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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisRobin Bade was an undergraduate at the University of Queensland, Australia, where she earned degrees in mathematics and economics. After a spell teaching high school math and physics, she enrolled in the PhD program at the Australian National University, from which she graduated from in 1970. She has held faculty appointments at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, at Bond University in Australia, and at the Universities of Manitoba, Toronto, and Western Ontario in Canada. Her research on international capital flows appears in the International Economic Review and the Economic Record. Robin first taught the principles of economics course in 1970 and has taught it (alongside intermediate macroeconomics and international trade and finance) most years since then. She developed many of the ideas found in this text while conducting tutorials with her students at the University of Western Ontario.   Michael Parkin studied economics in England and began his university teaching career immediately after graduating with a BA from the University of Leicester. He learned the subject on the job at the University of Essex, England's most exciting new university of the 1960s, and at the age of 30 became one of the youngest full professors. He is a past president of the Canadian Economics Association and has served on the editorial boards of the American Economic Review and the Journal of Monetary Economics. His research on macroeconomics, monetary economics, and international economics has resulted in more than 160 publications in journals and edited volumes, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of Monetary Economics, and the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking. He is author of the best-selling textbook, Economics (Pearson), now in its 12th Edition.   Robin and Michael are a wife-and-husband team. Their most notable joint research created the Bade-Parkin Index of central bank independence and spawned a vast amount of research on that topic. They don't claim credit for the independence of the new European Central Bank, but its constitution and the movement toward greater independence of central banks around the world were aided by their pioneering work. Their joint textbooks include Macroeconomics (Prentice-Hall), Modern Macroeconomics (Pearson Education Canada), and Economics: Canada in the Global Environment, the Canadian adaptation of Parkin, Economics (Addison-Wesley). They are dedicated to the challenge of explaining economics ever more clearly to a growing body of students. Music, the theater, art, walking on the beach, and five grandchildren provide their relaxation and fun.  Table of ContentsPart 1: Introduction 1. Getting Started 2. The U.S. and Global Economies 3. The Economic Problem 4. Demand and Supply Part 2: A Closer Look at Markets 5. Elasticities of Demand and Supply 6. Efficiency of Fairness and Markets Part 3: How Governments Influence the Economy 7. Government Actions in Markets 8. Taxes 9. Global Markets in Action Part 4: Market Failures and Public Policy 10. Externalities 11. Public Goods and Common Resources 12. Private Information and Healthcare Markets Part 5: A Closer Look At Decision Makers 13. Consumer Choice and Demand 14. Production and Cost Part 6: Prices, Profits, and Industry Performance 15. Perfect Competition 16. Monopoly 17. Monopolistic Competition 18. Oligopoly Part 7: Incomes and Inequality 19. Markets for Factors of Production 20. Economic Inequality Part 8: Monitoring the Macroeconomy 21. GDP: A Measure Of Total Production and Income 22. Jobs and Unemployment 23. The CPI and the Cost of Living Part 9: The Real Economy 24. Potential GDP and the Natural Unemployment Rate 25. Economic Growth 26. Finance, Saving, and Investment Part 10: The Money Economy 27: The Monetary System 28: Money, Interest, and Inflation Part 11: Economic Fluctuations 29. Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand 30. Aggregate Expenditure Multiplier 31. The Short-Run Policy Tradeoff Part 12: Macroeconomic Policy 32. Fiscal Policy 33. Monetary Policy 34. International Finance

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Book SynopsisDaron Acemoglu is Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received a BA in economics from the University of York, an MSc in mathematical economics and econometrics from the London School of Economics, and a PhD in economics from the London School of Economics.   He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, the European Economic Association, and the Society of Labor Economists. Acemoglu has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the inaugural T. W. Schultz Prize from the University of Chicago in 2004, the inaugural Sherwin Rosen Award for outstanding contribution to labor economics in 2004, the Distinguished Science Award from the Turkish Sciences Association in 2006, and the John von Neumann Award, Rajk College, BudapesTable of ContentsPART I: INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS 1. The Principles and Practice of Economics 2. Economic Methods and Economic Questions 3. Optimization: Doing the Best You Can 4. Demand, Supply, and Equilibrium PART II: FOUNDATIONS OF MICROECONOMICS 5. Consumers and Incentives 6. Sellers and Incentives 7. Perfect Competition and the Invisible Hand 8. Trade 9. Externalities and Public Goods 10. The Government in the Economy: Taxation and Regulation 11. Markets for Factors of Production PART III: MARKET STRUCTURE 12. Monopoly 13. Game Theory and Strategic Play 14. Oligopoly and Monopolistic Competition PART IV: EXTENDING THE MICROECONOMIC TOOLBOX 15. Trade-offs Involving Time and Risk 16. The Economics of Information 17. Auctions and Bargaining 18. Social Economics PART V: INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS 19. The Wealth of Nations: Defining and Measuring Macroeconomic Aggregates 20. Aggregate Incomes PART VI: LONG-RUN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT 21. Economic Growth 22. Why Isn’t the Whole World Developed? PART VII: EQUILIBRIUM IN THE MACROECONOMY 23. Employment and Unemployment 24. Credit Markets 25. The Monetary System PART VIII: SHORT-RUN FLUCTUATIONS AND MACROECONOMIC POLICY 26. Short-Run Fluctuations 27. Countercyclical Macroeconomic Policy PART IX: MACROECONOMICS IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY 28. Macroeconomics and International Trade 29. Open Economy Macroeconomics CHAPTERS ON THE WEB 1. Financial Decision Making 2. Economics of Life, Health, and the Environment 3. Political Economy

