—International Journal of Communication "The core of Media and the Affective Life of Slavery is painful and profound but essential to an understanding of the multidisciplinary legacy and impact of slavery in the culture of the United States."—Information and Culture "Media and the Affective Life of Slavery is an exciting book that breaks new ground even as it participates in some of the most enduring conversations in the field."—Television and New Media "Pageʼs broad mapping of the media landscape provides an important guide for tracing the counterrevolutionary politics undertaken by media, educational authorities, and the state."—Lateral Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction: Platform Capitalism has a Hardware HistoryRutvica Andrijasevic, Julie Yujie Chen, Melissa Gregg, and Marc Steinberg1. Management’s Mediations: The Case of Toyotism Marc Steinberg2. ‘Just-in-time labour’: Time-based management in the age of on-demand manufacturingRutvica Andrijasevic3. Spaces of Labor Mediation: Policy, Platform, and MediaJulie Yujie ChenCoda

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Book SynopsisA pressing investigation into the global implications of China’s shift to an innovation economy. As China shifts to an economy driven by innovation and productivity growth, the global implications of this transition will be significant. Amid the rise of techno-nationalism and a changing strategic calculus around the world, the manner and means of China’s transition faces a high degree of scrutiny. China is attempting to balance a reliance on overseas sources of technology alongside efforts to strengthen domestic innovation capabilities as a hedge against the risks of a United States-led “decoupling.” In these circumstances, it is essential to understand the many different forces of change within China, and the way China responds to outside changes. The evolution of China's innovation economy will be one of the key economic stories of the early twenty-first century, and the world will need China as a source of innovation in the decades ahead. The aim of this book is to help build a better framework for policymakers to find a new equilibrium in negotiating the terms of an oncoming shift in geopolitics.Trade Review“Those who wish to pronounce on the subject [of China’s status as a rising technology power] might do well to work their way through this book first. The entries are measured and reasoned; there is deafening silence from the absence of axes being ground.” -- Peter Gordon * Asian Review of Books *“This book is a timely addition to the literature discussing the policies and strategies that have put China on the path of rapid technological progress. . . . Bert Hofman, Erik Baark, and Jiwei Qian do a wonderful job of setting the stage for capturing China’s technological progress for the subsequent chapter contributors”. * Pacific Affairs *“The explicit incorporation of the US–China conflict alone makes this book worth reading…. Readers interested in the implications of China’s transformation into an innovation state will gain a significant amount of information from this book’s multifaceted and timely analysis.” * The China Journal *Table of Contents 1. Introduction: Innovation and China's Global Emergence Bert Hofman, Erik Baark and Jiwei Qian Part One: Implications of China's Innovation Emergence 2. China and the U.S, Technology: Conflict or Cooperation? Gary H. Jefferson 3. The US-China Trade War and Myths about Intellectual Property and Innovation in China Dan Prud'homme 4. Global Implications of China's Policies on Indigenous Innovation Erik Baark 5. China's Talent Challenges Revisited Cong Cao and Denis Fred Simon 6. China's International S&T Relations: From Self-Reliance to Active Global Engagement Denis Fred Simon 7. How Does International Collaboration Lead to Radical Innovation in Latecomer Firms? Xiaolan Fu, Cintia K??lzer-Sacilotto, Haibo Lin and Hongru Xiong Part Two: Industrial Policy Challenges 8. PRC Industrial Policies Postdate Rather than Lead Economic Activity Carsten Holz 9. Made in China 2025 and the Proliferation of Intangible Assets Anton Malkin 10. Industrial Policy and Competitive Advantage: A Comparative Study of the Cloud Computing Industry in Hangzhou and Shenzhen Bai Gao and Yi Ru 11. Global Value Chains and the Innovation of the Chinese Mobile Phone Industry Yuqing Xing List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisSilicon Valley titans, politicians, techno-futurists and social critics have united in arguing that we are living on the cusp of an era of rapid technological automation, heralding the end of work as we know it. But does the much-discussed "rise of the robots" really explain the worsening jobs crisis? In Automation and the Future of Work, Aaron Benanav uncovers the structural economic trends that will shape our working lives far into the future. What social movements, he asks, are required to propel us into post-scarcity, if technological innovation alone can't deliver it? In response to calls for a universal basic income that would maintain a growing army of redundant workers, he offers a counterproposal.Trade ReviewCompelling reading. A rising star among the intelligentsia of the left * Dublin Review of Books *Aaron Benanav demolishes the popular myths around automation -- Ben Tarnoff, editor of Logic magazineA rare book that manages to soberly assess the contemporary landscape while keeping a clear eye on our utopian horizons. This is a must-read for anyone who believes capitalist decay is not the only future -- Nick Srnicek, author of Platform CapitalismThought-provoking ... packs quite a punch of macroeconomics and practical philosophy * International Policy Digest *A powerful and persuasive explanation of why capitalism can't create jobs or generate incomes for a majority of humanity -- Mike Davis, author of Set the Night on FireThe two parts of Benanav's book - analytic and utopian - correspond to the two halves of the Marxian project: to both interpret the world, and change it -- Lola Seaton * New Statesman *An excellent, insightful account of the contours of our present labor crisis. Benanav articulately makes the case for a post-scarcity future -- Robert Skidelsky, biographer of John Maynard KeynesA highly quantitative analysis of the nature of contemporary unemployment flowers into something quite different and unexpected: a qualitative argument for the invention of new collective capacities in a world where work is no longer central to social life -- Kristin Ross, author of Communal LuxuryBenanav dissects and disproves the idea that automation is eradicating work ... We don't need to wait for robots to do all the work; we can collectively decide what we need, then plan the economy to achieve it -- Paris Marx * Passage *He can write movingly and do so on a global scale -- Patrick McGinty * Pittsburgh Post Gazette *Meticulous...provides crucial insights into the causes of global stagnation and its effects on the kinds of work we do now. -- Clinton Williamson * The Baffler *

