Economic theory and philosophy Books
MP-WIS Uni of Wisconsin The Rhetoric of Economics
Book SynopsisThis revised second edition demonstrates how economic discourse employs metaphor, authority, symmetry and other rhetorical means of persuasion. It shows economists to be human persuaders and poets of the marketplace, even in their most technical and mathematical moods.
£21.20
Yale University Press The Invention of Scarcity
Book SynopsisA radical new reading of eighteenth-century British theorist Thomas Robert Malthus, which recovers diverse ideas about subsistence production and environments later eclipsed by classical economicsTrade Review“Importantly, Valenze shows in perhaps the most impressive part of her book that Malthus knew about the alternative strategies of subsistence on the margins, but chose to ignore them.” —Robert Mayhew, Times Literary Supplement “This is a searching, serious, and thoroughly coherent critique of Malthusian thought and one of the most interesting and energizing books that I have read in recent years.”—Steve Hindle, author of On the Parish? The Micro-Politics of Poor Relief in Rural England, c. 1550–1750“Moving beyond existing scholarship, Deborah Valenze offers an engaging and convincing new perspective on Malthus.”—Timothy Alborn, author of All That Glittered: Britain’s Most Precious Metal from Adam Smith to the Gold Rush“The Invention of Scarcity is a provocative account of how deeply held foundational beliefs made a very intelligent man unable to see his world as it was.”—Thomas W. Laqueur, author of The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains“The consequences of Thomas Malthus’s thesis about populations and scarcity have been—and still are—devastating. Deborah Valenze brilliantly reveals what Malthus failed to see, especially about the resiliency of rural communities past and present.”—Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World“Valenze’s brilliant unpacking of the racist assumptions of Malthus’ essay on population will go a long way towards laying to rest the ghost of Malthus that still haunts debates on human numbers and planetary hunger. The Invention of Scarcity is an exemplary exercise in decolonizing imperial political economy.”—Dipesh Chakrabarty, author of One Planet, Many Worlds: The Climate Parallax
£42.75
Palgrave Macmillan The Economic Laws of Scientific Research
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£66.49
Springer New York Bayesian Forecasting and Dynamic Models Springer Series in Statistics
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£95.99
WW Norton & Co First Principles Five Keys to Restoring Americas
Book SynopsisLeading economist John B. Taylor's straightforward plan to rebuild America's economic future by returning to its founding principles.Trade Review"A clear and compelling call-to-action and an important reminder of the central link between economic freedom and prosperity." -- Manhattan Institute "Taylor's latest contribution could not come at a more important moment." -- U. S. Congressman Paul Ryan "A timely antidote to the gloom about the nation's future that has overtaken too many of our intellectuals... Taylor is the unusual economist who, much like Hayek, has a grasp of history and appreciates the lessons it teaches."
£17.58
WW Norton & Co Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy
Book SynopsisIt’s time to rewrite the rules—to curb the runaway flow of wealth to the top one percent, to restore security and opportunity for the middle class and to foster stronger growth rooted in broadly shared prosperity.Trade Review"The secret truth about economic inequality in America: once you look at the issue this way, it’s hard to think of it any other way." -- Time"An aggressive blueprint for rewriting 35 years of policies [that] have led to a vast concentration of wealth among the richest Americans and an increasingly squeezed middle class." -- The New York Times"this is a beautifully written book, and one that can be read in an afternoon. It is short and to the point, a clear, concise and up-to-date book." -- Times Higher Education
£12.34
WW Norton & Co Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism
Book SynopsisA leading social critic recounts capitalism's finest hour and shows us how we might achieve it once again.Trade Review"Kuttner brilliantly brings together two strands of thought: explaining both the economics and politics of global capitalism and how our society has abandoned core principles of fairness and equality. The rise of inequality helped pave the way for Donald Trump—a figure out of step with basic American values. Kuttner reminds us of the urgency with which we need to get back to a more just society" -- Joseph E. Stiglitz, Columbia University, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and best-selling author of The Price of Inequality"Conventional wisdom has it that our income disparities and dysfunctional politics are the consequence of inexorable and uncontrollable developments in technology, market competition, and globalization. As Robert Kuttner argues in this superb book, they are instead the result of our own policy choices." -- Dani Rodrik, Harvard University and author of Straight Talk on Trade and The Globalization Paradox"The problem is not liberal trade, but an out-of-control form of globalised capitalism. Democrats must confront this danger now, argues Kuttner, if the political system they treasure is to survive." -- Martin Wolf, The summer in books - Financial Times
£20.89
John Wiley & Sons Inc Capitalist Philosophers The Geniuses of Modern
Book SynopsisAndrea Gabor recounts the development of modern business through the lives, times and ideas of the great thinkers - people such as Peter Drucker, W. Edwards Deming, Alfred Sloan, Abraham Maslow - who defined the art and science of business. The Capitalist Philosophers is an engaging introduction to the great core ideas of management, full of colourful stories and brilliant insights into why the business world is the way it is today. Andrea Gabor explores the ideas and personalities that have shaped not only twentieth century business, but that also have helped make the corporation a pivotal institution in society today, such as: McNamara''s pioneering work in the use of quantitative methods to control the finances at Ford, techniques that, for better and for worse had such a great influence on American management following World War II. The book traces the development of both scientific and humanistic tradition from the beginning of the century and follows the battleTrade Review"Gabora s selection is sound and she succeeds in revealing the individual behind the reputation." (Modern Management, October 2000) "It is a book full of colourful stories and brilliant insights into why the business world is the way it is today." (Business Executive, October 2000) "It should be recommended reading for every student of business history" (Business History, July 2001) "This is a very good book that provides a useful insight into the personalities responsible for the way we conduct business today." (Long Range Planning, Vol.34, 2001)Table of ContentsIntroduction. Chp1: Frederick Winslow Taylor - The Father of Scientific Management. Chp2: Mary Parker Follett: The Mother of Post Scientific Management. Chp3: Chester Barnard: The Philosopher King of American Management. Chp4: Fritz Roethlisberger and Elton Mayo: Two Creative Misfits Who Invented "Human Relations". Chp5: Robert McNamara and the Bean Counters. Chp6: Abraham Maslow & Douglas McGregor: From Human Relations to the Frontiers of System Dynamics. Chp7: W. Edward Deming and the Prophets of the Learning Organization. Chp8: Herbert A. Simon: The Needle and the Haystack. Chp9: Alfred Chandler and Alfred Sloan: The Historian & The CEO. Chp10: Peter F Drucker: The Big Idea Man.
£45.59
John Wiley & Sons Inc Unfolding the EcoWave Why Renewal Is Privotal
Book SynopsisSystem dynamics is a method similar to econometrics and mathematical statistics. Normally it is used to provide a rigorous analysis of models in closed systems. Here, however, it is used to study capital accumulation, and the economic cycles.Table of ContentsThe Macroeconomic Operation of the Law of Value. Competition, Co-operation and Diffusion of Innovations. A Model of Cyclical Growth. Capital Accumulation as a Competitive-Co-operative System. The Profit-Wage Spiral. The Emerging Eco-wave. References. Index.
£71.25
The University of Michigan Press Increasing Returns and Path Dependence in the Economy
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£23.70
LUP - University of Michigan Press Socialism after Hayek
Book SynopsisDevelops a theory of market socialism in response to Friedrich Hayek's criticism of centrally-planned socialism. This work poses this model of ""free market socialism"" against other models of socialism, especially those developed by John Roemer, Michael Albert, and Robin Hahnel.Trade ReviewAn advance well beyong the great 'socialist calculation debate.' Socialism after Hayek is both novel and challenging to contemporary Hayekian scholars. Burczak is the only scholar working in the post-Marxist tradition that thoroughly understands and appreciates the Hayekian critique of socialism. He is on his way to answering many of our long-held objections. - Dave Prychitko, Department of Economics, Northern Michigan University
£19.90
The University of Michigan Press Polycentricity and Local Public Economies
£34.15
The University of Michigan Press The Street Porter and the Philosopher
Book SynopsisAdam Smith, asserting the common humanity of the street porter and the philosopher, articulated the classical economists' model of social interactions as exchanges among equals. This work explores the premise that all social interactions are exchanges among inherently equal human beings.Trade ReviewThe analytical egalitarianism project that Peart and Levy have advanced has come to occupy a prominent place in the current agenda of historians of economic thought. - Ross Emmett, Michigan State, co-director of the Michigan Center for Innovation and Economic Prosperity
£65.50
University of California Press Hollowed Out
Book SynopsisFor the past several decades, politicians and economists thought that high levels of inequality were good for the economy. This book explains that to have strong, sustainable growth, the economy needs to work for everyone and expand from the middle out.Trade Review"The director of economic policy at the Center for American Progress argues that it is time to mount a political challenge to the economic theories-namely, supply-side, or trickle-down economics-that have provided cover for the unparalleled growth in inequality over the past three decades... A dramatic and clearly delineated outline of 'how the stage has been set for transformative political conflict.'" Kirkus "A provocative and thoughtful analysis... at the core of his position are important ideas worthy of nuanced debate and further research by all sides." -- Russell MacMullan Washington Independent Review of Books "Madland doesn't pull his punches... This is perfect late-summer reading-if you've spent the summer somewhere where there's still a functioning middle class. Come back to the UK, or the more inequitable of US states, and you can read about how it could be summertime all the time. If only we stopped hollowing out." -- Danny Dorling Times Higher Education "A persuasive, accessible economic argument... Hollowed Out offers serious food for thought and is highly recommended for... Economic Studies." The Midwest Book ReviewTable of ContentsIllustrations 1. Middle Out vs. Trickle Down 2. Trust 3. Good Governance 4. Stable Consumer Demand 5. Human Capital 6. Creating a Middle-Class Society Acknowledgments Notes Index
£21.60
University of California Press The Greeks and the Rational
Book SynopsisTracing practical reason from its origins to its modern and contemporary permutations The Greek discovery of practical reason, as the skilled performance of strategic thinking in public and private affairs, was an intellectual breakthrough that remains both a feature of and a bug in our modern world. Countering arguments that rational choice-making is a contingent product of modernity, The Greeks and the Rational traces the long history of theorizing rationality back to ancient Greece. In this book, Josiah Ober explores how ancient Greek sophists, historians, and philosophers developed sophisticated and systematic ideas about practical reason. At the same time, they recognized its limitsthat not every decision can be reduced to mechanistic calculations of optimal outcomes. Ober finds contemporary echoes of this tradition in the application of game theory to political science, economics, and business management. The Greeks and the Rational offers a striking revisionist history with widespread implications for the study of ancient Greek civilization, the history of thought, and human rationality itself. Trade Review"Ober’s study should be praised for both its scope and its coherence. Indispensable for readers interested in how the Greeks conceived of practical reason and what Greek thought can offer modern cooperation efforts. Summing Up: Essential." * Choice Reviews *"The latest chapter in Ober’s influential reorientation of the study of ancient Greek political practice and written texts, which he has refashioned as a laboratory for studying social order and democratic possibilities. . . . [T]here is much to learn from this stimulating intertwining of ancient Greek texts and modern theoretical approaches in its light." * The Times Literary Supplement * "Apart from hopefully becoming a landmark publication and a source of inspiration for many classics scholars, ancient historians, philosophers, and other humanities scholars, this book promises to be an intriguing read for any political or social scientist working on game theory and rationality in theory and performance." * Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics *Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Classical References Introduction: Discovering Practical Reason 1. Gyges’ Choice: Rationality and Visibility 2. Glaucon’s Dilemma: Origins of Social Order 3. Deioces’ Ultimatum: How to Choose a Ruler 4. Solon’s Bargain: Self-Enforcing Constitutional Order 5. Melos’ Prospect: Limits of Interstate Rationality 6. Socrates’ Critique: Problems for Democratic Rationality 7. Cephalus’ Expertise: Economic Rationality 8. Conclusions: Utility and Eudaimonia Epilogue Appendix: Probability, Risk, and Likelihood Works Cited Index
£27.00
University of California Press Can Legal Weed Win
Book SynopsisTwo economists take readers on a tour of the economics of legal and illegal weed, showing where cannabis regulation has gone wrong and how it could do better. Cannabis legalization hasn't lived up to the hype. Across North America, investors are reeling, tax collections are below projections, and people are pointing fingers. On the business side, companies have shut down, farms have failed, workers have lost their jobs, and consumers face high prices. Why has legal weed failed to deliver on many of its promises?Can Legal Weed Win? takes on the euphoric claims with straight dope and a full dose of economic reality. This book delivers the unadulterated facts about the new legal segment of one of the world's oldest industries. In witty, accessible prose, economists Robin Goldstein and Daniel Sumner take readers on a whirlwind tour of the economic past, present, and future of legal and illegal weed. Drawing upon reams of data and their own experience working with California cannabis Trade Review"In this lucid and pragmatic analysis, U.C. Davis economists Goldstein and Summer extinguish overheated predictions about the potential size and profits of the legal marijuana market. . . . Jargon-free and data-rich, this is a clear-eyed analysis of a hazy market." * Publishers Weekly *“Economists Goldstein and Sumner argue that government bureaucracy has made legal pot expensive to grow and sell, incentivizing illegal operations instead. Legal weed, their punny, breezy book shows, can only win once 'legal' isn’t an anticompetitive word.” * Bloomberg Businessweek *"An excellent primer on the state of the cannabis industry in America today." * Jacobin *"Explains how burdensome licensing requirements, regulations, and taxes have frustrated plans to displace the black market." * Reason *"Written in a fun, witty tone that makes reading about finances more engaging than ever." * CBD Oracle *Table of ContentsContents Preface: Fear and Stoning in Las Vegas Acknowledgments 1 We Call It Weed 2 Legal versus Illegal: A Market Battle 3 Prices Get High 4 We Ask Our Data: Where’s the Cheapest Legal Weed? 5 California Dreamin’ 6 Sabrina’s Story 7 Legal Weed in 2050 8 How to Survive Legalization Conclusion: Five Pipe Dreams about Legal Weed Bibliography Index
£18.90
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Mathematics in Economics
Book Synopsisaeo This textbook is based on a course taught jointly by an economist and a mathematician making it a balanced and comprehensive introduction to mathematics in economics. aeo Mathematical techniques are always presented in the context of the economics problems they are used to solve.Trade Review"I wish Adam Ostaszewski good luck with this book. May it enjoy the success it deserves." Ken Binmore, University of Michigan "I believe Mathematics in Economics to be an excellent book, which is much needed in first year UK degree programmes. Its coverage of syllabus is better than its rivals and its treatment of the economics and the mathematics indicates that considerable rigour is needed to do things properly." Martin Cripps, University of Warwick "In this book the build-up in confidence is done gradually by means of carefully chosen examples." "Throughout the book the approach to mathematics is rigorous, and excellent use is made of graphs and other figures." "A valuable guide to the ways in which mathematics provides a basis for modern economics." Tony WhitfordTable of ContentsPart I:. 1. Sets and Numbers. 2. Matrices and Vectors. 3. Modelling Consumer Choice. 4. Discrete Variables. 5. Functions. 6. Equilibrium. 7. Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors. Part II:. 1. Limits and Their Uses. 2. Continuity and Its Uses. 3. Uses of the Derivative. 4. Continuous Compounding and Exponential Growth. 5. Partial Differentiation. 6. The Gradient. 7. Taylor's Theorem - An Approximation Tool. 8. Optimisation in Two Variables. 9. Economic Dynamics: Differential Equations.