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Book SynopsisGlenn Hubbard, Professor, Researcher, and Policymaker R. Glenn Hubbard is the dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics in the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University and professor of economics in Columbia's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a director of Automatic Data Processing, Black Rock Closed-End Funds, and MetLife. He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1983. From 2001 to 2003, he served as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and chairman of the OECD Economy Policy Committee, and from 1991 to 1993, he was deputy assistant secretary of the US Treasury Department. He currently serves as co-chair of the nonpartisan Committee on Capital Markets Regulation. Hubbard's fields of specialization are public economics, financial markets and institutions, corporate finance, macroeconomics, industrial organization, and public policy. He is the author of more than 100 articles in leading journals, including American Economic Review, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Public Economics, Quarterly Journal of Economics, RAND Journal of Economics, and Review of Economics and Statistics. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Bureau of Economic Research, and numerous private foundations.   Tony O'Brien, Award-Winning Professor and Researcher Anthony Patrick O'Brien is a professor of economics at Lehigh University. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1987. He has taught money, banking, and financial markets courses for more than 250 years. He received the Lehigh University Award for Distinguished Teaching. He was formerly the director of the Diamond Center for Economic Education and was named a Dana Foundation Faculty Fellow and Lehigh Class of 1961 Professor of Economics. He has been a visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and at Carnegie Mellon University. O'Brien's research has dealt with such issues as the evolution of the US automobile industry, the sources of US economic competitiveness, the development of US trade policy, the causes of the Great Depression, and the causes of blackwhite income differences. His research has been published in leading journals, including American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Industrial Relations, Journal of Economic History, and the Journal of Policy History. His research has been supported by grants from government agencies and private foundations.      Table of Contents Part 1: Foundations 1. Introducing Money and the Financial System 2. Money and the Payments System 3. Interest Rates and Rates of Return 4. Determining Interest Rates Part 2: Financial Markets 5. The Risk Structure and Term Structure of Interest Rates 6. The Stock Market, Information, and Financial Market Efficiency 7. Derivatives and Derivative Markets 8. The Market for Foreign Exchange Part 3: Financial Institutions 9. Transactions Costs, Asymmetric Information, and the Structure of the Financial System 10. The Economics of Banking 11. Beyond Commercial Banks: Shadow Banks and Nonbank Financial Institutions 12. Financial Crises and Financial Regulation Part 4: Monetary Policy 13. The Federal Reserve and Central Banking 14. The Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet and the Money Supply Process 15. Monetary Policy 16. The International Financial System and Monetary Policy Part 5: The Financial System and the Macroeconomy 17. Monetary Theory I: The Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply Model 18. Monetary Theory II: The IS—MP Model