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Book SynopsisToday it offers data, analysis and opinion on stocks, mutual funds and fixed-income investment across and investment advisory services through its affiliate, Independent Advisors Private Limited.

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Book SynopsisThis revised second edition of Monetary Policy, Inflation, and the Business Cycle provides a rigorous graduate-level introduction to the New Keynesian framework and its applications to monetary policy. The New Keynesian framework is the workhorse for the analysis of monetary policy and its implications for inflation, economic fluctuations, and welfTrade ReviewPraise for the previous edition: "A state-of-the-art treatment of the emerging New Keynesian synthesis by one of the leaders in the field, Gali's book is a must-read for the next generation of macroeconomists."--N. Gregory Mankiw, Harvard University Praise for the previous edition: "Authoritative. This book will be very useful to graduate students and to others seeking an introduction to modern work in this area."--Michael Woodford, Columbia University Praise for the previous edition: "This is a wonderfully elegant and accessible introduction to the contemporary New Keynesian paradigm, written by one of the leading experts in the field. This monograph presents what one should know in a clean, cogent, and concise manner. I fully expect it to become a standard reference for both students and researchers in the field."--Mark Gertler, New York University Praise for the previous edition: "Jordi Gali provides an authoritative overview of the research that revolutionized monetary economics during the past decade, by embedding sticky prices in a coherent dynamic general equilibrium framework--thus providing a novel and much clearer positive and normative analysis of monetary policy. The presentation is elegant and intuitive, yet rigorous. The book will be a standard reference for graduate students, researchers, and policymakers. It is also highly recommended as a textbook for money/macro courses. Numerous useful exercises are provided."--Robert Kollmann, European Center for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics, Free University of Brussels Praise for the previous edition: "This book provides an excellent introduction and exegesis of the New Keynesian model that is the current state of the art in the analysis of monetary policy. It will find a large audience with research economists, graduate students, and staffers in central banks around the world."--Philip R. Lane, Trinity College Dublin Praise for the previous edition: "Systematic and concise. This is a fine book that is likely to become the key basic text for graduate courses on monetary policy."--Seppo Honkapohja, University of Cambridge Praise for the previous edition: "With this book, magician Gali has pulled another important rabbit out of his hat. The book will help to increase the popularity of the New Keynesian model with graduate students, tomorrow's policymakers, and today's policymakers alike. Therefore, it can be considered a real grassroots initiative."--Christian Merkl, Journal of EconomicsTable of ContentsPreface ix CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 A Classical Monetary Model 17 CHAPTER 3 The Basic New Keynesian Model 52 CHAPTER 4 Monetary Policy Design in the Basic New Keynesian Model 98 CHAPTER 5 Monetary Policy Tradeoffs: Discretion versus Commitment 126 CHAPTER 6 A Model with Sticky Wages and Prices 163 CHAPTER 7 Unemployment in the New Keynesian Model 199 CHAPTER 8 Monetary Policy in the Open Economy 223 CHAPTER 9 Lessons, Extensions, and New Directions 261 Index 271