£53.15
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Theory of Choice
Book SynopsisApple or pears? Liberty or death? We experience life as a series of choices, large and small. What makes a choice rational? Divided in three parts with a section of keywords, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental principles of rational choice theory, game theory, and to their implications and limitations.Trade Review"The Theory of Choice is a welcome guide to the various permutations of politics, economics and philosophy with game theory, decision theory and social choice theory." Eric Rasmusen "The Theory of Choice is an innovative and well-written analysis of issues regarding individual and collective choice." Dennis C. Mueller, Professor of Economics, University of Maryland at College ParkTable of ContentsIntroduction. Part I: Individual Choice:. 1. Rationality. 2. Consumer Theory. 3. How People Choose. 4. Risk, Ignorance and Imagination. 5. Homo Economicus; Homo Sociologicus. 6. Autonomy. Part II: Interactive Choice:. 7. Game Theory. 8. Bargaining. 9. Game Theory Applied. 10. Organizations. 11. Cultural Exchange. 12. Anarchic Order. Part III: Collective Choice:. 13. Social Choice. 14. Democracy. 15. Power. 16. Planning. 17. Agendas. 18. Social Justice. Keywords. Bibliography. Index.
£53.15
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Market and NonMarket Hierarchies
Book SynopsisEverything you ever wanted to know about growing grapes Market and Non-market Hierarchies: Theory of Institutional Failure examines capitalism''s three major institutions: the market, the firm, and the state. Plumbing the depths of history and surfacing in the modern era, this book offers the unique perspective of analysis through the lens of Marxian theories of capitalist crisis alongside a comparison of major micro- and macroeconomic theories of failure. Comprehensive in scope, the discussion tracks the evolution of the firm and explores the capitalist state as a preface to a theory of institutional failure based on transaction cost economizing.Table of ContentsInstitutions of capitalism and institutional failure; the nature, objectives and evolution of firms; competition, monopoly and prices; the capitalist state; theory of capitalist institutional failure and crisis.
£40.80
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Surveys in Econometrics
Book SynopsisThis work comprises ten surveys on econometrics taken from the Journal of Economic Surveys. These range from debates on econometric methodology, through issues of pre-testing, diagnostic checks, co-integration and unit roots, error correction mechanisms and non-semiparametric estimation.Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Three Econometric Methodologies I. 3. Three Econometric Methodologies II. 4. Estimation and Testing in Econometrics. 5. Diagnostics Checks. 6. On Error-Correction Models. 7. Econometric Modelling. 8. On ARCH Models. 9. Nonlinear Time Series. 10 Testing Rational Expectations. 11. Nonparametric & Semi.
£45.55
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Weighing Goods
Book SynopsisThis study uses techniques from economics to illuminate fundamental questions in ethics, particularly in the foundations of utilitarianism. Topics considered include the nature of teleological ethics, the foundations of decision theory, the value of equality and the moral significance of a person's continuing identity through time.Table of ContentsPreface ix1 Introduction I: The Structure of Good 11.1 Acts versus consequences, and agent relativity 3 1.2 The Working of ethical considerations 6 1.3 Teleological structure 10 1.4 Does good exist? 17 Notes 20 2 Introduction II: Weighing Goods 22 2.1 Locations of good, and separability 222.2 Three dimensions of locations 252.3 Dimensions with varying lengths 29 2.4 What things are good? 32 2.5 An outline of the argument 32 Notes 58 3 Similarity Arguments 39 3.1 Parfit, Section 1 40 3.2 Parfit, Section 2 48 3.3 Harsanyi 51 Notes 58 4 The Separability Theorems 60 4.1 Two examples 604.2 Definitions and theorems 654.3 The significance of additive separability 704.4 The rectangular field assumption 80 Notes 81 Appendix to Chapter 4: Proofs 82 5 Expected Utility and Rationality 90 5.1 Axiomatic expected utility theory 905.2 The sure-thing principle 945.3 Individuation of outcomes 955.4 Transitivity of preferences 1005.5 Rational requirements of indifference 1045.6 Individuation and the sure-thing principle 1075.7 The dispersion of value amongst states of nature 1105.8 The rectangular field assumption 115 Notes 117 6 The Coherence of Good 121 6.1 The goodness of uncertain prospects 1226.2 Betterness and rational preferences 1316.3 The argument for coherence 1366.4 Representing betterness by utility 1396.5 Bernoulli’s hypothesis 142 Notes 148 7 Coherence Against the Pareto Principle 151 7.1 The conflict 1527.2 Two better principles 1547.3 Welfare economics 159 Notes 164 8 The Principle of Personal Good 165 8.1 Qualifications 1658.2 The beginning of a defence 167 Notes 173 9 Equality 1749.1 A utilitarian case for equality 1759.2 Types of egalitarianism 1779.3 Equality under uncertainty 1859.4 Fairness and equality 192 Notes 200 10 The Interpersonal Addition Theorem 202 10.1 Proof 20310.2 Connecting dimensions 20910.3 The utilitarian principle of distribution 213Notes 222 11 Utilitarian Metaphysics? 224 11.1 The intertemporal addition theorem 22411.2 The principle of temporal good 22811.3 The metaphysical argument 23011.4 Conclusion 237 Notes 240 Bibliography 241 Index 251
£37.00
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Economics of Information Lying and Cheating in
Book SynopsisInformation is a key issue in decision making in economics and business. Being 'in the know' confers strategic advantages to people, allowing them to lie and/or cheat on their uninformed opponents. This text is designed to take students through key issues to give an understanding of the impact of imperfect and information in an economic context.Table of ContentsList of Figures. List of Tables. Preface. 1. Introduction: Private Information and Hidden Action. Part I: Adverse Selection: The Market for Lemons. . 2. Quality Uncertainty and the Market for Lemons. 3. Adverse Selection: The Wilson Model. 4. Lemons Problems: Experimental Evidence. Part II: Signalling. 5. Job Market Signalling. 6. Screening: A Self-Selection Mechanism. 7. Further Literature on Signalling Theory. 8. Signalling/Screening Behaviour: Experimental Evidence. Part III: Moral Hazard. 9. Moral Hazard: Shareholder/Management Relations. 10. Moral Hazard: A Principal-Agent Model. 11. Further Literature on Moral Hazard and Agency Theory. 12. Moral Hazard: Experimental Evidence. Part IV: Mechanism Design: Applications to Bargaining and Auctions. . 13. Mechanism Design and the Revelation Principle: A Bargaining Example. 14. Auction Design: Theory. 15. Auction Design: Experimental Evidence. 16. Concluding Comments. Appendix: Brief Notes on Probability Distributions, Baye's Rule, Expected Utility Theory and Game Theory. Index.
£40.84
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Readings in Games and Information 3 Wiley
Book SynopsisThis highly original collection brings together contemporary articles from a variety of sources to present the key topics in game theory. The book includes a combination of classic and contemporary readings from a range of books and journals that together present a complete resource for students and researchers of game theory.Table of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgements. Part One: The Rules of the Game. Introduction. 1. The Prisoner's Dilemma (Philip D. Straffin, Jr.). 2. A two-Person Dilemma (Albert Tucker). 3. Equilibrium Points in N-Person Games (John F. Nash Jr.). 4. Non-Cooperative Games (John F. Nash, Jr.). 5. To Ensure High Prices, Some Haulers Have Been Known to Break the Rules (Jeff Bailey). 6. Cash Flow: 'Pay to Play' is Banned, But Muni-Bond Firms Keep the game Going (Charles Gasparino and Josh P. Hamilton). 7. School of Genius (Sylvia Nasar). 8. Cartoon: Ratbert the Consultant (Scott Adams). Part Two: Information. 9. The Donation Booth (Ian Ayres and Jeremy Bulow). 10. The Horatii and the Curiatii (Livy). 11. TREES - A Decision-Maker's Lament (Michael H. Rothkopf). 12. Knowing and Sowing Economic s and Law (Judith Lachman). 13. Cartoon: "All Those in Favor, Say 'Aye'" (Henry Martin). Part Three: Mixed and Continuous Strategies. Introduction. 14. Colonel Blotto: A Problem of Military Strategy (John McDonald and John W. Tukey). 15. Dutch Accountants Take on a Formidable Task: Ferreting Our "Cheaters" in the Ranks of OPEC (Paul Hemp). 16. Shipping Price-Fixing Pacts Hurt Consumers, Critics Say (Anna Wilde Mathews). 17. The Conference Handbook (George Stigler). 18. Cartoon:" Very Guilty" (Jim Unger). Part Four: Dynamic Games with Symmetric Information. Introduction. 19. On An Application of Set Theory to the Theory of the Game of Chess (Ernst Zermelo). 20. The Strategy of Conflict (Thomas C. Schelling). 21. Does the Fittest Necessarily Survive (Martin Shubik). 22. Shooting the Bird's Eye (Elizabeth Seeger). 23. Cartoon: "That's It? That's Peer Review (Sidney Harris). Part Five: Reputat8iona and Repeated Games with Symmetric Information. Introduction. 24. The Evolution of Cooperation (Robert Axelrod and William D. Hamilton). 25. This Tax Amnesty Will Work Only Once (Robert J. Barro and Alan Stockman). 26. Fare Warning: How Airlines Trade Price Plans (Asra Q. Nomani). 27. Starting Research Early (Harry V. Roberts and Roman L. Weil). 28. Cartoon: Einstein Discovers that Time is Actually Money (Gary Larson). Part Six: Dynamic Games with Incomplete Information. Introduction. 29. Rational Cooperation in the Finitely Repeated Prisoners' Dilemma (David M. Kreps, Paul Milgrom, John Roberts, and Robert Wilson)d. 30. Cheap Talk, Coordinating, and Entry (Joseph Farrell). 31. Wise Guy: Life in a Mafia Family (Nicholas Pileggi). 32. Cartoon: "Say, I Think I See Where We Went Off..." (Ed Fisher). Part Seven: Moral Hazard: Hidden Actions. Introduction. 33. Monopoly Slack and Competitive Rigor: A Simple Model (Joseph Farrell). 34. An Optimal Conviction Policy for Offenses that May Have Been Committed by Accident (Ariel Rubinstein). 35. Bonded Worker is No Guarantee of a Perfect Job (Teri Agins). 36. Cartoon: "Look, Ted! We Get Paid the Same as You but All We're Doing is Standing Around and Flicking our Fingers" (Scott Adams). Part Eight: Further Topics in Moral Hazard. Introduction. 37. Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith). 38. Examples of Plea Bargains (Eric Rasmusen). 39. Unions Say Auto Firms Us Interplant Rivalry to Raise Work Quotas (Dael D. Buss). 40. Cartoon: "Dilbert, I Want You to Manage Wally's Project While He's on Vacation in Aruba" (Scott Adams). Part Nine: Adverse Selection. Introduction. 41. The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism (George A. Akerlof). 42. The Only Game in Town (Walter Begehot (Pseudonym for Jack Treynor). 43. Are Advertisers Ready to Pay Their Viewers (Bart Ziegler). 44. The Creation of New Mathematics: An Application of the Lakatos Heuristic (Philip J. David, Reuben Hersh, and Elena Marchisotto). 45. Cartoon: Frank's Neurosurgery (Gary Larson). Part Ten: Mechanism Design in Adverse Selection and in Moral Hazard with Hidden Information. Introduction. 46. Tie Salesmen's Bonuses to Their Forecasts (Jacob Gonik). 47. Car-Buying Services Can Save Money, Especially for Those who Hate Haggling (Melinda Grenier Gules). 48. How to Build an Economic Model in Your Spare Time (Hal R. Varian). 49. Cartoon: "Of Course That's Only an Estimate..." (Sidney Hoff). Part Eleven: Signaling. Introduction. 50. High and Declining Prices Signal Product Quality (Kyle Bagwell and Michael H. Riordan). 51. The Argument of an Appeal (John W. Davis). 52. Cartoon: "Yes, but the Trouble is he Always Wears that Mysterious Smile" (Sidney Hoff). Part Twelve: Bargaining. Introduction. 53. The Bargaining Problem. 54. Perfect Equilibrium in a Bargaining Model (Ariel Rubinstein). 55. UPS Faces More Than $1 Billion a Year in New Labor Expenses: Pact Calls for Substantial Pay Increases, Full-Time Jobs and a Union Pension Plan (Douglas A. Blackmon, Martha Brannigan, Glenn Burkins, and Laura Jereski). 56. Cartoon: "Whatever Happened to Elegant Solutions?" (Sidnye Harris). Part Thirteen: Auctions. Introduction. 57. The Dollar Auction Game: A Paradox in Noncooperative Behavior and Escalation (Martin Shubik). 58. Analyzing the Airwaves Auction (R. Preston McAfee and John McMillan). 59. At Many Auctions, Illegal Bidding Thrives as a Longtime Practice Among Dealers (Meg Cox). 60. Cartoon: "The Next Item up for Bid is the Presidency of the United States..." (Rob Rogers). Part Fourteen : Pricing. Introduction. 61. Stability in Competition (Harold Hotelling). 62. The Mathematical Economic of Professor Amoroso (Francis Edgeworth). 63. Existence and Computation of Mixed Strategy Nash Equilibrium for 3-Firms Location Problem (Avner Shaked). 64. Busting a Trust: Electrical Contractors Reel Under Charges That They Rigged Bids (Andy Pasztor). 65. Cartoon: "Isn't it Great that We Don't Get Any More Pesky Calls during Dinner Asking us to Switch Long-Distance Companies (Rob Rogers). Part Fifteen: Entry. Introduction. 66. The Fat-Cat Effect, the Puppy-Dog Ploy, and the Lean and Hungry Look (Drew Fudenberg and Jean Tirole). 67. Drugs: Novel Heart-Drug Deal Protects Sales, Spurs Suit (Ralph T. King, JR.). 68. Aphorisms on Writing, Speaking, and Listening (Ric Rasmusen). 69. Cartoon: Henry and the Candy Shop (Carl Anderson). Index.