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Book SynopsisThe Urban Experience provides a fresh approach to the study of metropolitan areas by combining economic principles, social insight, and political realities with an appreciation of public policy to understand how U.S. cities and suburbs function in the 21st century. The new edition will feature a new cohesive framework called the Metropolitan Area Dynamic introduced in the first chapter of the book, then incorporated into every chapter, to demonstrate the demographic, economic, political, social, and public policy forces that impact metropolitan areas. The narrative of the book is grounded in the real life experiences of students and their families on the premise that there is a fascination about one''s own surroundings to engage the students in their study. It uses a great deal of historical and comparative data to explore the wide variation in how we experience urban and suburban communities and will include greater discussion of cities worldwide to engage with large scale global issuTrade Review[This book] is the best real-world interdisciplinary book out there [on the topic]. [It offers] strong theoretical and applied coverage of: (1) expected effects of climate change to urban areas, (2) how wealth inequality is generated by urban areas and solutions to mitigate [this], (3) housing affordability in the urban areas that individuals want to live in, (4) transportation/mobility upheavals and how the city deals with them, [and] (5) public safety and K-12 education concerns that keep people out of cities. * Rob Wassmer, Professor, California State University *This book is a good fit for students majoring in political science, urban studies, or public policy. The distinct advantage of this book is that it is comprehensive and covers a lot of urban issues using simple tools. * Rasha Ahmed, Associate Professor, Trinity College *The revised text is organized appropriately by historical development and role of the metropolitan dynamics. Then, the authors creatively integrate topical issues of cities and suburbs. This is a real strength because it helps frame policy problems and policy solutions. [In addition] the text reflects current debates in the literature on the factors shaping uneven development and inequality in cities and suburbs. These are central areas of scholarly inquiry, and the authors appropriately engage these debates and apply them to current patterns. * Thomas Vicino, Professor, Northeastern University *This second edition of The Urban Experience is a revised, expanded and updated version of a textbook introducing readers to some of the major ways of understanding the policy dynamics of metropolitan areas, those located in the United States in particular...The book clearly targets advanced undergraduates with a general social-scientific background. * Ben Derudder, Urban Studies, Public Governance Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium *Table of ContentsPreface Part I Introduction to Cities and Suburbs Chapter 1 The Wonder and Paradox of Urban Life Urban Issues and the Social Science Lens Our Love/Hate Relationship with the City Our Love/Hate Relationship with the Suburbs The Importance of Density Urban Spillovers Economic Geographies and Political Geographies The Dynamics of Metropolitan Development An Analytic Framework for Understanding Metropolitan Area Dynamics Further Applications of the Analytic Framework Well-Being and Public Policy The Role of Political Power and Interest Groups Paradox and Urban Inquiry Key Issues in Urban Policy Globalization and the Changing Role of U.S. Cities The Tools of the Trade Opportunity Cost The Criteria of Efficiency and Equity Externalities Unintended Consequences Other Important Economic Concepts Chapter 2 Cities of the World: How Metro Areas Rank Defining Metro Areas The Need for Standard Definitions New Definitions Ranking The World's Metropolitan Areas Roles in the World Economy Ranking US Metropolitan Areas Cities and Their Reputations A Taxonomy of 21st Century Cities Central Cities and Suburbs Economic Rankings of Cities The Cost of Living Ranking World Cities Average Income per Capita per Year (PPP) Poverty Race and Ethnicity Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Global Cities Income Disparities in Global Cities Using Data Wisely Part II The Dynamics of Metropolitan Development Chapter 3 Metropolitan Development from the Seventeenth to the Early Twentieth Century The Geography of Growth: Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces The Era of Water and Steam Power The Era of Railroads, Electricity, and the Telephone Some Economic Concepts Underlying Urban Growth Trade and Transportation Costs Agglomeration Economies and Density Internal Economies of Scale Size of Consumer Markets Technological Progress Transportation Costs between 19th Century Cities Weber's Graphical Model of Transportation Costs Other Important Ideas from Weber and from Isard Transportation Costs within 19th Century Cities Agglomeration Economies and the Growth of Cities Technological Progress and Innovation Demographic Growth and Change in Urban Areas Internal Migration: From Rural to Urban America Immigration and the Growth of American Cities Annexation and the Growing Size of Cities The Changing Pattern of Urban Population Growth Chapter 4 Cities and Suburbs Moving Into the 21st Century The Dynamics of Metropolitan Expansion Formal Models of Urban Growth and Development Understanding Urban Land Values The Basic Alonso Model---Learning About Cities from Rural Farms Applying the Bid-Rent Model to Metro Area Development The Residential Paradox Constrained Choice and Political Factors in Land Values and Location The Evolution of 20th Century U.S. Metropolitan Areas Post World War II Business Location The Rise of the Post-World War II Suburb The Impact of Federal Policies on Suburbanization Class, Race, and Ethnic Segregation in the American City New Immigration and the Cities Cross-Currents of the Late 20th Century: Sunbelt Cities, Edge Cities, And Gentrification The Rise of Sunbelt Cities The Rise of Edge Cities Central Cities and Gentrification The Changing Fortunes of Individual Cities Globalization and the Competition for Industry in the 21st Century Weber and the Twenty-First-Century City Part III Foundations of Metropolitan Area Prosperity Chapter 5 Urban Prosperity and the Role of Trade A Short Primer on the Economics of Trade Absolute Advantage Comparative Advantage Limitations to the Theory of Comparative Advantage New Trade Theory The Theory of Competitive Advantage Trade and Prosperity Export Base Theory: The Demand Side of the Metropolitan Area's Economy The Basic/Non-Basic Approach: A Simple Measurement Technique Job Multipliers Location Quotients Limitations of the Basic/Non-Basic Approach Input-Output Analysis: A More Complex Set of Tools Limitations of the Input-Output Measurement Technique Limitations of the Demand Side Focus Shifting the Focus from the Demand Side to the Supply Side The Supply Side: A Long-Term Perspective Interactions between the Demand Side and the Supply Side Strategies for Less-Resilient Metropolitan Areas Competitive Advantage in Inner-City Neighborhoods Understanding Metro Area Prosperity in Light of Economic Theory Newly Prosperous Metro Areas in the US Summing Up Chapter 6 Urban Labor Markets and Metro Prosperity The National Economic Business Cycle Unemployment Across the Globe Employment and Unemployment in the United States What Occupations Pay Labor Market Earnings by Metro Area Occupational Wage Differentials Across Metro Areas Occupational Wage Differentials Between Occupations Across Metro Areas Theories About Wage Determination Understanding Wage Differentials Human Capital Market Power and Barriers to Mobility in the Labor Market Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Spatial Mismatch Skills Mismatch Employment, Social Networks, and Social Capital The Role of Unions Immigration Explaining Metro Area Earnings Differentials: A Summary Labor Markets and Urban Prosperity Part IV Current Policy Issues in Metro Areas Chapter 7 The Urban Public Sector Government's Economic Role in Metro Areas How the Private Market is Supposed to Work Supply and Demand in the Private Sector Market Failure and the Public Sector Market Power Information Problems Negative and Positive Externalities Pure Public Goods Government and the Distribution of Well-Being The Debate over the Scope of Government Intervention Market Failure and the Alternatives for Providing Goods and Services Regulated Private Markets Public Funding/Private Provision Public Provision Local Government Employment and Spending Patterns Privatization of Public Services Paying for Government Services Income and Sales Taxes Levied by Local Governments Pricing in the Public Sector A Primer on the Economics of Building and Paying for Bridges User Fees The Tiebout Hypothesis Limitations in the Tiebout Hypothesis Metropolitanism Individuals, Interest Groups, and Values Public Choice Theory Interest Groups and Elites Incrementalism Regime Theory and Growth Machines The Nature of Voting Systems The Challenge of Public Sector Decision Making Appendix A: Negative Externalities Appendix B: Positive Externalities Chapter 8 Urban Public Education and Metro Prosperity The Decentralized U.S. Education System Variation in School Spending The Importance of Schooling in Modern Society Variation in Educational Attainment across Metro Areas Educational Attainment and Metro Area Income Education, New Growth Theory, and the Well-Being of Cities and Suburbs Education Production Functions Racial and Ethnic Differences in Educational Opportunity and Outcomes Trends in School Success by Race and Ethnicity Understanding