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Book SynopsisA new and radical reexamination of today''s neoliberalist “new economy” through the political lens of the debtor/creditor relation."The debtor-creditor relation, which is at the heart of this book, sharpens mechanisms of exploitation and domination indiscriminately, since, in it, there is no distinction between workers and the unemployed, consumers and producers, working and non-working populations, between retirees and welfare recipients. They are all ''debtors,'' guilty and responsible in the eyes of capital, which has become the Great, the Universal, Creditor."—from The Making of the Indebted ManDebt—both public debt and private debt—has become a major concern of economic and political leaders. In The Making of the Indebted Man, Maurizio Lazzarato shows that, far from being a threat to the capitalist economy, debt lies at the very core of the neoliberal project. Through a reading of Karl Marx''s lesser-known youthful writings on John Mill, and a rereading of writings by Friedrich Nietzsche, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, and Michel Foucault, Lazzarato demonstrates that debt is above all a political construction, and that the creditor/debtor relation is the fundamental social relation of Western societies.Debt cannot be reduced to a simple economic mechanism, for it is also a technique of “public safety” through which individual and collective subjectivities are governed and controlled. Its aim is to minimize the uncertainty of the time and behavior of the governed. We are forever sinking further into debt to the State, to private insurance, and, on a more general level, to corporations. To insure that we honor our debts, we are at once encouraged and compelled to become the “entrepreneurs” of our lives, of our “human capital.” In this way, our entire material, psychological, and affective horizon is upended and reconfigured.How do we extricate ourselves from this impossible situation? How do we escape the neoliberal condition of the indebted man? Lazzarato argues that we will have to recognize that there is no simple technical, economic, or financial solution. We must instead radically challenge the fundamental social relation structuring capitalism: the system of debt.

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Book SynopsisThis is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. It is offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.Exploitation is a globally pervasive phenomenon. Slavery, serfdom, and the patriarchy are part of its lineage. Temporary and sex workers, commercial surrogacy, precarious labour contracts, sweatshops, and markets in blood, vaccines or human organs, are some contemporary manifestations of exploitation. What makes these exploitative transactions unjust? And is capitalism inherently exploitative? This book offers answers to these two questions. Nicholas Vrousalis argues that exploitation is a form of domination, self-enrichment through the domination of others. On the domination view, exploitation complaints are not, fundamentally, about harm, coercion or unfairness. Rather, they are about who serves whom and why. Exploitation, in a word, is a dividend of servitude: the dividend the powerful extract from the servitude of the vulnerable. Vrousalis claims that this servitude is inherent to capitalist relations between consenting adults whereby capital is monetary control over the labour capacity of others. It follows that capitalism, the mode of production where capital predominates, is an inherently unjust social structure.Trade ReviewIt is to the great credit of this book, and its author, that they focus attention on such questions, and provide a clear rationale for their pursuit. * Callum Zavos MacRae, The Philosophy Department, The Graduate Center, NY, United States *In Exploitation as Domination, Nicholas Vrousalis brings philosophical discussions of exploitation full circle back to capitalism. * Lillian Cicerchia, University of Amsterdam *The book makes a powerful case for the major conceptual connections that it proposes, and it will most likely serve in the years to come as both an instructive example of the rigor and breadth with which novel research in the philosophy of socialism can be conducted. * Callum Zavos MacRae, Res Publica *Vrousalis' book brings us to the brink of [...] a revived critique of political economy, rather than a new theory of distributive justice. * Lillian Cicerchia, Economics & Philosophy *It is to the great credit of this book, and its author, that they focus attention on such questions, and provide a clear rationale for their pursuit. * Callum Zavos MacRae, Res Publica *This book explores the conceptual interrelationships between human "exploitation" and "domination." ...This book is extremely well written and well organized. * Choice *Table of ContentsTable of Contents List of Figures and Tables Introduction Background 1: Theories of Exploitation Theory 2: Domination at Work 3: How Exploiters Dominate 4: Structural Domination in the Market Applications 5: Capitalist Exploitation: Its Forms, Origin, and Fate 6: Exploitation and International Relations Alternatives 7: The Emancipated Economy References