£37.00
Wiley Controversies in Macroeconomics
Book SynopsisControversies in Macroeconomics: Growth, Trade and Policy presents debates from the world''s leading researchers on some of the most important issues in economics today. Accessible to the general economics reader, this book is ideal for advanced undergraduates and graduates in intermediate macroeconomics, macroeconomic theory, development economics, growth theory and trade theory.Table of ContentsList of Authors. Preface: William D. Nordhaus (Yale). Acknowledgements. Introduction: Huw David Dixon (York). Part I: On the Convergence and Divergence of Growth Rates:. Introduction: Steven N. Durlauf (Wisconsin-Madison). 1. The Classical Approach to Convergence Analysis: Xavier X. Sala-i-Martin (Universitat Pompeu Fabra). 2. Technology and Convergence: Andrew B. Bernard (MIT) and Charles I. Jones (Stanford). 3. Twin Peaks: Growth and Convergence in Models of Distribution Dynamics: Danny T. Quah (London School of Economics). 4. Convergence?Inferences from Theoretical Models: Oded Galor (Hebrew University). Part II: Trade Liberalisation and Growth:. Introduction: Huw David Dixon (York). 5. Why Trade Liberalisation Is Good for Growth: Anne O. Krueger (Stanford). 6. Trade Liberalisation in Developing Economies: Modest Benefits but Problems with Productivity Growth, Macro Prices, and Income Distribution: Jose Antonio Ocampo (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) and Lance Taylor (New School University). 7. Trade Reform, Adjustment and Growth: What Does the Evidence Tell Us?: David Greenaway, Wyn Morgan and Peter Wright (all Nottingham). Part III: Regionalism versus Multilateralism:. Introduction: Sajal Lahiri (Essex). 8. Trading Preferentially: Theory and Policy: Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia), David Greenaway (Nottingham) and Arvind Panagariya (Maryland). 9. The New Regionalism: Wilfred J. Ethier (Pennsylvania). 10. Will Preferential Agreements Undermine the Multilateral Trading System?: Kyle Bagwell (Columbia) and Robert W. Staiger (Wisconsin-Madison). Part IV: Financial Liberalisation and Economic Development:. Introduction: Huw David Dixon (York). 11. In Favour of Financial Liberalisation: Maxwell J. Fry (Birmingham). 12. Financial Liberalisation, Stockmarkets and Economic Development: Ajit Singh (Cambridge). 13. Financial Development and Economic Growth: Assessing the Evidence: Philip Arestis (East London) and Panicos Demetriades (Keele). Part V: Economics and the Measurement of Happiness:. Introduction: Huw David Dixon (York). 14. Happiness and Economic Performance: Andrew J. Oswald (Warwick). 15. The Frame of Reference as a Public Good: Robert H. Frank (Cornell). 16. A Case for Happiness, Cardinalism, and Interpersonal Comparability: Yew-Kwang Ng (Monash). 17. Traditional Productivity Estimates Are Asleep at the (Technological) Switch: William D. Nordhaus (Yale). Part VI: Economists, the Welfare State and Growth: The Case of Sweden:. Introduction : Huw David Dixon (York). 18. Eurosclerosis and the Sclerosis of Objectivity: On the Role of Values Among Economic Policy Experts: Walter Korpi (Stockholm). 19. Sweden's Relative Economic Performance: Lagging Behind or Staying on Top?: Magnus Henreksen (Industrial Institute for Economic and Social Research, Stockholm). 20. Why Sweden's Welfare State Needed Reform: Jonas Agell (Uppsala). 21. Swedish Economic Performance and Swedish Economic Debate: A View from Outside: Steve Dowrick (Australian National). Index.
£56.00
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Readings in Industrial Organization
Book SynopsisIn this work, Luis Cabral has compiled and placed into context the most important contributions to the literature of industrial economics (IO) since the 1980s.Table of ContentsPreface. Acknowledgements. Part I: Static Oligopoly Theory: . Introduction. 1. Capacity Precommitment and Bertrand Competition Yield Cournot Outcomes: David M. Kreps (Stanford University) and Jose A. Sheinkman (University of Chicago). 2. The Fat-Cat Effect, the Puppy Dog Ploy and the Lean Hungry Look: Drew Fudenberg (Harvard University) and Jean Tirole (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Part II: Repeated Games and Oligopoly Theory: . Introduction. 3. Noncooperative Collusion Under Imperfect Price Information: Edward J. Green (University of Minnesota) and Robert H. Porter (Northwestern University). 4. A Supergame-Theoretic Model of Price Wars During Booms: Julio J. Rotemberg (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Garth Saloner (Stanford University). 5. Multimarket Contact and Collusive Behaviour: B. Douglas Bernheim (Stanford University) and Michael D. Whinston (Northwestern University). Part III: Product Differentiation: . Introduction. 6. On Hotelling's Stability of Competition: Claude d'Aspremont, J. Jaskkold Gabszewicz and Jacques-Francois Thisse (all at Universite Catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE)). 7. Relaxing Price Competition Through Product Differentiation: Avner Shaked (University of Bonn) and John Sutton (London School of Economics). 8. Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity: Avinash K. Dixit (Princeton University) and Joseph E. Stiglitz (Stanford University). Part IV: Empirical Analysis of Oligopoly: . Introduction. 9. The Oligopoly Solution is Identified: Timothy F. Bresnahan (Stanford University). 10. A Study of Cartel Stability: The Joint Executive Committee, 1880-1886: Robert H. Porter (Northwestern University). 11. Automobile Prices in Market Equilibrium: Steven Berry (Yale University), James Levinsohn (University of Michigan), and Ariel Pakes (Harvard University). Part V: Entry: . Introduction. 12. The Role of Investment in Entry Deterrence: Avinash Dixit (Princeton University). 13. Contracts as a Barrier to Entry: Philippe Aghion (Harvard University) and Patrick Bolton (Princeton University). 14. Free Entry and Social Inefficiency: N. Gregory Mankiw (Harvard University) and Michael D. Whinston (Northwestern University). 15. Selection and Evolution of Industry: Boyan Jovanovic (New York University). Part VI: Technology and Dynamics: . Introduction. 16. Preemptive Patenting and the Persistence of Monopoly Power: Richard J. Gilbert (University of California-Berkeley) and David M. G. Newberry (Cambridge University). 17. Uncertain Innovation and the Persistence of Monopoly: Jennifer F. Reinganum (Vanderbilt University). 18. The Learning Curve, Market Dominance, and Predatory Pricing: Luis M. B. Cabral (London Business School) and Michael H. Riordan (Boston University). 19. Preemption and Rent Equalization in the Adoption of New Technology: Drew Fudenberg (Harvard University) and Jean Tirole (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Part VII: Asymmetric Information:. Introduction. 20. Reputation and Imperfect Information: David M. Kreps (Stanford University) and Robert Wilson (Stanford University). 21. Limit Pricing and Entry under Incomplete Information: Paul Milgrom (Stanford University) and John Roberts (Stanford University). 22. Price and Advertising Signals of Product Quality: Paul Milgrom (Stanford University) and John Roberts (Stanford University). Index.
£55.05
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Economics
Book SynopsisThis innovative text ushers in a new way of examining basic economic issues. It teaches economics from a different standpoint, based on specialization and the division of labor. Resource allocation for a given level of division of labor is shown as not the only determination for demand and supply. Levels of division of labor are shown as a major factors as well.Table of ContentsPart I: Economic Environment: Introduction:. 1. What is Economics?. Analytical Framework of Economics. Neoclassical Economics vs. New Classical Economics. Structure of the Text and Different Ways to Use it. 2. Preference and Utility Function. Scientific Approach to Studies of Human Behavior. Preference and Utility Function. Convex Preference Relation, Quasi-concave Utility Function, Diminishing Marginal Rates of Substitution, and Desire for Diverse Consumption. Ordinal vs. Cardinal Theory of Utility and Diminishing Marginal Rate of Substitution vs. Diminishing Marginal Utility. 3. Production Conditions. Neoclassical Framework vs. New Classical Framework. Neoclassical Environment of Production. New Classical Production Environment. Endogenous cum Exogenous Comparative Advantage. Part II: Neoclassical Framework: . 4. Neoclassical Decision Problems. Budget Constraint and Dichotomy Between Pure Consumers and Firms. A Pure Consumer's Constrained Utility Maximization Problem. Comparative Statistics of the Pure Consumer's Utility Maximization Problem. A Pure Consumer's Expenditure Minimization Problem. Recovering Utility Function from a Demand System. Revealed Preference. A Producer's Decision Problem in a Walrasian Regime. 5. General Equilibrium in the Neoclassical Frameworks. General Equilibrium in a Walrasian Model. Neoclassical General Equilibrium Models. Comparative Statistics of Neoclassical General Equilibrium. Welfare Implications of the Neoclassical General Equilibrium Equilibrium in Neoclassical Game models. Part III: New Classical Framework: . 6. Consumer-producers' Decisions to Choose Optimum Level and Pattern of Specialization. The New Classical Framework and Transaction Costs. Configurations and Corner Solutions in the New Classical Framework. The Optimum Resource Allocation for a Given Level and Pattern of Specialization. The Optimum Level and Pattern of Specialization. Neoclassical and New Classical Laws of Supply and Elasticity of Substitution. 7. New Classical General Equilibrium and Its Welfare Implications. Neoclassical vs. New Classical General Equilibrium. How Does the Market Coordinate the Division of Labor and Utilize Network Effects. Inframarginal Comparative Statistics of New Classical General Equilibrium. Efficiency of the Invisible Hand. 8. Trade Pattern and Professional Middlemen. Why Can Professional Middleman Make Money? What Are Determinants for Business Success. A Model with Trading Activities and Heterogeneous Parameters. Decisions to Be a Professional Middleman. Market Structures and Corner Equilibria. The Equilibrium Size of the Network of Division of Labor. Emergence of Professional Middlemen and a Hierarchical Structure of Economic Organization. Determinants of Trade Pattern and Successful Business. Part IV: Institution of the Firm and Pricing through Bargaining and Contracting: . 9. Labor Market and Institution of the Firm. What is the Institution of the Firm. Is It Fair to Have Asymmetric Relationship Between Boss and Employees. Story behind the Model. Emergence of the Firm from the Division of Labor. The Distinction Between ex ante and ex post Production Functions and the New Classical Analysis of Demand and Supply. Economies of Division of Labor, Economies of the Firm, and Coase Theorem. 10. Pricing Mechanism Based on Bargaining. Bargaining Game, Strategic Behavior, Opportunistic Behavior. Nash Bargaining Game. Endogenous Transaction Costs caused by Information Asymmetry. Alternating Offer Bargaining Games. Dynamic Bargaining Game and the Division of Labor. How Does Competition for a Greater Share of Gains from the Division of Labor. Generate Endogenous Transaction Costs. How Can Endogenous Transaction Costs be Eliminated by Consideration of Reputation. Non-credible Commitment and Soft Budget Constraint. 11. Endogenous Transaction Costs and Theory of Contract, Ownership, and Residual Rights. Endogenous Transaction Costs and Moral Hazard. Neoclassical Principal-agent Models. A New Classical General Equilibrium Model of Principal-agent. The Trade off Between Endogenous Transaction Costs caused by Moral Hazard and Monitoring Cost. The Grossman-Hart-Moore Model of Optimal Ownership Structure. Part V: Trade Theory and More General New Classical Models:. 12. Emergence of International Trade from Domestic Trade and Emergence of New Products. Endogenous Trade Theory and Endogenous Number of Consumer Goods. A New Classical Trade Model with Fixed Learning Costs. How are Demand and Supply Functions Determined by Individuals' Levels of Specialization. Inframarginal Comparative Statistics of the Optimum Decisions. How is the Level of Division of Labor in Society Determined in the Market. Inframarginal Comparative Statistics of General Equilibrium and Many Concurrent Economic Phenomena. Emergence of International Trade from Domestic Trade. Comovement of Division of Labor and Consumption Variety. Trade off Between Economies of Specialization and Coordination Costs. A Neoclassical Model Endogenizing the Number of Consumption Goods on the Basis of the Trade off Between Economies of Scale and Consumption Variety. An Extended Murphy-Shleifer-Vishny Model with Compatibility between Economies of Scale and Competitive Market. 13. Exogenous and Endogenous Comparative Advantages, Division of Labor, and Trade. Endogenous vs. Exogenous Comparative Advantage. A Ricardian Model with Exogenous Comparative Technological Advantage and Transaction Costs. Analysis of Decisions vs. Analysis of Equilibrium. Economic Development and Trade Policy. Comparative Endowment Advantage and Transaction Efficiency. 14. More General New Classical Models. Theoretical Foundation of New Classical Economics. A General New Classical Model with ex ante Different Consumer-producers. The Existence of General Equilibrium. Equilibrium Organism and Efficiency of the Invisible Hand in Coordinating Division of Labor. A Smithian Model with Dual Structure. Trade Pattern and Income Distribution. Part VI: Urbanization, Population, the Trade off Between Working and Leisure:. 15. Urbanization, Dual Structure Between Urban and Rural Areas, and the Division of Labor. Why and How Cities Emerge from the Division of Labor?. Emergence of Cities and of the Dual Structure Between Urban and Rural Areas. Why Can Geographical Concentration of Transactions Improve Transaction Efficiency. Simultaneous Endogenization of Level of Division of Labor, Location Pattern of Residences, Geographical Pattern of Transactions, and Land Prices. Fujita-Krugman Model of Urbanization. 16. The Trade off Between Work and Leisure and Impacts of the Resource Endowment and Population on the Division of Labor. Why Can Division of Labor Enlarge the Scope for the Efficient Trade off Between Work and Leisure. Why Leisure Time and Per capita Consumption of Each Goods Increase as Division of Labor Develops. Why Can Crisis of Resource Shortage Promote Evolution in Division of Labor and Productivity. Implications of High Population Density for Evolution in Division of Labor through Its Effect on Per capita Investment Cost of Infrastructure. Part VII: Trade off Between Economies of Division of Labor and Coordination Reliability of the Network of Division of Labor:. 17. Economics of Property Rights and the Division of Labor. Uncertainties in Transactions and Economics of Property Rights. Trade offs among Economies of Division of Labor, Coordination Reliability, and Benefit of Competition. Endogenization of Coordination Reliability in Each Transaction. Substitution between Precision in Specifying and Enforcing Property Rights and Competition. 18. Insurance and Risk of Coordination Failure of the Network of Division of Labor. Uncertainty and Risk Aversion. A Model with Insurance and Endogenous Specialization in the Absence of Moral Hazard. The Division of Labor and Endogenous Transaction Costs caused by Complete Insurance. Part VIII: Hierarchical Structure of Division of Labor:. 19. The Division of Labor in Roundabout Production and Emergence of New Machines and Related New Technology. New Classical View vs. Neoclassical View on the Emergence of New Producer Goods and Related New Technology. A Model with Endogenous Technical Progress, Endogenous Number of Producer Goods, and Endogenous Specialization. The Efficient Number of Producer Goods and Level of Specialization. The Corner Equilibria in 9 Structures. Concurrent Changes in the Level of Division of Labor, Productivity, and Input Diversity. Ex post Production Function, Emergence of New Machines, and Endogenous Technical Progress. Changes in Economic Structure and Topological Properties of Economic Organism. Evolution in the Number of Producer Goods and Economic Development. 20. Industrialization and the Division of Labor in Roundabout Production. The Features of Industrialization. A General Equilibrium Model Endogenizing Production Roundaboutness. Corner Equilibria and Emergence of New Industry. Corner Equilibria and Emergence of New Industry. General Equilibrium and Industrialization. Changes in the Income Shares of the Industrial and Agricultural Sectors. The Number of Possible Structures of Transactions Increases More Than Proportionally as Division of Labor Evolves in Roundabout Production. 21. Hierarchical Structure of the Network of Division of Labor and Related Transactions. The Theory of Hierarchy. One Way Centralized Hierarchy. A Decentralized Hierarchy of Transactions and the Division of Labor. Configurations and Market Structures. The General Equilibrium and Its Inframarginal Comparative Statistics. Network Hierarchy of Cities and Division of Labor. Part IX: Economic Development and Economic Growth:. 22. Neoclassical Models of Economic Growth. Neoclassical vs. New Classical Growth Model and Exogenous vs. Endogenous Growth Model. The Ramsey Model and the AK Model. R&D Based Endogenous Growth Models. 23. Economic Growth Generated by Endogenous Evolution in Division of Labor. Economies of Specialized Learning by Doing and Endogenous Evolution in Division of Labor. A New Classical Dynamic Model with Learning by Doing. Optimum Speed of Learning by Doing and Evolution of Endogenous Comparative Advantage. Endogenous Evolution of the Extent of the Market, Trade Dependence, Endogenous Comparative Advantages, and Economic Structure. Empirical Evidences and Rethinking Development Economics and Endogenous Growth Theory. Appendix. The Relationship between the Control Theory and Calculus of Variations. 24. Concurrent Endogenous Evolution in Division of Labor, in the Number of Goods, and in the Institution of the Firm. How Can We Simultaneously Endogenize Evolution in Division of Labor and in the Number of Producer Goods. A Dynamic Equilibrium Model with Learning by Doing and an Endogenous Number of Producer Goods. Dynamic Equilibrium Level of Specialization and Input Variety. Concurrent Evolution of Specialization, Variety of Producer Goods, and the Institution of the Firm. Appendix. 24.1. Proof of Lemma 24.1. Appendix 24.2. Proof of Proposition 24.1. Appendix 24.3. Proof of Proposition 24.2. 25. Experiments with Structures of Division of Labor and Evolution in Organization Information Acquired by Society. How Does Organization Knowledge Acquired by Society Determine the Level of Division of Labor. A Static Model with Endogenous Length of Roundabout Production Chain and Endogenous Division of Labor. Interactions Between Dynamic Decisions and Evolution in Organization Information. Walrasian Sequential Equilibrium and Concurrent Evolution in Organization Information and Division of Labor. Part X: Macroeconomic Phenomena and Endogenous Size of Network of Division of Labor: . 26. Theory of Capital and Saving. Neoclassical Theory of Capital. New Classical Theory of Capital and Savings. Capital and Division of Labor in Roundabout Production. 27. Money and Division of Labor. Neoclassical vs. New Classical Theories of Money. A New Classical Model of Endogenous Monetary Regime. Possible Structures and Monetary Regimes. 28. New Classical Theory of Business Cycles and Unemployment. Rethinking Macroeconomics. Long-run Regular Efficient Business Cycles, Cyclical Unemployment, Long-run Economic Growth, and Division of Labor in Producing Durable Goods. A New Classical Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Business Cycles and Unemployment. Cyclical vs. non-cyclical Corner Equilibria. General Price Level, Business Cycles, and Unemployment Rate. Emergence of Firms and Fiat Money from the Division of Labor. References. Index.