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Book SynopsisThis work explores the economic lives of gays and lesbians in the US. It debunks common stereotypical ideas about gay privilege, income and consumer behaviour. The author disproves the assumption that gay men and lesbians are more affluent than heterosexuals, and analyzes issues that affect them.

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Book SynopsisEvery day, in every sector of our economy, a business shuts down while another starts up, jobs are created while others are cut, and workers are hired while others are laid off. This constant flux, or turbulence, is a defining characteristic of our free market system, yet it mostly inspires angst about unemployment, loss of earnings, and the overall competitiveness of corporations. But is this endless cycle of fluctuation really so bad for America? Might something positive be going on in the economy as a result of it? In this penetrating work, three esteemed economists seek to answer these questions by exploring the real impact of volatility on American workers and businesses alike. According to the authors, while any number of events--shifts in consumer demand, changes in technology, mergers and acquisitions, or increased competition--can contribute to economic turbulence, our economy as a whole is, by and large, stronger for it, because these processes of creation and destruction mak

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Book SynopsisAn extended participant-observation study of work and politics in state socialism, based on research into machine building and steel production in Hungary.

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Book SynopsisThe rise in life expectancies and retirement rates in the 20th century has had dramatic impacts. This survey of Union Army veterans born between 1820 and 1850 examines the factors that affected health and labour force participation in 19th century America.

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Book SynopsisWe've been told, again and again, that life is unfair. But what if we're wrong simply to resign ourselves to this situation? Drawing on the evidence from our evolutionary history and the emergent science of human nature, this title shows that we have an innate sense of fairness.Trade Review"This important and topical volume is firmly grounded on abundant empirical and theoretical research that underlines the social evolution and cooperative nature of humans. The current economic crisis should prompt us to look for new solutions, and this book outlines an attractive and viable alternative to the flawed economic systems that dominated the twentieth century." -Geoffrey M. Hodgson, author of The Evolution of Institutional Economics"

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Book SynopsisIn Property Rules, Robin L. Einhorn uses City Council records-previously thought destroyed-and census data to track the course of city government in Chicago, providing an important reinterpretation of the relationship between political and social structures in the nineteenth-century American city. A Choice Outstanding Academic Book[A] masterful study of policy-making in Chicago.Choice[A] major contribution to urban and political history. . . . [A]n excellent book.Jeffrey S. Adler, American Historical Review[A]n enlightening trip. . . . Einhorn's foray helps make sense out of the transition from Jacksonian to Gilded Age politics on the local level. . . . [She] has staked out new ground that others would do well to explore.Arnold R. Hirsch, American Journal of Legal HistoryA well-documented and informative classic on urban politics.Daniel W. Kwong, Law Books in Review

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Book SynopsisEconomic research on climate change has been crucial in advancing our understanding of the consequences associated with global warming as well as the costs and benefits of policies that might reduce emissions. This volume looks at the possible effects of various climate policies on economic outcomes.

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Book SynopsisIncludes a broad range of research examining various aspects of disadvantage and ways of increasing the ability of low-income youths to improve their circumstances later in life. This volume assesses the causal impacts of disadvantage on youth outcomes, and how policy interventions can alleviate those effects.

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Book SynopsisThe number of obese adults in the United States has doubled and the number of obese children almost tripled, which may lead to increased medical expenditures, productivity loss, and stress on the health care system. This title provides a foundation for evaluating the costs and benefits of various proposals designed to control obesity rates.

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Book SynopsisOf paramount importance to the natural sciences, the principles of Darwinism, which involve variation, inheritance, and selection, are increasingly of interest to social scientists as well. This title reveals how the British naturalist's core concepts apply to a range of phenomena, including business practices, technology, and science itself.Trade Review"A long-awaited and desperately needed guide to why the social sciences should take Darwin seriously. Erudite, lucidly written - a veritable tour de force." - Robin I. M. Dunbar, University of Oxford"

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Book SynopsisExplores the factors that have contributed to low inflation and deflation in Pacific Rim nations and forecasts some of the potential challenges faced by these nations, as well as some potential solutions. Rapid growth on the supply side of economics is one of the phenomena that have contributed to these circumstances.