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Book SynopsisThe Silicon phenomenon was, is, and will be an extremely important phenomenon in the accelerated technological, scientific, and economic development of countries and regions. Silicon Valley North (SVN) is the high tech capital of Canada, the nations most developed and dynamic technology sector, which includes multiple clusters in telecommunications, software, photonics, and life sciences. It gave birth to many well-known companies such as Corel, JDS Uniphase, Mitel, Newbridge Networks, Nortel Networks, Digital Equipment of Canada, just to mention a few. A lot of literature describes Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley in the US, Silicon Islands in Asia, and so on. Despite the quite evident importance of Silicon Valley North for the regional, national, and international technological development (especially when Nortel Networks and JDS Uniphase became global leaders in their fields and expanded in explosive fashion), this phenomenon is far from being well understood.Because of this, a bookTable of ContentsIntroduction. Beginning of the Canadian Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley North: its recent past, current state, and future. Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewGrand Transitions shows Vaclav Smil truly to be Bringing It All Back Home * John Roy Porter, Natures Sciences Sociétés *Vaclav Smil is my favorite author. * Bill Gates, GatesNotes *His book roams impressively around the globe and across five centuries as it asks big questions and searches for big answers. . . .His five-pack of grand transitions encompasses population, agriculture and diets, energy, economy, and environment. . . . anyone who hasn't read about these subjects since graduation will be awestruck by the amount of research that has gone into these vaguely familiar stories. Smil pulls recent studies together, throws in a few of his own, offers interpretive twists, and fills his account with delicious nuggets of information. (This book actually got me in trouble at home, as I kept asking my family, "Did you know..." about some gem of an anecdote.) * Andre Schmid, Literary Review of Canada *No one writes about the great issues of our time with more rigor or erudition than Vaclav Smil. Grand Transitions is at once sweeping, sobering, and profoundly informative. * Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, winner of the Pulitzer Prize *An expert portrait of spectacular technical and economic advances that many in the 21st century enjoy but which exclude large segments of the population and are creating problems that may or may not be solvable. Ingenious, insightful, and disturbing. * Kirkus *Underpinned by mesmerizing data and deep analysis, Grand Transitions provides a clear and compelling framework for thinking about the future of energy, the environment, and the economy. A feast for anyone interested in the future of energy. A must read. * Atul Arya, Chief Energy Strategist, IHS Markit *Grand Transitions is the epitome of excellence in integrative systemic scientific analysis, anchored in a magisterial exploration of the main five transitions of mankind since civilizations emerged. And it provides a healthy antidote to the wishful thinking so prevalent today. Decision makers and the public should educate themselves with this authoritative evaluation, which will shape their decisions on how to ensure a harmonious, sustainable future for all. * Didier Sornette, Professor of Entrepreneurial Risks and Finance, ETH Zurich *For a generation, polymath Vaclav Smil has expounded on the big patterns in energy, food, and other means through which humans have transformed their environment. In Grand Transitions he has zoomed out even further to paint a picture of how the pieces fit together and to explain how the modern world works. In elegant prose with relentless attention to fact and reality-rare these days-he has written a masterpiece that forces you to think, disagree, wonder, and grapple with the accomplishments and challenges of today's industrial society. * David G. Victor, Professor of International Relations, University of California, San Diego *In Grand Transitions, Vaclav Smil reminds us of the fundamental point that the economy cannot be untethered from nature. Technological ingenuity has loosened the links, but the outlook for economic gains--or losses--is inextricably tied to the dynamics of population change, and of food and energy production. * Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge *Investing requires quantification of impact. But Vaclav Smil convincingly challenges the increased reliance on applying mathematical modelling to single-frame narratives. He steadily illustrates why such approaches seldom provide useful enough insights, as they tend to ignore technical constraints and biospheric limits. * Philippe Rohner, Pictet Asset Management *Smil offers a sweeping account of the deep material forces that have shaped the modern world... He tells a remarkable story of the human capacity to innovate, build, and integrate societies across vast distances. * Foreign Affairs *Smil is a conjurer with numbers. In Grand Transitions, he works to show just how thoroughly this is now a planet of our making--and how rapidly the transformation is still happening. * Washington Post *Table of Contents1. Epochal Transitions 2. Populations 3. Agricultures and Diets 4. Energies 5. Economies 6. Environment 7. Outcomes and Outlooks