£75.00
Harvard University Press In Praise of Commercial Culture
Book SynopsisCowen argues that the capitalist market economy is a vital but underappreciated institutional framework for supporting a variety of artistic visions. His philosophy stands in opposition to the cultural pessimism of conservatives, neoconservatives, the Frankfurt School, and some versions of the political correctness and multiculturalist movements.Trade ReviewIn Praise of Commercial Culture by Tyler Cowen…is a treasure trove of insights about artistic genres, styles and trends, dexterously illuminated through economic analysis. Cowen’s main argument is that capitalism—by fostering alternate modes of financial support and multiple market niches, vast wealth and technological innovation—is the best ally the arts could have. -- Andrew Stark * Times Literary Supplement *Penetrating… Cowen calmly and carefully argues that a market economy—in other words, modern capitalism, attentive above all to supply and demand—is the single best guarantor of vigorous culture… What makes In Praise of Commercial Culture such a pleasure to read is partly Cowen’s humility—he writes softly—and partly the care and acuity with which he draws out his argument… Cowen’s real intelligence—the depth of thought that makes this such an interesting book—shows itself when he [notes]: ‘Governments often support creativity most effectively by providing a large number of jobs where individuals are not expected to work very hard’… [This is a] fascinating book. -- Bruce Serafin * Vancouver Sun *In a wide-ranging, brilliant, and thought-provoking book, Tyler Cowen has come to the cultural defense of capitalism. He argues that the record of free markets in supporting culture can stand comparison with that of any other system, from feudalism to communism… Cowen is amazingly learned, both in scholarship about the arts and in the arts themselves. He moves effortlessly from painting to music to literature. He also navigates skillfully between high and low culture, whether he is comparing the great piano virtuoso Franz Liszt to a contemporary stage performer like Prince, or showing how the second part of Don Quixote follows the same logic as do movie sequels like The Empire Strikes Back or Terminator 2… This is a very important and original book. -- Paul Cantor * American Enterprise *In Praise of Commercial Culture is a profoundly important book: In a historical moment when even socialists grant the efficiency and efficacy of markets in delivering a dizzying array of goods and services to people (and an increasing number of conservatives lament the same), there is still a great deal of resistance to applying a similar analysis to the production and consumption of culture… Cowen’s book is a seminal effort toward understanding that cultural matters, like other forms of human activity, benefit greatly from the decentralization, innovation, and feedback mechanisms endemic to market orders. In Praise of Commercial Culture is rich in nuance yet highly accessible to the general reader… By contextualizing pessimism within a larger dynamic of cultural growth and by showing the beneficial effects of markets on art, In Praise of Commercial Culture remaps the debate in a way that should greatly inform all future arguments. -- Nick Gillespie * Reason *This book is such a delight that it’s hard to believe it was written by an economist. It exudes such common sense (another unbelievability where economists are concerned) that, even when it fails to persuade entirely, the lapses invite dialogue, not dismissal… [This book] is neither an Ayn Randian paean to ‘The Artist as Businessman’ nor a dry economic analysis in which ‘cultural production’ becomes one more abstract input to the GDP. Mr. Cowen combines economic perspective with the skills of a cultural historian and the aesthetic sensibilities of a writer who cherishes his own cultural experiences. -- Philip Gold * Washington Times *A masterful performance… Cowen has provided a marvelously exuberant counterblast to the wide-spread view that in our philistine, materialist world the arts are going to hell in a handbasket. They are not. They are alive and well, and thriving as never before. Cowen goes a long way towards explaining why. For anyone with any interest in the history, funding and encouragement of the arts, In Praise of Commercial Culture is not to be missed. -- Winston Fletcher * Times Higher Education Supplement *[Tyler Cowen] argues that market forces stimulate the production of culture, high and low, and that far from homogenizing taste, they tend to produce art that is more specialized and diverse than it would be otherwise. In three especially lively chapters, Cowen traces the markets for the written word (where the printing press has been around for centuries), music (where recording technology became available only relatively recently), and painting (where reproductive technology counts for much less)… The picture of the art markets that emerges from In Praise of Commercial Culture is a reassuring one… It is less possible than ever before to create the monopoly on commercial culture that is the objective of totalitarian states. Within wide bands of fad and fashion, people are going to decide for themselves what they like. -- David Warsh * Boston Sunday Globe *Unlike critics…who laud the free market but have suspicions about the pop culture it spawns, or critics…who love pop culture’s vibrancy but disdain capitalist markets, Mr. Cowen thinks that American-style commerce and culture come awfully close to representing the best of all possible worlds… Key to his argument is the notion that cultural markets are not zero-sum. Even if the markets are serving up pabulum to the masses, that doesn’t prevent Mario Vargas Llosa or Salman Rushdie from reaching an audience. The relevant question isn’t how many more books Tom Clancy sells than Rushdie, Mr. Cowen insists, but whether serious novelists can reach the audiences that are hungry for them. In other words, the efficient distribution of books at every level of taste is the sign of the healthiest kind of market… Mr. Cowen also takes issue with the ‘winner-take-all’ theory of cultural markets…[which] suggests that cultural markets favor lowest-common-denominator blockbusters…and that more artistic works get shunted aside as studios and publishers seek the next giant payday. Mr. Cowen’s response is that trite best sellers may generate more cultural noise than smaller works, but that if you cut through the noise, smaller works are still thriving. -- Christopher Shea * Chronicle of Higher Education *I have been doused by cold water, and by an economist at that. In Praise of Commercial Culture proclaims that a thriving capitalist society sustains the arts better than any other form of social organisation… As with the debate in the US over the National Endowment for the Arts, the row over Britain’s Arts Council never goes away. The belief is that high culture would fade away if state subsidies were withdrawn. We are unwilling to place our cultural bets on the finer impulses of the super-rich. We prefer, irrationally to leave it to officials to decide who is worthy. Creative capitalism does it better. -- Joe Rogaly * Financial Times *Capitalism is better than an other ‘ism’ at delivering the goods—food, cars, shoes, and the other materials of everyday life. But few people associate capitalism with culture. In fact, many see the two as antithetical. Tyler Cowen, an art-loving economist, disagrees. Far from hurting culture, Cowen argues that capitalism nurtures it. Precisely because capitalism delivers the goods, Cowen writes, people have the means to buy books, paintings, and other forms of art. Improvements in production and marketing, for example, as well as increased wealth, have made books available to the masses. In 1760 a common laborer has to work two days to earn enough money to buy a cheap schoolbook; today the cost of a paperback is slightly more than the hourly minimum wage. -- David R. Henderson * Fortune *[Cowen] argues persuasively that literature, Western art, and music ‘from Bach to the Beatles’ flourish best when businesses are profitable and opportunities for innovative artists to find customers are multiplied… As with the debate in the US over the National Endowment for the Arts, the row over Britain’s Arts Council never goes away. The belief is that high culture would fade away if state subsidies were withdrawn. We are unwilling to place our cultural bets on the finer impulses of the super-rich. We prefer, irrationally, to leave it to officials to decide who is worthy. Creative capitalism does it better. -- Joe Rogaly * Financial Review [Australia] *By writing In Praise of Commercial Culture, Tyler Cowen gives his readers a clearly reasoned argument for cultural optimism, and, in the process, gives individuals…confidence to substantively critique Americans’ tendency toward grossly underestimating the quality of our artistic output in the latter half of the twentieth century. -- Craig Farmer * Fodder: The Newsletter of the Hungry Mind Bookstore *[A] provocative and valuable book. -- Alan W. Bock * Liberty *The view that art should sup with commerce only with the help of a very long spoon is the extension of a popular view of artistic endeavor—that the best artists, musicians and writers are outsiders, pushed by poverty, ill-health or an oppressive state to create… Mr. Cowen won’t have a bar of such pessimism. He argues that the best artists have mostly been in the thick of life…writing, painting or composing to the dictates of the market. Commercialisation, in fact, is just what art needs and Adam Smith was right: prose and poetry flow naturally from the growth of prosperity… Moreover, wealth and financial security give artists scope to reject societal values; a large market lowers the cost of creative pursuits and makes market niches easier to find; increasing wealth means better and longer life expectancy, which helps artists realise their potential. -- Graham Adams * New Zealand National Business Review *Cowen has given us a breath of fresh air in these so-called ‘culture wars’… [His] outstanding arguments and penetrating diagnosis convince me that observers from left to right are on the wrong track with ‘cultural pessimism’… I cannot recommend the book more highly. It should be read as a reasoned account of how culture develops and progresses in an atmosphere of personal freedom and market capitalism. More importantly, perhaps, Cowen’s book casts some much-needed light on the enemies of that vital process. * Public Choice *Jesse Helms and Karen Finley: Take note of Tyler Cowen. The George Mason University economist is an avid arts warrior, but one who rises above the reactionary postures that have come to define the debate over arts funding… [His] new book, In Praise of Commercial Culture, argues that free markets, unbridled by government, produce the best environments for creative expression… ‘Ninety percent of what is released is usually junk,’ he observes, ‘but junk is just a symptom of the riches we enjoy.’ -- Louis Jacobson * Washington City Paper *Economist Tyler Cowen has a contrarian message: Pop is good. His book In Praise of Commercial Culture outlines his case for cultural optimism. The progress of democratic capitalism, he says, gives people time and affluence to make and enjoy culture… Mr. Cowen is best when he skewers the popular notion that great artists are poor bohemians who live on the margins of society. * World *This book is full of surprises. It not only informed me wonderfully, it changed my mind. The subject is irresistible, and the analysis, solidly based in history, is compelling. After you enjoy reading it, you can enjoy telling your friends about it. -- Thomas C. Schelling, author of The Strategy of Conflict, Micromotives and Macrobehavior, and Choice and ConsequenceIn Praise of Commercial Culture is a lively and well-informed defense of the values of an unsubsidized free market for artists… I learned more from this book than from so many others that argue the standard view. As a bonus, the book is a pleasure to read. -- Mark Blaug, author of Economic Theory in Retrospect and The Methodology of EconomicsAt a time when critics on both the left and the right decry the degradation of the arts and call for censorship, we need reminding that the very market processes responsible for offensive art have fueled unprecedented artistic diversity, generated technologies to preserve masterpieces, and brought to the masses arts that were once just privileges of the rich. Drawing on vast literatures and using delightfully parsimonious arguments, Tyler Cowen rises to the challenge. Balanced and sensible, yet also provocative and entertaining throughout, In Praise of Commercial Culture will give pause to anyone who thinks that the golden age of the arts has passed. -- Timur Kuran, author of Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference FalsificationTable of Contents* Introduction * The Arts in a Market Economy * The Market for the Written Word * The Wealthy City as a Center for Western Art * The Developing Market for Music: From Bach to the Beatles * Why Cultural Pessimism? * Notes * Index
£25.16
Harvard University Press The Mystery of Economic Growth OISC