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Book SynopsisExamines problems and challenges facing public finance in East Asian developing countries as well as United States and Japan. This title explores inefficient tax systems of developing countries, relationship between public and private sector economic behavior, and the issue of future obligations that governments have undertaken.

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Book SynopsisCompares the gendered outcomes of social security systems in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico, and presents findings from Eastern and Central European transition economies as well as several OECD countries. This book asks economists and policy makers to reexamine the features that enable social security systems to achieve desirable gender outcomes.Trade Review"The cross-national nature of this study, along with the way in which the authors conduct their analysis and discuss the results, will allow readers to draw many useful conclusions about how policy choices affect pension outcomes for women and men. The Gender Impact of Social Security Reform has important lessons for analysts, policy makers, and interested lay people in all countries that have enacted or are considering enacting reforms." - Courtney Coile, Wellesley College"

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Book SynopsisFor thirty years, the National Bureau of Economic Research's Program on the Economics of Aging has produced new research on the health and economic circumstances of individuals as they age. During this time, the demographics that motivate this research have substantially changed. Today, most developed nations are grappling with substantially larger populations of older people than in past decades. Many are retiring from paid work, yet they are living longer than ever, and their well-being is shaped by their past decisions such as their saving behavior, as well as by current and future economic conditions, health status, medical innovations, and a rapidly evolving landscape of policy incentives and supports. The contributions to Insights in the Economics of Aging uncover how financial, physical, and emotional well-being are integrally related. Contributions consider the interactions between financial circumstances in later life, such as household savings and home ownership, physical cir

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Book SynopsisIn recent years, the retirement age for public pensions has increased across many countries, and additional increases are in progress or under discussion in many more. The seventh stage of an ongoing research project studying the relationship between social security programs and labor force participation, Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: The Capacity to Work at Older Ages explores people's capacity to work beyond the current retirement age. It brings together an international team of scholars from twelve countries Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States to analyze this issue. Contributors find that many but not all individuals have substantial capacity to work at older ages. However, they also consider how policymakers might divide gains in life expectancy between years of work and retirement, as well as the main impediments to longer work life. They consider factors that

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Book SynopsisOnce maligned as a swampy outpost, the fledgling city of Chicago brazenly adopted the motto Urbs in horto, or City in a Garden, in 1837. This book shows how this upstart town earned its sobriquet over the next century, from the first vegetable plots at Fort Dearborn to innovative garden designs at the 1933 World's Fair.Trade Review"Chicago Gardens fills an important niche for a diverse market of readers: gardening enthusiasts, landscape designers, urban historians, conservationists, and others with an interest in understanding and protecting the urban landscape of one of America's premier cities." - William H. Tishler, FASLA, professor emeritus of landscape architecture, University of Wisconsin - Madison"

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Book SynopsisSince World War II, the corporate tax burden has, overall, decreased enormously as a percentage of the government's total revenue. Until now, however, no explanation of this phenomenon has accounted for the periodic reformssuch as the dramatic 1986 Tax Reform Actwhich significantly increase some corporate taxes. Remarkably accessible and rich in historical evidence, Shifting the Burden is the most compelling explanation to date of how our nation's tax policy is formulated. Cathie J. Martin shows how presidents' cultivation of allies within the business community and struggles within that community itself combine to shape tax policy.

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Book SynopsisSince World War II, the corporate tax burden has, overall, decreased enormously as a percentage of the government's total revenue. Until now, however, no explanation of this phenomenon has accounted for the periodic reformssuch as the dramatic 1986 Tax Reform Actwhich significantly increase some corporate taxes. Remarkably accessible and rich in historical evidence, Shifting the Burden is the most compelling explanation to date of how our nation's tax policy is formulated. Cathie J. Martin shows how presidents' cultivation of allies within the business community and struggles within that community itself combine to shape tax policy.

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Book SynopsisToday, more American women than ever before stay in the workforce into their sixties and seventies. This trend emerged in the 1980s, and has persisted during the past three decades, despite substantial changes in macroeconomic conditions. Why is this so? Today's older American women work full-time jobs at greater rates than women in other developed countries. In Women Working Longer, editors Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz assemble new research that presents fresh insights on the phenomenon of working longer. Their findings suggest that education and work experience earlier in life are connected to women's later-in-life work. Other contributors to the volume investigate additional factors that may play a role in late-life labor supply, such as marital disruption, household finances, and access to retirement benefits. A pioneering study of recent trends in older women's labor force participation, this collection offers insights valuable to a wide array of social scientists, employers, and policy makers.

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Book SynopsisThe language of economic policy is as familiar as the daily newspapertax cuts, the prime rate, monetarism, deregulation, the balance of paymentsbut how well do we understand it? Too often, the reasoning and the difficult choices that lead to economic policies are hidden from nonexperts in a fog of statistics and jargon. Striking a Balance sets forth in clear, nontechnical language the principal goals of national economic policy, the instruments used to achieve these goals, and the political and economic problems arising from conflicting goals and the choice of inappropriate instruments. It is written not for economics studentsbut for the general public and for students in the related fields of public policy, journalism, and law. Unlike economics textbooks, it is not organized according to theoretical categories such as supply and demand, but around issues such as full employment and inflation. It has no ideological axe to grind and tries to present different views of controversial issues fairly. Striking a Balance benefits from the wisdom and experience of a mature economist. Albert Rees achieves the rare feat of explicating complex issues without oversimplification or trivialization.