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Book SynopsisThis book revisits John Kenneth Galbraith''s classic text The Affluent Society in the context of the background to, and causes of, the global economic crisis that erupted in 2008. Each chapter takes a major theme of Galbraith''s book, distils his arguments, and then discusses to what extent they cast light on current developments, both in developed economies and in the economics discipline. The themes include: inequality, insecurity, inflation, debt, consumer behaviour, financialization, the economic role of government (''social balance''), the power of ideas, the role of power in the economy, and the nature of the good society. It considers the current problems of capitalism and the huge challenges facing democratic governments in tackling them. Written in non-technical language, this book is accessible to students of economics and the social sciences as well as to those who would have read The Affluent Society and the general reader interested in contemporary affairs and public policy.Trade ReviewStudents of economic history will find this a particularly useful volume as it is written in an exceptionally readable manner. This volume makes an important contribution to the literature on the economic history of advanced capitalism and its effects on the distribution of wealth within Western democracies. I have no hesitation in recommending this text to anyone, whether or not they are familiar with economics, with an interest in recent economic history and/or in the effects of changing economic policies on the structure of societies. Furthermore, anyone seeking an overview of the causes and consequences of the GFC will find The Affluent Society Revisited a useful reference. * Jenny Chesters, Economic Record *Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Why Revisit The Affluent Society? ; 2. The Power of Ideas: Reflections on the Conventional Wisdom ; 3. The Central Tradition ; 4. Inequality ; 5. Economic Security ; 6. The Ambiguities of Production ; 7. The Dethroned Consumer ; 8. Inflation ; 9. Debt ; 10. The Theory of Social Balance ; 11. Switching Tracks ; 12. The Idea of Power ; 13. The Moral Order ; 14. Concluding Thoughts ; A Reader's Guide

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Book SynopsisThe old discussion of ''Market or State'' is obsolete. There will always have to be a mix of market and state. The only relevant question is what that mix should look like. How far do we have to let the market go its own way in order to create as much welfare as possible for everyone? What is the responsibility of the government in creating welfare? These are difficult questions. But they are also interesting questions and Paul De Grauwe analyses them in this book.The desired mix of market and state is anything but easy to bring about. It is a difficult and sometimes destructive process that is constantly in motion. There are periods in history in which the market gains in importance. During other periods the opposite occurs and government is more dominant. The turning points in this pendulum swing typically seem to coincide with disruptive events that test the limits of market and state. Why we experience this dynamic is an important theme in the book.Will the market, which today is afforded a greater and greater role due to globalization, run up against its limits? Or do the financial crisis and growing income inequality show that we have already reached those limits? Do we have to brace ourselves for a rejection of the capitalist system? Are we returning to an economy in which the government is running the show?Trade ReviewThe book is a concise and straightforward look into the application of modern capitalism, its esoteric contradictions that threaten to tear it apart, and its relationship with government... Aside from the effective analysis, a major advantage of the bookis the explanatory narrative that the author utilizes, with minimal references, making it accessible to both academic and non-academic audiences * Alexandros Kyriakidis, JMCS *An excellent book on the ideological debate between market and state... The book is just a joy to read. Both economists and general readers will find it very useful. * Syed Basher (East West University, Bangladesh), Economic Record *One of Europe's leading economists, Paul de Grauwe is such a guide. In his lucid new book, the Belgian professor now based at the LSE explains how one should think about the balance between markets and governments as systems interacting with one another over time: an excellent little guide to how one should think about where we are and might be going. * Martin Wolf, Financial Times *In this lucid little book, De Grauwe, a Belgian economist now at the London School of Economics, explains why neither a pure market economy nor a purely government-controlled one is desirable. Getting the balance between market and government is extremely difficult. In practice, we lurch too far in one direction and then the other. * Financial Times, Best Books of 2017 *Table of ContentsPreface 1: The Great Economic Pendulum 2: The Limits of Capitalism 3: External Limits of Capitalism 4: Internal Limits of Capitalism 5: The Utopia of Self-Regulation in the Market System 6: Who Can Save The Market System from Destruction? 7: External Limits of Governments 8: Internal Limits of Governments 9: Who is in Charge? Market or Government? 10: Rise and Fall of Capitalism. Linear or Cyclical? 11: The Euro is a Threat to the Market System 12: The World of Piketty 13: Pendulum Swings between Markets and Governments