Book SynopsisFar more than an intellectual puzzle for pundits, economists, and policymakers, economic growth is a subject that affects the well-being of billions around the globe. Helpman discusses the vast research that has revolutionized understanding of this subject, and summarizes and explains its critical messages in clear, concise, and accessible terms.Trade ReviewProfessor Helpman's analytic powers and extraordinary grasp of the subject make his book, The Mystery of Economic Growth, the most comprehensive analysis of economic growth to date. The wide variety of relevant issues, from technological development through price and income causes and consequences to institutional changes are made available to the scholar and the interested general reader. The evaluations of different strands are judicious and wise, as well as highly representative of the literature. -- Kenneth Arrow, Nobel Laureate in EconomicsWant to understand the latest and best thinking on economic growth? Then read this little book. Professor Helpman has provided an enormously useful reader's guide to what is known (and what is not known) about this complex, fascinating, and all-important subject. -- Martin L. Weitzman, author of Income, Wealth, and the Maximum PrincipleElhanan Helpman has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of economic growth. Here he steps back and assesses what we have learned. Each page shines with profound knowledge, erudition, and wisdom. -- Andrei Shleifer, co-author of The Grabbing Hand: Government Pathologies and Their CuresIn this book, Elhanan Helpman reviews and analyzes economic growth, by pointing out the importance of input accumulation, trade, inequality, innovation, productivity, and institutions. He uses the most basic concept to outline what we know, what we do not know, and what we ought to know about the subject on a comprehensive and understandable manner. Such an approach should enable even noneconomists to become involved in the "growth mystery" without resorting to complex mathematical formulations...Overall, the book is well written, and the author is indeed highly knowledgeable on the issue at hand and his views are quite insightful and helpful in our understanding of economic growth, along with providing encouragement to developing countries. -- Masiiwa Rusare * Developing Economies *The Mystery of Economic Growth is the book to read if you want to learn about what we know about "economic growth" and what the remaining mysteries are. The book deserves to be read by a wide range of economists, policy makers and researchers who are interested in this subject. It is a must reading for undergraduate and graduate students who would like to do research in the field of economic growth and international development...It is short, relatively non-technical, but still provides an extensive coverage of the topic. Helpman tells an exciting story focusing on the most important research in the last 20 years. -- Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan * Journal of International Economics *This is an engaging book and it should be read by anyone interested in bridging the divide between economics and social policy...Helpman provides an interesting account of the most important contemporary theories of economic growth, and his book will be a useful resource for those who would like to know more on the subject. * Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare *Those interested in the topic of growth economics will find this discussion both fascinating and provocative. -- Michael Wald * Monthly Labor Review *Helpman is himself a master of the art of economics and his master's hand is evident on each page. In making his point, he takes the reader on a fast, yet detailed tour of some of the most important writing on economic growth in the last twenty years. He reviews the emergence of endogenous growth theory, the interaction of international trade and economic growth, the relationship between inequality and growth, and the role of the institutions that provide the fundamental groundwork for economic growth. -- George K. Davis * EH.Net *A fine survey of what is known and unknown in economics, and how to improve an understanding of global economic influences. Here the story of growth economics is organized around themes of technological and institutional influencers, total productivity, and interdependent growth rates of different countries. -- James A Cox and Diane C. Donovan * Bookwatch *
£24.26
Harvard University Press Information Incentives and Education Policy
Book SynopsisDerek Neal writes that economists must analyze public education policy in the same way they analyze other procurement problems. He shows how standard tools from economics research speak directly to issues in education. For mastering the models and tools that economists of education should use in their work, there is no better resource available.Trade ReviewInformation, Incentives, and Education Policy provides an interesting and original overview of some of the most important ideas from economics concerning the design and performance of education systems. Neal’s main contribution is to provide a conceptual framework for thinking about how to best assess the performance of teachers and schools, how to attract, assess, and motivate good educators, and how to design and assess school choice within public school systems as well as charter schools and voucher programs. -- Joseph G. Altonji, Yale UniversityDerek Neal’s wisdom in returning to first principles in this book generates a unique perspective that ties together economic theory and evidence in a way that will help advance the scientific foundation for education policy and move it in new directions. -- Parag Pathak, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyIn this book, Derek Neal lays out an economics framework for constructing and evaluating education policy. I recommend this book to those teaching graduate courses and advanced undergraduate courses. Even established researchers have much to gain from this book, which reminds us to keep economics front and center in the study of the economics of education. -- Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Northwestern UniversityNeal has his economist lenses firmly in place as he considers issues in education that range from the fundamental reasons for government investment in schools to the role that parental choice can and should play in determining where kids go to school. He succeeds in showing that the economic perspective offers plenty of instructive insights about American education…A valuable book from which readers stand to learn a lot. -- Michael McPherson * Education Next *Most education researchers will find, as I have, that they can learn a great deal from the book. -- Dennis Epple * Journal of Economic Literature *
£34.81
Harvard University Press Capitalist Revolutionary John Maynard Keynes
Book SynopsisThe 2008 recession restored Keynes to prominence. This account elaborates the misinformation that led to his repeated resurrection and interment since his death in 1946. Keynes was more open-minded about capitalism than is commonly believed, and his nuanced views offer an alternative to the polarized rhetoric evoked by the word capitalism today.Trade ReviewThis very readable book makes the actual historical Keynes and his ideas accessible to modern readers, whose views are so often formed by misleading myths about him, his work, and its significance. -- David Laidler, University of Western OntarioThe authors' interpretation of Keynes is broadly convincing, not least in challenging the way that his own arguments have been misleadingly stereotyped by subsequent economists. It succeeds in shifting our perspectives on the nature of Keynes's achievement. It recognizes his intellectual greatness while acknowledging the flaws and lacunae in his various arguments. And it brings out his own reluctance to police a new 'Keynesian orthodoxy' and his tolerance of various approaches. -- Peter Clarke, University of CambridgeAn excellent introduction to the thought of John Maynard Keynes. Lucid and nontechnical, it explains how, because Keynes was such a different kind of economist--eclectic, practical rather than formalistic, worldly, intuitive--from the formalistic academic economists of the next generation, who came to dominate the economics profession, he was misunderstood by his successors. They created and later discredited 'Keynesianism'--a distorted version of Keynes's thought. Backhouse and Bateman explain that to cope with our current economic problems, we need to restore Keynes's original vision. -- Richard A. Posner, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit[A] timely and provocative reappraisal. -- John Cassidy * New Yorker *Backhouse and Bateman provide a useful context for the many policymakers, journalists, economists, and historians who have recently rediscovered, rehabilitated, or revived Keynes's thought. The duo portray Keynes as a nontrivial personality who was in equal measure economist and moral philosopher, revolutionary and conservative. The brief volume flows with merciful grace through the particulars of Keynesian economic thought, interweaving historical, biographical, and technical details. The Keynes who emerges is not a one-dimensional deficit-spending proponent but a complex philosopher-economist who earnestly calls for perpetual revolution of capitalism to preserve this imperfect but best-available economic system. -- Jekabs Bikis * Library Journal *Elegantly written and extremely thoughtful...This is not a technical economic tract; this is a book for someone who wants to understand how Keynes' ideas and habits of thought fit together (it includes a useful bibliographic essay to the Keynes industry at the end). While it deals with the broad outline of Keynes' economic ideas, particularly in the '30s when he published his masterpiece, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, it also tackles the philosophical contexts that shaped his thinking and what the authors call "Keynes' ambiguous revolution," that is, how those ideas were revised and reshaped after World War II into a kind of orthodoxy, then rejected in the stagflation '70s, then embraced, debated and reinterpreted up to our own deeply confusing era. This is extremely useful, particularly in an age where we are once again hearing from movements like Occupy Wall Street that capitalism needs to be renovated or eliminated, or when, in a time of often-vicious partisanship, Keynes and Keynesianism is tossed around as a term of blackest opprobrium or unassailable wisdom...There's a lot packed in this small volume. Keynes' ambition, his worldly views and his diagnostic tendencies all lie behind the book's seemingly contradictory title: Capitalist Revolutionary...Writing about someone like Keynes who personally wrote so much, so well, must be a daunting task. Backhouse and Bateman more than keep up, not by competing with Keynes, but by letting him speak, in all his many voices. Their Keynes is not a secret socialist, or closet communist; not an apostate from classical economics; not some avatar of permissiveness and inflation. As they make clear in their discussion of Keynesianism after Keynes, his relationship with his own legacy is complex and ambiguous. He was not a man to be pinned down because he recognized that the world, which includes matters of economics as well as so much more, is neither simple, straightforward nor apprehensible by time-bound men armed with doctrines and dogmas. That alone is a lesson well worth revisiting regularly. -- Robert Teitelman * The Deal *From Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes, the great economists of the past saw economics as a historical, philosophical and, above all, moral discipline...The first step to good capitalism, therefore, is to re-moralize economics. In their tantalizingly brief but thought-provoking study of Keynes, Roger E. Backhouse and Bradley W. Bateman have started to do just that. Keynes, they show, was much more than an astonishingly innovative economic theorist and accomplished man of affairs. He was also a moral philosopher...He abhorred the utilitarian would world view that lay at the heart of classical economic theory. The fundamental utilitarian dogma--that markets are driven by rational, individual utility maximizers--seemed to him morally repulsive as well as factually incorrect. He thought that capitalism was the least bad economic system available but he also thought it was morally defective. -- David Marquand * New Statesman *
£32.36
Harvard University Press Choice Preferences and Procedures
Book SynopsisSocial choice theory critically assesses and rationally designs economic mechanisms for improving human well-being. Kotaro Suzumura—one of the world’s foremost thinkers in social choice theory and welfare economics—fuses abstract ideas with real-world economies to examine foundational issues of normative economics and collective decision making.Trade ReviewKotaro Suzumura is one of the foremost leaders of thought in rational decisions and social choice as well as the economics of welfare. The reach of his work is breathtaking, and I cannot think of anything that can beat this collection for its reach and profundity in exploring some of the most foundational issues in decision making, investigated at the highest level of analytical sophistication. The work is an inspiration as well as an intellectual feast. -- Amartya Sen, Harvard UniversitySuzumura’s leading position as a scholar in the theory of individual and social choice, and in the understanding of the intellectual foundations of public choice, is assured. This book shows the arc of his development. It contains a deep comprehension of the issues involved, both in their technical aspects and in their philosophical foundations. -- Kenneth J. Arrow, Stanford UniversityThe book collects the best of Kotaro Suzumura’s work on social choice and welfare economics, adding a long introduction about his influences and several essays on the history of social choice…The volume will serve as a useful collection of Suzumura’s work for social choice theorists and graduate students interested in the field, especially because it includes material that is otherwise hard to obtain. -- R. B. Emmett * Choice *
£60.31
Harvard University Press Value in Ethics and Economics
Book SynopsisElizabeth Anderson offers a new theory of value and rationality that rejects costbenefit analysis in our social lives and in our ethical theories. This account of the plurality of values thus offers a new approach, beyond welfare economics and traditional theories of justice, for assessing the ethical limitations of the market.Trade ReviewAnderson is anxious to combat what she sees as a tendency for commercial values to invade areas of human life where they do not belong… A useful contribution to debate about the proper scope of the market. -- Hugo Dixon * Financial Times *Not everything is a commodity, insists Anderson, and her brief should shake up social science technocrats. * Philadelphia Inquirer *The book is rich in both argument and application. -- Alan Hamlin * Times Higher Education Supplement *In this rich and insightful book Elizabeth Anderson develops an original account of value and rational action and then employs this account to address the pragmatic political question of what the proper range of the market should be. Anderson’s principal targets are consequentialism, monism and the crude ‘economistic’ reasoning which underpins much contemporary social policy… This is an important book… For anyone interested in political philosophy this is essential reading. -- A. J. Walsh * Australasian Journal of Philosophy *Table of ContentsPreface 1. A Pluralist Theory of Value A Rational Attitude Theory of Value Ideals and Self-Assessment How Goods Differ in Kind (I): Different Modes of Valuation How Goods Differ in Kind (II): Social Relations of Realization 2. An Expressive Theory of Rational Action Value and Rational Action The Framing of Decisions The Extrinsic Value of States of Affairs Consequentialism Practical Reason and the Unity of the Self 3. Pluralism and Incommensurable Goods The Advantages of Consequentialism A Pragmatic Theory of Comparative Value Judgments Incommensurable Goods Rational Choice among Incommensurable Goods 4. Self-Understanding, the Hierarchy of Values, and Moral Constraints The Test of Self-Understanding The Hierarchy of Values Agent-Centered Restrictions Hybrid Consequentialism A Self-Effacing Theory of Practical Reason? 5. Criticism, Justification, and Common Sense A Pragmatic Account of Objectivity The Thick Conceptual Structure of the Space of Reasons How Common Sense Can Be Self-Critical Why We Should Ignore Skeptical Challenges to Common Sense 6. Monistic Theories of Value Monism Moore's Aesthetic Monism Hedonism Rational Desire Theory 7. The Ethical Limitations of the Market Pluralism, Freedom, and Liberal Politics The Ideals and Social Relations of the Modern Market Civil Society and the Market Personal Relations and the Market Political Goods and the Market The Limitations of Market Ideologies 8. Is Women's Labor a Commodity? The Case of Commercial Surrogate Motherhood Children as Commodities Women's Labor as a Commodity Contract Pregnancy and the Status of Women Contract Pregnancy, Freedom, and the Law 9.