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Book SynopsisThis pioneering volume uses modern statistical and simulation techniques to explain the process of wealth transmission and the persistent problem of the unequal distribution of wealth. These papers reflect a shift from the traditional cross-sectional measurement to an intertemporal focus by attempting to model mathematically the actual process by which wealth is acquired and transmitted. There are many questions to be answered: What are the factors influencing saving? What is the role of mating? What decides ownership between spouses? How are rare assets distributed by divorce? What are the patterns of behavior in making gifts and bequests? And what is the effect of the relative ages of the persons involved?

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Table of ContentsEditorial Preface Editor’s Introduction Law, Legislation, and Liberty Consolidated Preface to the One-Volume Edition Volume 1 Rules and Order Introduction 1 Reason and Evolution Construction and evolution The tenets of Cartesian rationalism The permanent limitations of our factual knowledge Factual knowledge and science The concurrent evolution of mind and society: the role of rules The false dichotomy of ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ The rise of the evolutionary approach The persistence of constructivism in current thought Our anthropomorphic language Reason and abstraction Why the extreme forms of constructivist rationalism regularly lead to a revolt against reason 2 Cosmos and Taxis The concept of order The two sources of order The distinguishing properties of spontaneous orders Spontaneous orders in nature In society, reliance on spontaneous order both extends and limits our powers of control Spontaneous orders result from their elements obeying certain rules of conduct The spontaneous order of society is made up of individuals and organizations The rules of spontaneous order and the rules of organization The terms ‘organism’ and ‘organization’ 3 Principles and Expediency Individual aims and collective benefits Freedom can be preserved only by following principles and is destroyed by following expediency The ‘necessities’ of policy are generally the consequences of earlier measures The danger of attaching greater importance to the predictable rather than to the merely possible consequences of our actions Spurious realism and the courage required to consider utopia The role of the lawyer in political evolution The modern development of law has been guided largely by false economics 4 The Changing Concept of Law Law is older than legislation The lessons of ethology and cultural anthropology The process of articulation of practices Factual and normative rules Early law The classical and the medieval tradition The distinctive attributes of law arising from custom and precedent Why grown law requires correction by legislation The origin of legislative bodies Allegiance and sovereignty 5 Nomos: The Law of Liberty The functions of the judge How the task of the judge differs from that of the head of an organization The aim of jurisdiction is the maintenance of an ongoing order of actions ‘Actions towards others’ and the protection of expectations In a dynamic order of actions only some expectations can be protected The maximal coincidence of expectations is achieved by the delimitation of protected domains The general problem of the effects of values on facts The ‘purpose’ of law The articulation of the law and the predictability of judicial decisions The function of the judge is confined to a spontaneous order Conclusions 6 Thesis: The Law of Legislation Legislation originates from the necessity of establishing rules of organization Law and statute: the enforcement of law and the execution of commands Legislation and the theory of the separation of powers The governmental functions of representative assemblies Private law and public law Constitutional law Financial legislation Administrative law and the police power The ‘measures’ of policy The transformation of private law into public law by ‘social’ legislation The mental bias of a legislature preoccupied with government Volume 2 The Mirage of Social Justice 7 General Welfare and Particular Purposes In a free society the general good consists principally in the facilitation of the pursuit of unknown individual purposes The general interest and collective goods Rules and ignorance The significance of abstract rules as guides in a world in which most of the particulars are unknown Will and opinion, ends and values, commands and rules and other terminological issues Abstract rules operate as ultimate values because they serve unknown particular ends The constructivist fallacy of utilitarianism All valid criticism or improvement of rules of conduct must proceed within a given system of such rules ‘Generalization’ and the test of universalizability To perform their functions rules must be applied through the long run 8 The Quest for Justice Justice is an attribute of human conduct Justice and the law Rules of just conduct are generally prohibitions of unjust conduct Not only the rules of just conduct, but also the test of their justice, are negative The significance of the negative character of the test of injustice The ideology of legal positivism The ‘pure theory of law’ Law and morals The ‘law of nature’ Law and sovereignty 9 ‘Social’ or Distributive Justice The concept of ‘social justice’ The conquest of public imagination by ‘social justice’ The inapplicability of the concept of justice to the results of a spontaneous process The rationale of the economic game in which only the conduct of the players but not the result can be just The alleged necessity of a belief in the justice of rewards There is no ‘value to society’ The meaning of ‘social’ ‘Social justice’ and equality ‘Equality of opportunity’ ‘Social justice’ and freedom under the law The spatial range of ‘social justice’ Claims for compensation for distasteful jobs The resentment of the loss of accustomed positions Conclusions Appendix to Chapter Nine Justice and Individual Rights 10 The Market Order or Catallaxy The nature of the market order A free society is a pluralistic society without a common hierarchy of particular ends Though not a single economy, the Great Society is still held together mainly by what are vulgarly called economic relations The aim of policy in a society of free men cannot be a maximum of foreknown results but only an abstract order The game of catallaxy In judging the adaptations to changed circumstances comparisons of the new with the former position are irrelevant Rules of just conduct protect only material domains and not market values The correspondence of expectations is brought about by a disappointment of some expectations Abstract rules of just conduct can determine only chances and not particular results Specific commands (‘interference’) in a catallaxy create disorder and can never be just The aim of law should be to improve equally the chances of all The Good Society is one in which the chances of anyone selected at random are likely to be as great as possible 11 The Discipline of Abstract Rules and the Emotions of the Tribal Society The pursuit of unattainable goals may prevent the achievement of the possible The causes of the revival of the organizational thinking of the tribe The immoral consequences of morally inspired efforts In the Great Society ‘social justice’ becomes a disruptive force From the care of the most unfortunate to the protection of vested interests Attempts to ‘correct’ the order of the market lead to its destruction The revolt against the discipline of abstract rules The morals of the open and of the closed society The old conflict between loyalty and justice The small group in the Open Society The importance of voluntary associations Volume 3 The Political Order of a Free People 12 Majority Opinion and Contemporary Democracy The progressive disillusionment about democracy Unlimited power the fatal defect of the prevailing form of democracy The true content of the democratic ideal The weakness of an elective assembly with unlimited powers Coalitions of organized interests and the apparatus of para-government Agreement on general rules and on particular measures 13 The Division of Democratic Powers The loss of the original conception of the functions of a legislature Existing representative institutions have been shaped by the needs of government, not of legislation Bodies with powers of specific direction are unsuited for law-making The character of existing ‘legislatures’ determined by their governmental tasks Party legislation leads to the decay of democratic society The constructivistic superstition of sovereignty The requisite division of the powers of representative assemblies Democracy or demarchy? 14 The Public Sector and the Private Sector The double task of government Collective goods The delimitation of the public sector The independent sector Taxation and the size of the public sector Security Government monopoly of services Information and education Other critical issues 15 Government Policy and the Market The advantages of competition do not depend on it being ‘perfect’ Competition as a discovery procedure If the factual requirements of ‘perfect’ competition are absent, it is not possible to make firms act ‘as if’ it existed The achievements of the free market Competition and rationality Size, concentration and power The political aspects of economic power When monopoly becomes harmful The problem of anti-monopoly legislation Not individual but group selfishness is the chief threat The consequences of a political determination of the incomes of the different groups Organizable and non-organizable interests 16 The Miscarriage of the Democratic Ideal: A Recapitulation The miscarriage of the democratic ideal A ‘bargaining’ democracy The playball of group interests Laws versus directions Laws and arbitrary government From unequal treatment to arbitrariness Separation of powers to prevent unlimited government 17 A Model Constitution The wrong turn taken by the development of representative institutions The value of a model of an ideal constitution The basic principles The two representative bodies with distinctive functions Further observations on representation by age groups The governmental assembly The constitutional court The general structure of authority Emergency powers The division of financial powers 18 The Containment of Power and the Dethronement of Politics Limited and unlimited power Peace, freedom and justice: the three great negatives Centralization and decentralization The rule of the majority versus the rule of laws approved by the majority Moral confusion and the decay of language Democratic procedure and egalitarian objectives ‘State’ and ‘society’ A game according to rules can never know justice of treatment The para-government of organized interests and the hypertrophy of government Unlimited democracy and centralization The devolution of internal policy to local government The abolition of the government monopoly of services The dethronement of politics Epilogue: The Three Sources of Human Values The errors of sociobiology The process of cultural evolution The evolution of self-maintaining complex systems The stratification of rules of conduct Customary rules and economic order The discipline of freedom The re-emergence of suppressed primordial instincts Evolution, tradition and progress The construction of new morals to serve old instincts: Marx The destruction of indispensable values by scientific error: Freud The tables turned Author Index Subject Index