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Book SynopsisConcise, engaging and highly intuitive Economics: A Primer equips you with an understanding of all the basic principles of economics. It is designed specifically for readers with no prior knowledge of the field. Technical content is kept to a minimum and the universal principles of economics are distilled. At its core, economics is simply the study of how humans behave and the choices which they make. Chrystal and Hayley emphasise the practical application of economics for an individual as a consumer, saver and employee; and within the context of business and financial decision-making. This approach ensures that the connection between economic theory and our everyday lives is illuminated. Whether you are taking a short course in economics; are about to begin an Economics or related degree, or simply want to understand the theories which lie behind the headlines, this book which will ensure you master the core concepts.Supported by online resources to take your learning further:For StTrade ReviewThis nice, short, simple book is aimed at providing an introduction to Economics for those who signed up to do a course involving Economics at Universities, but had not studied the subject beforehand. They have constructed an excellent primer on the basis of their experience of running such introductory courses for several years. Besides the purpose for which it has been prepared, this book will also be a boon for school teachers trying to get their students through Economics A-level. The basic concepts are nicely explained, with the minimum of technical detail, and there is a splendid glossary at the end. * Professor Charles Goodhart, LSE *The way the authors explain the core and main ideas, concepts, tools and models of microeconomics is excellent. I liked the use of excellent examples and the intuitive approach. I can see students learning well and also enjoying doing so. * Professor Abhinay Muthoo, Warwick University *I find this book to be an excellent introduction to economics for someone who has limited or no knowledge of economics whatsoever, and the easily comprehensible writing style allows lecturers to use this book for teaching foreign students as well. * Jovan Vojnovic, University of Edinburgh *Table of ContentsMICROECONOMICS; MACROECONOMICS; CONCLUSION

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Book SynopsisCovering over one-hundred topics on issues ranging from Law and Neuroeconomics to European Union Law and Economics to Feminist Theory and Law and Economics, The Oxford Handbook of Law and Economics is the definitive work in the field of law and economics. The book gathers together scholars and experts in law and economics to create the most inclusive and current work on law and economics. It looks at the origins of the field of law and economics, tracks the field''s progression and increased importance to both law and economics, and looks to the future of the field and its continued development by examining a cornucopia of fields touched by work in law and economics. The uniqueness of its breadth, depth, and convenience make the volume essential to scholars, students, and contributors in the field of law and economics.Table of Contents1: Gary Becker and Richard Posner: The Future of Law and Economics Part 1. Methodology and Foundations 2: Thomas J. Miceli: Economic Models of Law 3: Jonah B. Gelbach and Jonathan Klick: Empirical Law and Economics 4: Christine Jolls: Bounded Rationality, Behavioral Economics, and the Law 5: Sean P. Sullivan and Charles A. Holt: Experimental Economics and the Law 6: Tess Wilkinson-Ryan: Experimental Psychology and the Law 7: Janice Nadler and Pam A. Mueller: Social Psychology and the Law 8: Georg von Wangenheim: Evolutionary Law and Economics 9: Daniel A. Farber: Public Choice Theory and Legal Institutions 10: Stefan Voigt: Constitutional Economics and the Law 11: Emerson H. Tiller: Law, Economics, and Positive Political Theory 12: Georg Vanberg and Viktor Vanberg: Contractarian Perspectives in Law and Economics 13: Shruti Rajagopalan and Mario J. Rizzo: Austrian Perspectives in Law and Economics 14: Brian H. Bix: Moral Philosophy and Law and Economics 15: David M. Driesen and Robin Paul Malloy: Critiques of Law and Economics Part II. Concepts and Tools 16: Chris William Sanchirico: Income Redistribution through the Law 17: Richard O. Zerbe: Cost-Benefit Analysis in Legal Decision-Making 18: John Bronsteen, Christopher Buccafusco, and Jonathan S. Masur: Well-Being and Public Policy 19: Tom R. Tyler: Value-Driven Behavior and the Law 20: Donald Wittman: Ex Ante vs. Ex Post 21: Giuseppe Dari-Mattiacci and Gerrit DeGeest: Carrots vs. Sticks 22: Emanuela Carbonara: Law and Social Norms 23: Werner Güth: Mechanism Design and the Law 24: Shmuel Nitzan and Jacob Paroush: Collective Decision Making and Jury Theorems

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Book SynopsisThis volume provides a factual basis for discussing for-profit versus not-for-profit ownership of hospitals and gives a look at evidence about issues in the hospital industry.