£32.26
Harvard University Press The Wisdom of Money
Book SynopsisMoney is an evil that does good, and a good that does evil. It is wise to have money, says Pascal Bruckner, and wise to think and talk about it critically. One of the world’s great essayists guides us through the commentary that money has generated since ancient times, as he builds an unfashionable defense of the worldly wisdom of the bourgeoisie.Trade ReviewPascal Bruckner argues that money, or rather our relationship with money, says everything about us and our private lives… A stimulating and timely essay. * Le Monde *A challenging and salutary essay, a rare exploration of our ambivalent relationship with money and especially—which is rarer—the hypocrisy that goes with it. * Le Postillon *On the literary stock exchange, Bruckner is always a safe investment. * Le Figaro *
£32.36
Harvard University Press Capital and Ideology
Book SynopsisThomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century showed that capitalism, left to itself, generates deepening inequality. In this audacious follow-up, he challenges us to revolutionize how we think about ideology and history, exposing the ideas that have sustained inequality since premodern times and outlining a fairer economic system.Trade ReviewIn an election cycle where the political discourse has been thoroughly shaped by Piketty’s work, his new book feels especially urgent. * GQ *Ventures to trace the origin of inequalities and propose methods of eradication…Lands on the world’s doorstep in the midst of an unfolding economic crisis, when the shutdown required to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is sending the world into a spiraling recession…Piketty has put forward proposals for long-term, permanent change, but impressively, they would also be immediately useful in speeding along the recovery. * New Republic *Nothing less than a global history of inequality and the stories that societies tell to justify it, from pre-modern India to Donald Trump’s U.S. * Wired *Might become even more politically influential than the French economist’s 2013 overview of inequality, Capital in the Twenty-First Century…Piketty explains why this could be the moment for a turn to equality, and which policies could make that happen. -- Simon Kuper * Financial Times *Thomas Piketty’s books are always monumental…In the same way that Capital in the Twenty-First Century has transformed how economists look at inequality, Capital and Ideology will transform the way political scientists look at their own field. -- Branko Milanovic * ProMarket *An astonishing experiment in social science, one that defies easy comparison. In its ambition, obsessive testimony and sheer oddness, it is closer to the spirit of Karl Ove Knausgård than of Karl Marx…Will be impossible to ignore. -- William Davies * The Guardian *A book of remarkable clarity and dynamism. Drawing lessons from a breathtaking survey of different historical experiences, it teaches us that nothing is inevitable, that there exist a whole range of possibilities between hypercapitalism and the disasters of the communist experience. It’s up to us to make our future. Let’s roll up our sleeves. -- Esther Duflo, Nobel Laureate in Economic SciencesA believer in how capitalism can be used to eradicate inequality, Piketty argues for new taxation systems that might minimize the gap between the one percent and the underserved. Whether he’s right or wrong, his dazzling intellect makes for thought-provoking reading. * Washington Post *Boldly proclaims that inequality is ultimately rooted in ideology…Offer[s] a global history of how different political systems have justified inequality, and how these systems have been transformed over time. * The Nation *A magisterial history of economic development as seen through the prism of inequality. It is breathtaking in its scholarship and sweep (almost no corner of the globe is left unvisited) and incandescent in its insights…[Piketty] casts his discerning gaze on history’s sweep, not just to understand the world but also to transform it. -- Arvind Subramanian * Foreign Affairs *Spenglerian in scope, Piketty’s critique reaches far back in history and across the globe…It’s an admirable corrective to the usual Eurocentrism of Western economists…Piketty has modified his thinking since his previous opus. Rather than imply that rising inequality is a problem inherent in capitalism, he now suggests that the levels of inequality we get are the ones we countenance—that they’re entirely a matter of political and ideological choices. -- Idrees Kahloon * New Yorker *Packed with fascinating detail and vast quantities of skillfully assembled data…A systematic examination of inequality across time and place, and of the ideas the powerful have used to justify it…We learn a good deal about the lengths to which the powerful will go to assert their privilege (and the often outrageous injustice this entails), and about the only things that have ever thwarted them: mass violence and progressive taxation…Whether or not his revolution without revolutionaries can get us where we need to go, his analysis of how we got here demands our attention. -- Geoff Mann * London Review of Books *Seven years after the publication of his best-selling Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Piketty returns with a global overview to understand some of the most pressing economic and social issues of our time. * New York Times Book Review *The breadth of Piketty’s learning is extraordinary…Politicians who hope for more than a short durée in power would do well to digest the main thesis. -- Howard Davies * Literary Review *Both a history of the world and a theory of history. Every society is unequal, and therefore constitutes an ‘inequality regime’ maintained not solely by force but also by ideology… Most of the book is a history of how those ideologies have helped bolster social structures characterized by extreme inequality, from feudal and slave societies through colonial regimes to the hypercapitalist world of today…The bleakly unequal impact of the coronavirus pandemic on rich and poor may reinforce that discontent. -- James Kwak * Washington Post *A work of political economy in the broadest sense—a staggeringly ambitious effort attempting to synthesize centuries of history, economics, and politics into one grand picture…A fascinating, essential study both of where we came from and of two possible paths forward: how we might create a better future for all human society, and the dark possibilities should we fail. -- Ryan Cooper * The Week *Mixes history and polemic—case studies from modern Sweden and Soviet Russia alongside a genuine political program to help mitigate, at least, the cruelest inequities highlighted in his first book. -- David Wallace-Wells * New York Magazine *More like a history of the world than an economics book…An awe-inspiring breadth of data is tapped…And after dives into such detail, unlike the average data aficionado, Piketty always soars back up to the big picture. On occasion, a blistering insight can cut through reams of history. -- Tom Clark * Prospect *Bears little resemblance to anything else written by contemporary economists, or even those of one or two generations past. The tendency in economics now—as well as in a great deal of public discussion—is to view the economy as a natural force, existing independently from our ideas about what it is and how it ought to work. This book systematically demolishes that self-serving conceit…Makes clear that a political and ideological revolution is necessary in order to achieve a new era of economic justice. -- Marshall Steinbaum * Boston Review *[In] Piketty’s magisterial survey of the central role that ideas and discourse have played in alternately justifying and questioning societies’ inequities, we are reminded that political uprisings, financial collapses, and wars—think the French Revolution, the Great Depression, and World War II—are what drive change. -- Scott LaPierre * Harvard Business Review *As in his previous book, Piketty’s quest to quantify and track inequality is grounded in a rigorous analysis of data…In Capital and Ideology, he also seeks to better explain how systems of inequality persist and justify themselves…Ultimately as much a work of history as of economics…Piketty’s latest work offers us plenty of valuable ideas. * The Nation *[A] sweeping survey of the root causes of inequality…Loaded with rich comparative data, much of which has been compiled for the first time. This information includes not only standard economic fare, such as data on growth and, of course, inequality, but also political data on voting behavior, stratified by class. This allows Piketty to show how political alliances were forged in the 1980s and ’90s in support of a global order that fostered inequality. -- Katharina Pistor * Public Books *Just as powerful [as Capital in the Twentieth-First Century]. * Fast Company *Has virtues that many post-Marxist critiques lack…Piketty’s sweeping scholarship enhances, rather than obscures, his central argument. * The Economist *[Has] the potential to start an important debate about how to restructure society in a more egalitarian and ecologically sustainable way. -- Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven * Nature *Ranges widely across continents and centuries in its analysis of economic inequality and the ways it is justified. -- Matthew Reisz * Times Higher Education *At its heart, Capital and Ideology seeks to understand why the less advantaged masses, who’ve seen their share of the economic pie drastically shrink in recent decades, don’t unite to press for sweeping political changes that could bring economic justice…Given the starring role that inequality has assumed in today’s political discourse—in no small part due to his previous book—Piketty’s latest effort is very welcome. * Foreign Policy *Thomas Piketty’s magisterial global and connected history takes us on a whirlwind journey across the world during the past 500 years to show how shifting ideas and politics have shaped a wide variety of inequality regimes. Fully embracing the power of historical analysis, Capital and Ideology emboldens us to reimagine the possibilities of our present. Enormously rich in argument and evidence, this tour de force by one of the most influential thinkers of our age is a must-read for anyone grappling with the dilemmas of our present. -- Sven Beckert, author of Empire of Cotton: A Global HistoryThomas Piketty’s new book starts where Capital in the Twenty-First Century left off, revealing how inequality was allowed to develop into an acceptable condition, now and in the past, in the West and in the rest of the world. Still, not all is bad: if inequality is a social construct, that means it can also be undone. Based on monumental research, Capital and Ideology is an appeal to rethink capitalism—if not for today’s politicians then perhaps for tomorrow’s revolution! -- Reinier de Graaf, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, author of Four Walls and a Roof[A] wide-ranging historical survey of ‘inequality regimes’—dogmas that justify hierarchies of wealth and power…This ambitious manifesto will stir controversy, but also cement Piketty’s position as the Left’s leading economic theorist. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *A significant work. The author interrogates the principal forms of economic organization over time, from slavery to ‘non-European trifunctional societies,’ Chinese-style communism, and ‘hypercapitalist’ orders, in order to examine relative levels of inequality and its evolution…A deftly argued case for a new kind of socialism that, while sure to inspire controversy, bears widespread discussion. * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *Outlines a fairer economic system for the world. -- Claire Warren * Management Today *The journey through this book is long but rewarding. Piketty’s historical analysis of inequality around the world is fascinating, and even the wishful thinking underlying his ‘participatory socialism’ makes for interesting reading. -- Willem H. Buiter * Project Syndicate *[Piketty] expand[s] his investigations across the globe and over long periods of history to reveal how ideologies fuel inequalities. -- Ashish Mehta * The Wire *Focuses on the relationship between inequality and the way in which the concept of private property has evolved over time…Fascinating analysis. -- Thomas Fazi * American Affairs *This is an immense work of scholarship on the history of inequality. It also contains a penetrating analysis of contemporary politics, especially the failures of what Piketty calls the ‘Brahmin Left,’ along with a radical new program of socialist egalitarianism. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *A truly monumental work, reviewing trends in income and wealth inequality across of host of nations and eras, and attempting to find some overarching explanation for them. -- Charles Steindel * Business Economics *A remarkable achievement. -- Geoffrey Wood * Central Banking *An important contribution by Piketty. He has enlarged the scope of economic analysis appropriately to include political power and ideology. The historical record he presents is greatly enriching. -- Stephanie Seguino * Forum for Social Economics *Adds something vital to the author’s decades-old, impressively data-rich indictment of unequal wealth accumulation. This book proposes a lively, tendentious, debatable account of the ideologies that propel different property regimes—as well as a nuanced genealogy of how such ideologies can change. -- John Plotz * Public Books *Worth the wait. Like Capital in the Twenty-First Century, it is an empirical tour de force that ends with a new policy proposal to reduce inequality…But bringing the issue of ideology and power into the debate over rising inequality is the truly great achievement of Capital and Ideology…Piketty has distanced himself from standard economics and provides a multidisciplinary, historical explanation of inequality. -- Steven Pressman * Dollars & Sense *Piketty’s own historical and cross-national analysis is deeply informed by his concern with contemporary injustices, notably income and wealth inequities but also the ecological crisis and resurgent, racist or ‘social-nativist’ populisms. -- Elaine Coburn * International Sociology Review *His magnum opus…It is difficult not to agree with Piketty’s compelling thesis—that inequality is a ‘man-made’ construct rooted in ideologies that have historically been dominated by the elite…Government officials and policymakers would find it useful in charting new economic policies for the future. -- Omar Darwazah * Arab Studies Quarterly *The scope of Piketty’s inquiry sets his book apart from most work by economists on inequality. -- Roger E. Backhouse * Society *An encyclopaedic, rewarding work that merits thoughtful engagement…Piketty successfully puts forward a superb, data-driven normative defense of democratic socialism. The principles that Piketty proposes—fair tax, fair trade, clean air and, above all, a democratic economy—have a huge amount to commend them, and make this book an essential read. -- Ewan McGaughey * LSE Review of Books *
£30.56
Princeton University Press Classics in Game Theory
Book SynopsisThe theory of games, first given a rigorous formulation by von Neumann in 1928, is a subfield of mathematics and economics that models situations in which individuals compete and cooperate with each other. This book assembles the fundamental contributions in this field. It is useful for researchers in game theory and for students.Trade Review"This volume assembles in one sourcebook the basic contributions to the field [of game theory]..."--L'Enseignement MathematiqueTable of ContentsPermissionsForewordAn Appreciation1Equilibrium Points in n-Person Games32The Bargaining Problem53Non-Cooperative Games144An Iterative Method of Solving a Game275Equivalence of Games in Extensive Form366Extensive Games and the Problem and Information467A Value for n-Person Games698Stochastic Games809Recursive Games8710Von Neumann-Morgenstern Solutions to Cooperative Games without Side Payments11911A Limit Theorem on the Core of an Economy12712The Bargaining Set for Cooperative Games14013Existence of Competitive Equilibria in Markets with a Continuum of Traders17014The Core of an n-Person Game19215Games with Incomplete Information Played by "Bayesian" Players. Part I: The Basic Model216Games with Incomplete Information Played by "Bayesian" Players. Part II: Bayesian Equilibrium Points247Games with Incomplete Information Played by "Bayesian" Players. Part III: The Basic Probability Distribution of the Game26816The Big Match28917On Market Games29618Reexamination of the Perfectness Concept for Equilibrium Points in Extensive Games317List of Contributors355Index357
£63.75
Princeton University Press The Political Power of Economic Ideas
Book SynopsisReviews the historical evidence to explain why some nations embraced Keynesian policies while others did not. This book examines the central issue of how and why particular ideas acquire influence over policy and politics. It also examines central themes in contemporary economics, political science, and history.Trade ReviewOne of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1991
£38.25
Princeton University Press Lectures on the Theory of Games
Book SynopsisOffers an introduction to the mathematical discipline known as the Theory of Games. This book opens by addressing 'matrix games'. It continues with a treatment of games in extensive form and also deals with games that have an infinite number of pure strategies for the two players. It features examples and exercises, and various historical notes.Table of ContentsAuthor's Note vii Preface ix Chapter 1. What Is the Theory of Games? 1 Notes 3 Chapter 2. Matrix Games 5 2.1 Two Examples 5 2.2 The Definition of a Matrix Game 9 2.3 The Fundamental Theorem for 2 x 2 Matrix Games 10 2.4 The Geometry of Convex Sets 12 2.5 Fundamental Theorem for All Matrix Games 21 2.6 A Graphical Method of Solution 24 2.7 An Algorithm for Solving All Matrix Games 28 2.8 Simplified Poker 36 Notes 45 Appendix 48 Chapter 3. Extensive Games 59 3.1 Some Preliminary Restrictions 59 3.2 The Axiom System 59 3.3 Pure and Mixed Strategies 64 3.4 Games with Perfect Information 66 3.5 A Reduction of the Game Matrix 67 3.6 An Instructive Example 70 3.7 Behavior Strategies and Perfect Recall 72 3.8 Simplified Poker Reconsidered 77 Notes 78 Chapter 4. Infinite Games 81 4.1 Some Preliminary Restrictions 81 4.2 An Illuminating Example 81 4.3 Mixed Strategies and Expectation 83 4.4 The Battle of the Maxmin versus Supinf 88 4.5 The Fundamental Theorem 92 4.6 The Solution of Games on the Unit Square 94 Notes 103 Index 105
£49.30
Princeton University Press The New Financial Order