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Book SynopsisThis volume presents research on issues of importance to the well-being of older persons, including: labour market behaviour, health care, housing and living arrangements, and saving and wealth.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction by David A. Wise 1: The Effect of Labor Market Rigidities on the Labor Force Behavior of Older Workers Michael D. Hurd Comment: Angus S. Deaton 2: Why Are Retirement Rates So High at Age 65? Robin L. Lumsdaine, James H. Stock, David A. Wise. 3: The Military Pension, Compensation, and Retirement of U.S. Air Force Pilots John Ausink, David A. Wise. Comment on Chapters 2 and 3: Robert J. Willis 4: Health Insurance and Early Retirement: Evidence from the Availability of Continuation Coverage Jonathan Gruber, Brigitte C. Madrian. Comment: Richard J. Zeckhauser 5: Medicare Reimbursement and Hospital Cost Growth Mark B. McClellan Comment: Thomas E. MaCurdy 6: Living Arrangements: Health and Wealth Effects Axel Borsch-Supan, Daniel L. McFadden, Reinhold Schnabel. Comment: Steven F. Venti 7: Do 401(k) Plans Replace Other Employer-Provided Pensions? Leslie E. Papke, Mitchell Petersen, James M. Poterba. Comment: Richard Thaler 8: Is Housing Wealth a Sideshow? Jonathan S. Skinner Comment: John B. Shoven 9: Elderly Health, Housing, and Mobility Jonathan S. Feinstein Comment: Daniel L. McFadden 10: Intergenerational Transfers, Aging, and Uncertainty David N. Weil Comment: James M. Poterba Contributors Author Index Subject Index