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Book SynopsisRegional economic arrangements such as free trade areas (FTAs), customs unions and currency blocs have become increasingly prevalent in the world economy. Including both empirical and theoretical studies, this volume addresses questions concerning FTAs and other regional trading arrangements.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Jeffrey A. Frankel 1: Determinants of Bilateral Trade: Does Gravity Work in a Neoclassical World? Alan V. Deardorff Comment: Jeffrey H. Bergstrand Comment: Gene M. Grossman 2: The Role of History in Bilateral Trade Flows Barry Eichengreen, Douglas A. Irwin. Comment: Robert Z. Lawrence Comment: Paul Wonnacott 3: Why Do Countries Seek Regional Trade Agreements? John Whalley Comment: Eric W. Bond Comment: Dani Rodrik 4: Continental Trading Blocs: Are They Natural or Supernatural? Jeffrey A. Frankel, Ernesto Stein, Shang-Jin Wei. Comment: Paul Krugman Comment: T. N. Srinivasan 5: The Welfare Implications of Trading Blocs among Countries with Different Endowments Antonio Spilimbergo, Ernesto Stein. Comment: John Haveman Comment: Edward E. Leamer 6: Regional Patterns in the Law of One Price: The Roles of Geography versus Currencies Charles Engel, John H. Rogers. Comment: Kenneth A. Froot Comment: Michael Knetter 7: Regionalization of World Trade and Currencies: Economics and Politics Jeffrey A. Frankel, Shang-Jin Wei. Comment: David Hummels Comment: Philip I. Levy 8: Tariff Phase-Outs: Theory and Evidence from GATT and NAFTA Carsten Kowalczyk, Donald Davis. Comment: Arvind Panagariya Comment: Robert W. Staiger 9: Overview Anne O. Krueger Contributors Author Index Subject Index

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Book SynopsisPredatory pricing has long been a contentious issue among lawmakers and economists. Legal actions are continually brought against companies. But the question remains: how likely are firms to cut prices in order to drive rivals out of business? This text makes an analysis of this topic.Table of ContentsPreface 1. The Debate on Predation 2. Reputational Models of Predation: Testing the Assumptions 3. Nonprofit Objectives and Credible Commitments: What Does This Imply for Government Enterprises? 4. Are Government or Private Enterprises More Likely to Engage in Predatory Behavior? Some International Evidence 5. What Happens When the Victims Have Better Information Than the Predators? 6. Some Final Thoughts Appendixes A. Explaining the Framework Used to Evaluate the Legitimacy of Anti-dumping Cases B. Data Appendix C. Analyzing How the Profitability of Entry Deterrence Is Affected by the Possibility of Trading Profits Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisSince banking systems play a crucial role in maintaining the overall health of the economy, the adverse effects of poorly supervised systems may be quite severe. This text examines the state of prudential supervision, focusing on fundamental issues and key pragmatic concerns.

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Book SynopsisArguing that parental actions are important sources of wealth inequality, this book examines the transmission of economic status from one generation to another by constructing a model of parental preferences. It offers evidence on the intergenerational transfer of consumption, earnings and wealth.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments 1: The Argument for Parental Priorities 2: Indifference Curve Diagrams as Models of Parental Priorities 3: Two Models of Opportunity and Intergenerational Mobility 4: How Altruism Is Influenced by Economic Status 5: Taxation and Intergenerational Mobility in the Three Models 6: The Evolution of Economic Inequality in the United States 7: The Intergenerational Dynamics of Consumption, Earnings, Income, and Wealth 8: Borrowing Constraints and the Persistence of Inequality 9: The Biological Origins of Altruism 10: Classical Discussions of Altruism 11: Intergenerational Altruism and Inequality within the Family 12: Altruism and Giving beyond the Family 13: Altruism and the Principal-Agent Problem 14: Conclusions A Guide to Mathematical Notation References Index

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Book SynopsisThe population base in both the USA and Japan is growing older and, as these populations age, they provoke unexamined economic consequences. This text explores those consequences, specifically four key areas including wealth and asset allocation over the life cycle, health care and reform.

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