Book SynopsisDescribes six fundamental ideas for using modern information technology and advanced financial theory to temper basic risks that have been ignored by risk management institutions - risks to the value of our jobs and our homes, to the vitality of our communities, and to the very stability of national economies.Trade ReviewRobert J. Shiller, Co-Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics Co-Winner of the 2005 Kulp-Wright Book Award, American Risk and Insurance Association, Inc. Winner of the 2003 Business Book Award, Financial Times Germany/getAbstract Winner of the 2004 Wilmott Book Of The Year Award for General Finance Honorable Mention for the 2003 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Economics, Association of American Publishers "Shiller's ambition is exhilarating, and gives his work something that most business books lack; a deep sense of how economic ideas might transform people's everyday lives."--The New Yorker "The New Financial Order [is] ... easily accessible and pleasantly utopian."--Washington Post "Certain to be controversial."--Publishers Weekly "It is an understatement to say Shiller's book raises complex political, legal and economic questions. Some will probably never happen. But The New Financial Order is still worth a look. It casts some long-standing social problems in a new light, and it puts some fascinating ideas on the table."--Andrew Cassel, Philadelphia Inquirer "While [his] ideas may sound unfamiliar--even radical--Shiller's reasoned case recalls earlier financial innovations such as stock and futures markets, life and unemployment insurance, and earned income tax credits. The earlier innovations addressed the financial and risk management needs of individuals and societies in the same way Shiller proposes for his concepts."--Library Journal "The good news, on Professor Shiller's analysis, is that it is now possible to conceive and construct trade-able indices that will allow insurers to offer protection against such things as industrial decline and demographically-induced pension shortfalls. If we all knew such insurance was available, we could afford more risks with our choice of career, to the benefit of the economy. Creativity is the lifeblood of capitalist economics. Emotional worries about the risk of unemployment are one of the biggest threats to continued innovation... The data and technology to make a market in such things exists. All that is lacking, Professor Shiller says, is the will to make them a commercial reality."--Jonathan Davis, The Independent "There are financial markets that help us manage fluctuations in corporate profitability and commodity prices. But there are no markets to help manage risks from fluctuations in labor markets and housing markets, even though these have a much bigger impact on most peoples' financial security. How could we design markets to help manage such risks? This challenging problem is examined in Robert J. Shiller's book The New Financial Order."--Hal R. Varian, New York Times "[A] though-provoking book."--Risk "Livelihood insurance. Income-linked loans. Inequality insurance. These are some of the bold and imaginative ideas suggested by Robert Shiller... [W]hile the practical barriers to some of Shiller's suggestions may be immense, there is much that is stimulating in this book. If one were to look 30 years ahead, it would be foolish to bet against at least one of his ideas being widely adopted."--Philip Coggan, Financial Times "[Shiller's] ideas are striking, to put it mildly... Mr. Shiller himself is doubtful that all his ideas will be adopted. But his book, which contains some fascinating history, is at the very least thought-provoking."--The Economist "Unemployment is up. Housing sales are weakening. Oil prices continue to fluctuate, and the stock market remains volatile. There's no doubt we live in risky times, yet our tools for managing risk are limited... How could we design markets to help manage such risks? This challenging problem is examined in Robert J. Shiller's book... Here Mr. Shiller turns to the role of financial institutions in managing risk... It is said that behind every successful man is a surprised mother-in-law. If so, there could be quite a large market for such securities."--Hal R. Varian, New York Times "Millions of individual investors could have saved themselves enormous sums of money, and an equivalent amount of grief, by taking Robert Shiller's advice three years ago... Now Shiller is back with another book that also holds warnings of sorts--this time about societal wealth inequalities and the need to mitigate what he calls 'the risks that rally matter in our lives.' If Irrational Exuberance was a sober assessment of a situation that was well known yet widely defended--the nation's infatuation with stocks--The New Financial Order is a dissertation on problems many people don't know they have... Shiller, however, has let his imagination run in this book."--Tom Petruno, Los Angeles Times "In a non-technical way, Shiller engages readers in a wide-ranging consideration of risk and introduces novel ideas concerning the ways people identify, view, and guard against risk... This topic may seem to appeal to a limited audience, but the author's style enables him to broach what might have been tedious topics in an entertaining way."--ChoiceTable of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. vii*Preface, pg. ix*Acknowledgments, pg. xiii*Introduction: The Promise of Economic Security, pg. 1*Part One: Economic Risks in an Advancing World, pg. 19*Part Two: How Science and Technology Create New Opportunities in Finance, pg. 67*Part Three: Six Ideas for a New Financial Order, pg. 105*Part Four: Deploying the New Financial Order, pg. 187*Part Five: The New Financial Order as a Continuation of a Historical Process, pg. 229*Epilogue: A Model of Radical Financial Innovation, pg. 269*Notes, pg. 277*References, pg. 325*Index, pg. 351
£31.50
Princeton University Press Markets from Networks Socioeconomic Models of
Book SynopsisUnveils a theory of the market economy. Arguing that most economists use overly abstract models of how the economy operates, this book seeks an empirically based alternative. It creates mathematical models of how the economy works and how the interaction of its sectors creates mutual protection from the uncertainties of business.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2004 Viviana Zelizer Distinguished Book Award in Economic Sociology, American Sociological Association "This is an original and stimulating work by an eminent sociologist who undertakes to analyze the structure and workings of economic markets."--W. J. Baumol, Journal of Economics "This is a work of remarkable scope and ambition. Harrison White is one of the leading lights of 'new economic sociology'."--Costas Lapavitsas, Enterprise & SocietyTable of ContentsList of Figures ix List of tables xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv 1. Introduction 1 PART ONE: FIRMS EMBED INTO A MARKET 2. Profiles for a Market 27 3. Market plane 49 4. Quality and Unraveling 78 5. Signaling and PARADOX 95 PART TWO: MARKETS COMPETE, TOO 6. Substitutability Extended 121 7. Market Space 139 8. Estimating Qualities and Parameters 158 PART THREE: MARKETS ALONG NETWORKS 9. Facing Upstream or Down 177 10. Embed and Decouple 200 11. Suppressing Market Realities 221 PART FOUR: MARKETS AND FIRMS OVER TIME 12. Investing across markets 245 13. Strategic Moves and Market Evolution 266 14. Contrasting Research Perspectives 284 15. Business Cultures 299 16. Conclusion 317 Appendix. On Computations 331 Glossary of Symbols 339 Notes 342 References 353 Index 381
£40.50
Princeton University Press On Adam Smiths Wealth of Nations
Book SynopsisAdam Smith was a philosopher before he ever wrote about economics, yet there has never been a philosophical commentary on the Wealth of Nations. This book suggests that Smith's vastly influential treatise on economics can be better understood if placed in the light of his epistemology, philosophy of science, and moral theory.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2009 Joseph B. Gittler Award, American Philosophical Association "In my opinion, all readers interested in Adam Smith's project and/or the modern Post-Smithian notion of distributive justice, should have access to this book, so they can study this important, provocative contribution to the understanding of Smith's conception of justice."--Spencer J. Pack, EH.NET "[A]n enlightening guide to the philosophical component of the Wealth of Nations and its relation to Smith's other works. [This] is ... an exceptionally good book."--D. D. Raphael, British Journal for the History of Philosophy "Fleischacker ... has a sure philosophical grasp of Smith's ideas. He uses this to great effect, presenting what is the first rigorous philosophical commentary on the Wealth of Nations in English, of which I am aware."--Duncan Kelly, Political Studies Review "There is no question that Fleischacker has produced a landmark study of Adam Smith's works. His handling of philosophical issues is subtle and suggestive; and in probing 'the virtues that lie within and just beyond the frame of Wealth of Nations', Fleischacker provides new philosophical resources for the debate about the fundamental relation between Wealth of Nations and Smith's larger philosophical project."--Vivienne Brown, Eighteenth Century Scotland "Overall, this is a very useful book whether treated as a companion or, better, read straight through."--John Douglas Bishop, Philosophy in ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xi Abbreviations xiii Introduction xv PART I: Methodology CHAPTER ONE: Literary Method 3 1. Obstacles to Reading Smith 4 2. Rhetoric 12 3. Genre 15 4. Style and Philosophical Method 19 CHAPTER TWO: Epistemology and Philosophy of Science 27 5. Epistemology 27 6. Philosophy of Science 31 7. Philosophy of Social Science 34 8. Types of Evidence 36 9. Providentialism 44 CHAPTER THREE: Moral Philosophy 46 10. Moral Sentimentalism 46 11. The Wealth of Nations and Moral Philosophy 48 12. A Moral Assessment of Capitalism? 55 PART II: Human Nature CHAPTER FOUR: Overview 61 13. Philosophy and the Theory of Human Nature 61 14. Smith's Picture of Human Nature 66 15. Religious Sentiments 70 16. Impartiality and Equality 72 17. Culture and History 80 18. From Homo Moralis to Homo Economicus 82 CHAPTER FIVE: Self-Interest 84 19. WN in Context 84 20. "Bettering One's Condition" in WN II. 87 21. Self-love in WN I.ii 90 22. Self-interest versus "General Benevolence" 95 23. Self-interest as an Assumption in WN 97 24. Smith and Hobbes: A Response to Cropsey 100 CHAPTER SIX: Vanity 104 25. Vanity in TMS IV.i 105 26. TMS IV.I in the Light of WN 108 27. TMS IV.I and the 1790 Edition of TMS 112 28. The Importance of Vanity 115 29. From Homo Moralis to Homo Economicus (Reprise) 118 PART III: Foundations of Economics CHAPTER SEVEN: Foundations of Economics 123 30. Natural Price/Market Price 123 31. Real Price/Nominal Price; Labor Theory of Value 124 32. The Long Term versus the Short; Growth versus Allocation; Definition of Wealth 131 33. Productive and Unproductive Labor 134 34. The Invisible Hand 138 PART IV: Justice CHAPTER EIGHT: A Theory of Justice? 145 35. Some Puzzles about Smith's Treatment of Justice 145 36. Smith's Different Accounts of Justice 148 37. A First Argument for the Precision of Rules of Justice 153 38. Critical Jurisprudence and the Problems in Defining "Harm" 158 39. A Second Argument for the Precision of Rules of Justice 161 40. Reconstructing Smith's Theory of Natural Justice 166 41. Smith's Critical Jurisprudence in LJ and WN 169 CHAPTER NINE: Property Rights 174 42. Property as Central to Justice 174 43. Utilitarian Accounts of Property 178 44. Locke, Hutcheson, and Hume on "Original" Ownership 180 45. Smith on "Original" Ownership 185 46. Property in WN 192 47. Taxation and Property Rights 193 48. Inheritance and Property Rights 197 49. Redistribution and Property Rights 200 CHAPTER TEN: Distributive Justice 203 50. Two Meanings for "Distributive Justice" 203 51. Smith's Contribution to the Politics of Poverty 205 52. A Brief History of Distributive Justice 209 53. The Right of Necessity 215 54. Smith and Natural Law Views of Property 221 PART V: Politics CHAPTER ELEVEN: Politics 229 55. Moral Vices of Politicians 229 56. Cognitive Vices of Politicians 233 57. Problems with the "Private Sector" 236 58. Law over Policy; Well-designed Institutions 242 59. Republics versus Monarchies; Civic Republicanism 246 60. National Glory; War 250 61. Conclusion 257 Epilogue CHAPTER TWELVE: Learning from Smith Today 261 Notes 283 Index Locorum 313 General Index 321
£999.99
Princeton University Press Nature An Economic History
Book SynopsisFrom humans to hermit crabs to deep water plankton, all living things compete for locally limiting resources. This work offers an exploration of the facts and theories of biology, economics, and geology to show how processes common to all economic systems govern evolution as surely as they do the human economy.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2004 Award for Best Professional/Scholarly Book in Geology and Earth Science, Association of American Publishers "Novel and intriguing... [Nature: An Economic History] offers a distinctive point of view and an insightful synthesis that promises to provide the basis of much future work."--Douglas H. Erwin, Science "Vermeij is one of the master naturalists of our time, and his command of the subtleties of animal interactions is exceptional. I think anyone can learn a great deal from this book."--Richard K. Bambach, American Scientist "Vermeij, a well-known paleontologist and observer of nature writ large, has written a marvelously interdisciplinary work that makes an important contribtuion to the literature of complex adaptive systems... [R]eaders who are interested in multidisciplinary issues will benefit from Vermeij's impressive breadth of knowledge. It is a pleasure to follow his articulate and synthesizing trek across the boundaries of conventional academic subjects."--Eric J. Chaisson, Quarterly Review of Biology There are clear analogies between economics and biological evolution, but the thesis of this articulate essay is that both fields can and should be described in exactly the same terms in a single theoretical framework... In successive chapters describing consumption of resources, competition, organization, environment and geography, evolutionary biologist Vermeij illustrates, with copious examples from paleontology, ecology, and economic history, the overarching common description of competition for locally scarce resources and differential success based on variation, leading to evolving adaptations and descent with modification."--Choice "Geerat Vermeij ... has taken economic reasoning even further, arguing in Nature: An Economic History that economists and natural scientists are asking the same kinds of questions in their seemingly disparate fields... Vermeij makes a convincing case that thinking about large swaths of the natural world in terms of competition for scarce resources is both accurate and useful."--Andrew P. Morriss, Books & Culture "Vermeij presents a natural history written in what he considers economic terms and argues that biologists should know more about economics. While the exchanges between economics and biology can sometimes be hazardous and misleading, quite a bit could be learned by economists from reading this book."--Joel Mokyr, Journal of Economic LiteratureTable of ContentsPreface vii CHAPTER ONE: Economy and Evolution: A Road Map 1 CHAPTER TWO: The Evolving Economy 13 CHAPTER THREE: Human and Nonhuman Economies Compared 38 CHAPTER FOUR: The Economics of Everyday: Consumption and the Role of Enemies in Nature 59 CHAPTER FIVE: The Economics of Everyday: Production and the Role of Resources 92 CHAPTER SIX: The Ingredients of Power and Opportunity: Technology and Organization 121 CHAPTER SEVEN: The Ingredients of Power and Opportunity: The Environment 145 CHAPTER EIGHT: The Geography of Power and Innovation 169 CHAPTER NINE: Breaking Down and Building Up: The Role of Disturbance 204 CHAPTER TEN: Patterns in History: Toward Greater Reach and Power 246 CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Future of Growth and Power 292 Appendix 1: Abbreviations 317 Appendix 2: The Geological Time Scale 319 Notes 321 Literature Cited 371 Index 431
£31.50
Princeton University Press Sex and Consequences
Book SynopsisHow do individuals change their behavior when abortion access increases? This book uses economic analysis to consider this question, comparing abortion to a form of insurance. It includes an analysis which suggests that the manner in which individuals change their behavior depends on the extent to which abortion is accessible.Trade Review"The book's virtues are formidable. Levine writes clearly, avoids jargon ... and is unfailingly civil in characterizing the positions in the abortion debate."--Charles Murray, Public Interest "Readers unfamiliar with the academic economic publications of Levine (Wellesley College) will find his approach ... novel and intriguing... Levine does a thorough job of providing the institutional (both domestic and international) and analytical background to make the work accessible to economists as well as to readers not trained in economics... Highly recommended."--ChoiceTable of ContentsLIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF TABLES xiii PREFACE xv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xvii CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 CHAPTER TWO Abortion Law and Practice 9 CHAPTER THREE Economic Models of Fertility and Abortion 39 CHAPTER FOUR Methods for Evaluating the Impact of Policy Changes 65 CHAPTER FIVE The Impact of Abortion Legalization 77 CHAPTER SIX The Impact of Restrictions on Abortion Access 107 CHAPTER SEVEN Abortion Policy in an International Perspective 133 CHAPTER EIGHT Unfinished Business 158 CHAPTER NINE Summary and Implications for Abortion Policy 186 NOTES 195 REFERENCES 201 INDEX 211
£27.00
Princeton University Press A Behavioral Theory of Elections