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Book SynopsisEconomic modernity is so closely associated with nationhood that it is impossible to imagine a modern state without an equallymodern economy. Even so, most people would have difficulty defining a modern economy and its connection to nationhood. In Saving the Nation, Margherita Zanasi explores this connection by examining the first nation-building attempt in China after the fall of the empire in 1911. Challenging the assumption that nations are products of technological and socioeconomic forces, Zanasi argues that it was notions of what constituted a modern nation that led the Nationalist nation-builders to shape China's institutions and economy. In their reform effort, they confronted several questions: What characterized a modern economy? What role would a modern economy play in the overall nation-building effort? And how could China pursue economic modernization while maintaining its distinctive identity? Zanasi expertly shows how these questions were negotiated and contested within

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Book SynopsisA short, rigorous introduction to intermediate microeconomic theory that offers worked-out examples, tools for solving exercises, and algebra support.This book takes a concise, example-filled approach to intermediate microeconomic theory. It avoids lengthy conceptual description and focuses on worked-out examples and step-by-step solutions. Each chapter presents the basic theoretical elements, reducing them to their main ingredients, and offering several worked-out examples and applications as well as the intuition behind each mathematical assumption and result. The book provides step-by-step tools for solving standard exercises, offering students a common approach for solving similar problems. The book walks readers through each algebra step and calculation, so only a basic background in algebra and calculus is assumed. The book includes 140 self-assessment exercises, giving students an opportunity to apply concepts from previous worked-out examples. Topics covered in

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Book SynopsisWhy free comes at a price: the costs of free internet services in terms of privacy, cybersecurity, and the growing market power of technology giants.The upside of the internet is free Wi-Fi at Starbucks, Facetime over long distances, and nearly unlimited data for downloading or streaming. The downside is that our data goes to companies that use it to make money, our financial information is exposed to hackers, and the market power of technology companies continues to increase. In The Flip Side of Free, Michael Kende shows that free internet comes at a price. We're beginning to realize this. Our all-purpose techno-caveat is I love my smart speaker...but--is it really tracking everything I do? listening to everything I say?

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Book SynopsisHow a bottom-up problem-solving ethos, multidisciplinary approach, and experimental mindset has nurtured entrepreneurship at MIT.MIT is world-famous as a launching pad for entrepreneurs. MIT alumni have founded at least 30,000 active companies, employing an estimated 4.6 million people, with revenues of approximately $1.9 trillion. In the 2010s, twenty to thirty ventures were spun off each year to commercialize technologies developed in MIT labs (with intellectual property licensed by MIT to these companies); in the same decade, MIT graduates started an estimated 100 firms per year. How has MIT become such a hotbed of entrepreneurship? In From the Basement to the Dome, Jean-Jacques Degroof describes how MIT's problem-solving ethos, multidisciplinary approach, and experimental mindset nurture entrepreneurship. Degroof explains that, at first, the culture of entrepreneurship sprang from such extracurricular activities as forums, clubs, and competitions. Eve

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Book SynopsisAn updated edition of a widely used textbook, offering a clear and comprehensive presentation of mathematics for undergraduate economics students.This text offers a clear and comprehensive presentation of the mathematics required to tackle problems in economic analyses, providing not only straightforward exposition of mathematical methods for economics students at the intermediate and advanced undergraduate levels but also a large collection of problem sets. This updated and expanded fourth edition contains numerous worked examples drawn from a range of important areas, including economic theory, environmental economics, financial economics, public economics, industrial organization, and the history of economic thought. These help students develop modeling skills by showing how the same basic mathematical methods can be applied to a variety of interesting and important issues. The five parts of the text cover fundamentals, calculus, linear algebra, optimizat

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Book SynopsisHow companies can gain strategic advantage by developing blockchain capabilities.Blockchain is far more than cryptocurrency. Regarded for a decade as complex and with limited application, blockchain has now matured to be on the verge of fully realizing its disruptive potential. In Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain, business strategy expert Ravi Sarathy shows how companies can gain competitive advantage by developing and deploying blockchain capabilities. Sarathy explains what makes blockchain unique, including its capacities to eliminate intermediaries, guard against hackers, decentralize, and protect privacy. Presenting examples drawn from such sectors as finance, supply chains, computer services, consumer products, and entertainment, he describes how executives can strategically assess blockchain’s applicability to their business. After outlining blockchain’s technological features—and its technological obstacles—Sarathy des

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Book SynopsisHow business leaders can grow profits and competitive advantage by doing the right thing.Acting on values—doing good for the benefit of all—can substantially benefit the bottom line, but many business leaders mistakenly believe that doing the right thing lowers profits. This belief is the greatest barrier holding businesses back from being more financially and competitively successful—and delivering more good for the world. Not only can it be a winning business strategy to act on values, as Daniel Aronson suggests in The Value of Values, but it is also a savvy choice, increasing a company’s power, profit, and competitive advantage—in many cases with little additional investment or risk.It starts with seeing what others miss. Using extensive research and real-world calculations, Aronson demonstrates that the “submerged value” of initiatives such as taking bold action to combat climate change, helping people find job

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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