Book SynopsisMost theories of elections assume that voters and political actors are fully rational. This title provides a behavioral theory of elections based on the notion that all actors - politicians as well as voters - are only boundedly rational.Trade Review"[T]his book offers plenty food for thought for both theoretical and empirical minded scholars and is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of electoral competition."--Jasper Muis, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation "It ... need[s] to be confronted and digested by every graduate student who hopes to make his or her scholarly name in this field, because it provides a way to unify the higgledy-piggledy world of political behavior. It isn't the final word, but it is an important early step."--Kenneth A. Shepsle, Perspectives on PoliticsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xi Chapter One: Bounded Rationality and Elections 1 1.1 Framing and Representations 5 1.2 Heuristics 8 1.3 Aspiration-based Adaptation and Bounded Rationality 12 1.4 Plan of This Book 21 Chapter Two: Aspiration-based Adaptive Rules 23 2.1 ABARs Defined 23 2.2 Some Important Properties of ABARs 33 2.3 The Evidential Status of Aspiration-based Adaptation 46 Chapter Three: Party Competition 52 3.1 Related Work 54 3.2 The Model and Its Implications 56 3.3 Informed and/or Sophisticated Challengers 68 3.4 Robustness Issues 74 3.5 Conclusions 78 Chapter Four: Turnout 80 4.1 The Model 82 4.2 Main Results 85 4.3 Variations in Participation 96 4.4 Conclusions 107 Chapter Five: Voter Choice 109 5.1 The Model 112 5.2 The Endogenous Emergence of Party Affiliation 116 5.3 Misperceptions 121 5.4 Retrospection and Prospection Combined 122 5.5 Voter Sophistication and Electoral Outcomes 124 5.6 Institutions and Unsophisticated Retrospective Voters 128 5.7 Conclusions 130 Chapter Six: An Integrated Model of Two-Party Elections 132 6.1 Full Computational Model for Two Parties 134 6.2 Some Results of the Basic Integrated Model 138 6.3 The Choices of Voters 141 6.4 Party Location 145 6.5 Turnout 148 6.6 New Questions 152 6.7 Conclusion 159 Chapter Seven: Elections with Multiple Parties 161 7.1 Extending Our Results to Multiple Parties 161 7.2 Multicandidate Competition and Duverger's Law 166 7.3 The Model and Simulation Results 173 7.4 An Intuition 180 7.5 ABARs and Dynamic Stability 183 7.6 Model Meets Data 184 Chapter Eight: Conclusions: Bounded Rationality and Elections 191 8.1 Testing the Theory 194 8.2 Normative Considerations: Voter Error and Systemic Performance 196 8.3 Extensions 198 Appendix A: Proofs 205 Appendix B: The Computational Model 215 B.1 Overview 215 B.2 Graphical Model 216 B.3 Batch Model 229 Bibliography 233 Index 249
£31.50
Princeton University Press Innovation Intellectual Property and Economic
Book SynopsisCombining microeconomics, macroeconomics, and theory with empirical analysis drawn from the US and Europe, this book introduces graduate students and advanced undergraduates to the complex process of innovation. It shows how outcomes at the microlevel feed through to the macro-outcomes that in turn determine personal incomes and job opportunities.Trade Review"[T]his textbook clearly will fill a gap in the market and is well designed to raise important questions in a student's mind. The bringing together of both micro- and macro-economic considerations, the strong treatment of statistical difficulties in analyzing these topics, and the consideration of the impact of innovation on wages and jobs are all major advances. The authors are to be congratulated."--Hazel V. J. Moir, PrometheusTable of ContentsPreface xi References xvi PART I: The Nature of Innovation 1 Chapter 1: The Nature and Importance of Innovation 3 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 What Is Innovation? 4 1.3 The Microeconomic Effects of Innovation 9 1.4 Interaction between Producers and Users of Innovation 16 1.5 Innovations and Market Failure 17 1.6 Restoring Incentives to Invent and Innovate 23 1.7 Firms Competing through Innovation 28 1.8 Conclusion 29 References 30 Chapter 2: The Nature and Role of Intellectual Property 32 2.1 Introduction 32 2.2 Why Are Intellectual Property Rights Awarded? 32 2.3 Patents 34 2.4 Trademarks 39 2.5 Designs and Utility Models 43 2.6 Copyright 45 2.7 Further Questions about IPRs 49 2.8 Conclusions 53 References 55 Chapter 3: The Measurement of Innovation, Productivity, and Growth 57 3.1 Introduction 57 3.2 How Can Innovation Be Measured? 58 3.3 Illustrations of Innovation Statistics 64 3.4 Productivity at the Firm, Industry, and Economy Level 70 3.5 Comparing Productivity and Growth across Countries 74 3.6 Conclusion 80 References 82 PART II: The National Innovation System 85 Chapter 4: The National Innovation System 87 4.1 Introduction 87 4.2 The National Innovation System 87 4.3 The Central Role of R&D 88 4.4 The Government-University Axis 92 4.5 The University-Business Axis 95 4.6 The Government-Business Axis 103 4.7 National Innovation Systems in Emerging Markets 106 4.8 Conclusions 110 References 112 Chapter 5: Innovative Firms and Markets 116 5.1 Introduction 116 5.2 Entrepreneurship and New Firms 116 5.3 Innovation and Firms 119 5.4 Markets and Innovation 121 5.5 Empirical Evidence on the Returns to Innovation 132 5.6 Evidence on Interactions between Competition and Innovation 140 5.7 Conclusions 142 References 145 Chapter 6: Intellectual Property Rights and Firms 149 6.1 Introduction 149 6.2 How Can Firms Benefit from IPRs? 150 6.3 Exploring the Returns to IPRs 152 6.4 Markets for IPRs 157 6.5 Costs of Obtaining and Enforcing IPRs 160 6.6 IPR Strategies 162 6.7 Empirical Studies on the Value of IPRs 164 6.8 Conclusions 171 References 173 Chapter 7: Diffusion and Social Returns 177 7.1 Introduction 177 7.2 Modeling the Rate of Adoption of an Innovation 179 7.3 Statistical Evidence on Rates of Adoption 186 7.4 Spillovers and Social Returns to Innovation 190 7.5 Empirical Studies of Social Returns 199 7.6 Spatial Dimensions of Spillovers 204 7.7 Conclusions 205 References 207 PART III: The Macroeconomics of Innovation 211 Chapter 8: Models of Economic Growth 213 8.1 Introduction 213 8.2 The Neoclassical Growth Model 215 8.3 Endogenous Growth Models 225 8.4 Evolutionary and Other Models 237 8.5 Conclusions 239 References 241 Chapter 9: Innovation and Globalization 243 9.1 What Is Globalization? 243 9.2 World Trade in Historical Perspective 245 9.3 Theories of Trade and Growth 246 9.4 International Knowledge and Technology Flows: Theory and Evidence 250 9.5 International Financial Flows 256 9.6 International Aspects of IPRs 260 9.7 Conclusions 263 References 266 Chapter 10: Technology, Wages, and Jobs 268 10.1 Introduction 268 10.2 Microeconomic Models of Innovation and Labor Markets 268 10.3 Innovation and Labor Markets: Evidence from Firms 275 10.4 Macroeconomic and Trade Models of Innovation and Labor Markets 280 10.5 Conclusions 289 References 291 PART IV: Economic Policy 295 Chapter 11: Microeconomic Policies to Promote Firm-Level Innovation 297 11.1 Introduction 297 11.2 Is the Intellectual Property System Working? 297 11.3 Incentive Systems for Encouraging Firm-Level R&D 313 11.4 Other Innovation Policies 317 11.5 Conclusions 323 References 325 Chapter 12: Macroeconomic Issues and Policy 329 12.1 Introduction 329 12.2 Macroeconomic Evidence on IPRs and Economic Growth 330 12.3 Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) 334 12.4 Intellectual Property Rights, Exhaustion, and Parallel Imports 340 12.5 Piracy and Counterfeit 342 12.6 R&D in the Global Economy 344 12.7 International Migration of Skilled Labor 346 12.8 Conclusions 347 References 349 Mathematical Appendix 353 A.1 Production Functions 353 A.2 Present Discounted Value 354 A.3 Derivatives 355 A.4 Marginal Products and Diminishing Returns 356 A.5 Accumulation Equations and Growth Rates 357 A.6 Logarithms and Production Functions 358 A.7 Differential Equations and a Catch-up Model 358 A.8 Estimating Production Functions 359 References 360 Index 361
£52.70
Princeton University Press Investors and Markets
Book SynopsisShows that investment professionals cannot make good portfolio choices unless they understand the determinants of asset prices. The author sets out an approach to asset pricing in a nonmathematical form that can be comprehensible to a broad range of investment professionals, including investment advisors, money managers, and financial analysts.Trade Review"Throughout the past 40 years, Sharpe has remained one of the most influential voices in finance for both academics and practitioners. As is true for all of Sharpe's writings, investment professionals will do well to read Investors and Markets and carefully absorb its insights."--Ronald L. Moy, Financial Analysts Journal "William F. Sharpe says his pioneering work on the Capital Asset Pricing Model is ready for a makeover. The 42-year-old model--which earned Mr. Sharpe a Nobel Memorial Prize in economics in 1990-- is being revamped because Mr. Sharpe says he found a better way for portfolio managers and business-school students to learn about how portfolios are constructed and securities are priced... Mr. Sharpe's new book shows that a simulator based on the state/preference model can mimic market behavior and can be used where mean-variance analysis won't work."--Joel Chernoff, Pensions and Investments "William Sharpe has written a new book ... which may cause a revolution -- or, at least, a coup in finance... Investors and Markets brings the subjects of portfolio choice and asset pricing together into a single, integrated view of investment science... The impact of [this book], though more a coup than a revolution, deserves to occur more quickly."--John Finneran, The Motley Fool "Sharpe's Investors and Markets is an impressive and thought provoking work... [H]is work breaks new ground in the fields of portfolio and asset pricing theory. I highly recommend this book, particularly for planners interested in understanding the theory behind the advice that we give."--NAPFA Advisor "[Sharpe's book] has much that is good: setting out complex issues such as the capital-asset pricing model and market risk/reward theorem in readily understandable terms, showing the importance of trading. Mime preferences, risk aversion, how individual actions, perhaps irrational on occasion, can still lead to a rational outcome, estimates of the equity risk premium, and the relative value of passive and active investing."--Andrew Milligan, The Business EconomistTable of ContentsPREFACE vii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 CHAPTER TWO: Equilibrium 9 CHAPTER THREE: Preferences 35 CHAPTER FOUR: Prices 63 CHAPTER FIVE: Positions 111 CHAPTER SIX: Predictions 129 CHAPTER SEVEN: Protection 149 CHAPTER EIGHT: Advice 185 REFERENCES 213 INDEX 215
£31.50
Princeton University Press The Difference
Book SynopsisWhy can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions and predictions those that draw upon the very qualities that make each of us unique? This book reveals that progress and innovation may depend more on diverse people working together and capitalizing on their individuality.Trade Review"Rather than ponder moral questions like, 'Why can't we all get along?' Dr. Page asks practical ones like, 'How can we all be more productive together?' The answer, he suggests, is in messy, creative organizations and environments with individuals from vastly different backgrounds and life experiences."--Claudia Dreifus, New York Times "The Difference is brimming with so many intriguing insights and findings that I cannot do justice to them all."--Philip E. Tetlock, Science "A fascinating and important book... The Difference is a thought-provoking and stimulating read."--Diane Coyle, Business Economist "[Page] redefines the way we understand ourselves in relation to one another. The Difference is about how we think in groups...and how our collective wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. Why can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions and predictions those that draw upon the very qualities that make each of us unique? The answers lie in diversity...not what we look like outside, but what we look like within, our distinct tools and abilities."--Education Digest "In The Difference, Page reveals how groups that display a range of perspectives outperform groups of like-minded experts. Diversity yields superior outcomes, and he proves it using his own cutting-edge research. Moving beyond the politics that often clouds standard debates about diversity, Page explains why difference beats out homogeneity. And he examines practical ways to apply diversity's logic to a host of problems."--Here is the City "Page has written a book that offers a pragmatic defense of diversity practices, where having a diverse set of points of view in a group equates to better decision making. The book ...illustrates the benefits of a different way of thinking about problem solving, providing people with conceptual tools to understand what lies behind some of the more popular treatments of topics and to reshape the public debate about the benefits and disadvantages of diversity."--Henry Farrell, Quality World "The Difference is a very good book. I recommend it to all intelligent readers, especially to those who have not gone beyond the 'diversity' of political correctness... Read this book."--Will Carrington Heath, Independent Review "Though filled with three dimensional graphs, computer simulations, and other quantitative exercises that some will find intimidating, the book has the great advantage of being accessible to the nontechnical reader, at least one willing to invest considerable time and effort in following its clear but often complex reasoning. Where The Difference clearly succeeds is in bridging the gap between the more arcane technical literature found in the professional economics journals and writing intended for a general audience."--Russell K. Nieli, Academic QuestionsTable of ContentsPreface to the Paperback Edition Prufrock Avoided xiii Acknowledgments The Continuous Life xix Prologue How Diversity Trumps Ability Fun at Caltech xxv Introduction Unpacking Our Differences 1 PART ONE: UNPACKING THE TOOLBOX CHAPTER 1: Diverse Perspectives How We See Things 23 CHAPTER 2: Heuristics Do the Opposite 52 CHAPTER 3: Interpretations Our Own Private Flatland 73 CHAPTER 4: Predictive Models Judging Books by Their Covers 90 CHAPTER 5: Measuring Sticks and Toolboxes Calipers for the Brain 103 PART TWO: DIVERSITY'S BENEFITS: BUILDING FROM TOOLS CHAPTER 6: Diversity and Problem Solving Darwin's Brass Tacks 131 CHAPTER 7: Models of Information Aggregation Mindless Signals 175 CHAPTER 8: Diversity and Prediction The Crowd of Models 197 PART THREE: DIVERSE VALUES: A CONFLICT OF INTERESTS (OR IS IT)? CHAPTER 9: Diverse Preferences Why Tapas 239 CHAPTER 10: Preference Aggregation Four (Not So) Depressing Results 255 CHAPTER 11: Interacting Toolboxes and Preferences Go Ask Alice 285 PART FOUR: THE PUDDING: DOES DIVERSITY GENERATE BENEFITS? CHAPTER 12: The Causes of Cognitive Diversity Family Vacations, College, or Identity? 299 CHAPTER 13: The Empirical Evidence The Pudding 313 PART FIVE: GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE CHAPTER 14: A Fertile Logic Putting Ideas to Work 339 Epilogue: The Ketchup Questions 371 Notes 377 Index 411
£999.99
Princeton University Press Cultivating Conscience
Book SynopsisContemporary law and public policy often treat human beings as selfish creatures who respond only to punishments and rewards. Drawing from social psychology, behavioral economics, and evolutionary biology, this title demonstrates how social cues have a powerful role in triggering unselfish behavior.Trade Review"Cultivating Conscience is a blistering attack on the 'law and economics' school, which has had an enormous impact in the US legal academy... But despite that focus, Cultivating Conscience is not only for a US readership: its clear and highly readable style, enlivened by real-life examples, also makes it accessible and of great interest on this side of the Atlantic... Cultivating Conscience is lucid and stimulating."--Bill Bowring, Times Higher Education "[D]uality in human nature, and the connection between conscience and public policy, is masterfully examined in this book by Lynn A. Stout... Cultivating Conscience is a forceful and rational proposition for reasonable change."--John Michael Senger, ForeWord Reviews "Stout makes the compelling case that conscience is neither a rare nor quirky phenomenon, but a vital force woven into our daily lives... This book proves that if we care about effective laws and civilized society, the powers of conscience are simply too important for us to ignore."--Marshal Zeringue, Campaign for the American Reader blog "Cultivating Conscience is one of those rare books--essentially a single-theme book, an apologia for the author's subject matter--that eruditely comingles several fields of knowledge, is clearly and succinctly written, holds the reader's full attention throughout, and whose contents affect the reader's thoughts at unsuspecting times and on various topics long after reading is complete. In short, it is well worth reading by both laypersons and professionals."--Cynthia C. Siebel, PsycCRITIQUESTable of ContentsAcknowledgements vii PART ONE Chapter 1: Franco's Choice 3 Chapter 2: Holmes' Folly 23 Chapter 3: Blind to Goodness: Why We Don't See Conscience 45 PART TWO Chapter 4: Games People Play: Unselfish Prosocial Behavior in Experimental Gaming 75 Chapter 5: The Jekyll/Hyde Syndrome: A Three-Factor Social Model of Unselfish Prosocial Behavior 94 Chapter 6: Origins 122 PART THREE Chapter 7: My Brother's Keeper: The Role of Unselfishness in Tort Law 151 Chapter 8: Picking Prosocial Partners: The Story of Relational Contract 175 Chapter 9: Crime, Punishment, and Community 200 PART FOUR Conclusion Chariots of the Sun 233 Notes 255 Works Cited 281 Index 299
£19.80
Princeton University Press The Handbook of Experimental Economics Volume 2
Book SynopsisThe handbook of experimental economics v. 2.Trade Review"This book is impressive for the clarity, depth, and informativeness of its surveys. The focus on series of experiments is very instructive... One can learn a lot from the issues debated, the methodological digressions, and the many suggestions for further research... This is a great book that is wholeheartedly recommended."--F. van Winden, The Journal of Economics "The book provides not only a comprehensive and deep review of major areas of experimental research, but it is also exceptionally intellectually stimulating and insightful for theoretical economists as well as those who are interested in more immediate policy issues."--Katerina Sherstyuk, Economic Record "This is a book written principally to demonstrate the considerable scope and potential of economics experiments, and it achieves that objective very well."--Graham Loomes, The Times Higher Education Supplement "A critical review and analysis of the foundations of laboratory experiments in economics, and much more... Indeed, this handbook serves as a thoughtful agenda for future researchers... "--Choice "Several chapters, including those on neuroeconomics, political economy, and learning, have applications beyond economics to psychology and political science, a reminder of the growing role of interdisciplinarity in the social sciences. An excellent volume with extensive references."--ChoiceTable of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*CONTENTS, pg. v*PREFACE, pg. xiii*1. Macroeconomics: A Survey of Laboratory Research, pg. 1*2. Using Experimental Methods to Understand Why and How We Give to Charity, pg. 91*3. Neuroeconomics, pg. 153*4. Other-Regarding Preferences, pg. 217*5. Experiments in Market Design, pg. 290*6. Experiments in Political Economy, pg. 347*7. Experimental Economics across Subject Populations, pg. 435*8. Gender, pg. 481*9. Auctions, pg. 563*10. Learning and the Economics of Small Decisions, pg. 638*EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS, pg. 717*ILLUSTRATION CREDITS, pg. 721*NAME INDEX, pg. 725*SUBJECT INDEX, pg. 737
£63.75
