Macroeconomics Books

Book SynopsisWhen planning for the future we often ask, "What will the economy be doing this time next year?" Or, "What will be different ten years from now?" But forecasting is hard. The important events that will shape the future are inherently unpredictable. Instead, we should be asking a different question: What will be the same ten years from now? What will be the same one hundred years from now? Knowledge of the things that never change is more useful, and more important, than an uncertain prediction of an unknowable future. In Same As Ever, bestselling author Morgan Housel shares 24 short stories about the ways that life, behaviour, and business will always be the same. Armed with this knowledge of the unchanging, you will have a powerful new ability to think about risk, opportunity, and how to navigate the uncertainty of the future. As you see familiar themes repeat again and again in the years ahead, you'll find yourself nodding and saying, "Yep, same as ever."

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Book SynopsisWhat went wrong with capitalism? Ruchir Sharma's explanation is unlike any you have heard before. Progressives are partly right when they mock modern capitalism as socialism for the rich, but what really happened in recent decades is that government in developed nations expanded in just about every measurable dimension, from spending and regulation to the sheer scale of its rescues each time the economy wobbled. The result, Sharma says, is socialized risk, expensive government guarantees, for everyonewelfare for the poor, entitlements for the middle class, and bailouts for the rich. Voters say they are disillusioned with capitalism, but a system so distorted by government interventions is a dysfunctional version of free market ideals. As a result, productivity and economic growth have slowed sharply, shrinking the pie for everyone and stoking popular anger. Since these flaws developed as the government expanded, building an even bigger state will only double down on what's gone wrong. The answer Sharma offers is a series of seven fixes to restore the balance between state support and free markets and lay the path to a more prosperous and happier future.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA thinker for uncertain times. . . If you want to better understand populism, Trump, Brexit and the anti-establishment backlash then Taleb, of no party or clique, is your man -- Josh Glancy * Sunday Times *A great iconoclast. . . Taleb, a Wall Street trader turned essayist, is a thinker touched by genius. . . The big picture he presents is powerfully argued and offers myriad policy implications -- Matthew Syed * The Times *The most prophetic voice of all . . . Taleb is a genuinely significant philosopher . . . someone who is able to change the way we view the structure of the world through the strength, originality and veracity of his ideas alone -- John Gray * GQ *Nassim Nicholas Taleb is the Richard Wagner of uncertainty. While the Ring Cycle of the German composer/librettist portrayed the struggle of the gods in a series of operas, the Incerto series of books by the Lebanese-American author is devoted to humans -- specifically how we deal with the endemic risk in our all-too-finite existence -- Dominic Lawson * Sunday Times *As always with Taleb, this is a fascinating set of ideas. And he's right. People with skin in the game learn how the game works. Without it, they don't -- William Leith * Evening Standard *The author of The Black Swan is back with a simple warning: don't buy what your neighbour is selling unless he owns some too. The obvious application for this is investing, but Taleb has a much broader domain. In a kind of philosophical Freakonomics, he takes us from 5th-century wandering monks (banned by the church because they were too free) to Donald Trump (his imperfections showed he had skin in the game) -- Rosamund Urwin * Sunday Times Books of the Year *

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Book SynopsisWhy did Western countries become so much wealthier than the rest of the world? What explains the huge rise in incomes during the Industrial Revolution - and why did Britain lead the way?In the years between the Glorious Revolution and the Great Exhibition, the British economy was transformed. Joel Mokyr''s landmark history offers a wholly new perspective for understanding Britain''s extraordinary rise during the Industrial Revolution, showing how intellectual, rather than material, forces were the driving force behind it. While empire, trade, resources and other factors all played a part, above all it was the creative ferment of the Enlightenment - with its belief in progress and scientific advancement - that affected the economic behaviour of thinkers, inventors, entrepreneurs and artisans, taking Britain into the modern era.Linking ideas and beliefs to the heart of modern economic growth, The Enlightened Economy will transform the way we view the Industrial Trade ReviewHe buttresses his argument with deep knowledge of the times and massive scholarship. Everyone interested in history should read this great work. -- George A. Akerlof * University of California at Berkeley *A great economic historian gives us a sweeping perspective on a pivotal period of history: Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Tracing a long series of economic innovations and political reforms back to the ideas of the Enlightenment, Joel Mokyr shows us the foundations of the modern world. -- Roger B. Myerson * University of Chicago *Mokyr utilises deep knowledge of technological and industrial history, often narrated at the level of the individual inventor, thinker, factory owner or craftsman...[He] narrates brilliantly a rich story of modern economic growth.... Mokyr has made a deeply impressive contribution. -- David Greasley * BBC History *This is a large, learned and challenging book ... [which] anyone interested in history and the current economy needs to read -- Maxine Berg * TLS *

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Book SynopsisEconomics is too important to be left to the experts. But if we understand our economic system, we can change it. An insider's guide to our broken economy and how it really works.

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Book SynopsisThis textbook explains the notion of monetary union, highlighting the key concepts, procedures, and challenges involved. The book is organized in three parts. In the first part, the reader learns about monetary issues, like definitions and typology of monetary unions, rationale of monetary unions, monetary policy, monetary institutional matters. The second part is devoted to fiscal matters and the interplay between fiscal and monetary policies, such as deficits, transfers, public debt sustainability issues, fiscal policy, policy mix. The last part focuses on other distinct but related issues, necessary to complete the union: banking and fiscal unions, structural adjustments in a monetary union. It ends with a chapter on the fate of monetary unions: how they develop, mature and sometimes dissolve.The book addresses students at undergraduate and graduate level, interested in a better understanding of international macroeconomics and monetary unions, as well as policy-makers, practitioners and economists in central banks, ministries of economics, economic institutions and banks. Table of Contents​Monetary Issues: Monetary Unions: Between International Trade and National Sovereignty.- Why a Monetary Union?- Monetary Policy in a Monetary Union: Lessons from Simple Models.- Institutions and Monetary Policy.- Fiscal Issues: Government Deficits, Transfers and Debt.- Fiscal Policies in a Monetary Union.- The Policy Mix.- Toward an Ever Closer Union: Structural Adjustments and Reforms.- Fiscal Union.- Banking Union.- The Fate of a Monetary Union.- General Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisCountries with smaller governments grow faster.Tobacco taxes are the best way to cut smoking. Government regulation discourages entrepreneurship.Award-winning investigative journalist Tom Bergin digs into eight mantras widely accepted by Western governments and, by talking to the people who promote those ideas and the workers, businesspeople and consumers who have felt their impacts, finds they often don't play out as expected. Smart, funny and incisive, Free Lunch Thinking is essential reading for anyone who really wants to know how economies tick - and why they often don't._______________________________________________________________'I couldn't put it down. A thorough and nuanced examination of the evolution of supply side economics . . . I loved it.' Arthur Laffer, creator of the Laffer Curve'An entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of economic theories that have been both widely accepted and largely wrong . . . I devoured it in a couple of sittings.' Reuters Breakingviews'An insightful account of the recent history of economic thought. If you are looking for a book which challenges you without being annoying - make it this one.' Institute of Economics AffairsTrade ReviewAn essential read if you want to know how economics has erred - and how it can do better.—Gabriel Zucman, author of 'The Hidden Wealth of Nations'I couldn't put it down. A thorough and nuanced examination of the evolution of supply side economics and the debates we had around how to put the theory into practice. I loved it.—Arthur Laffer, creator of the Laffer CurveA brilliant tour de force exposing the limitations of economic theories. Bergin punctures many accepted myths and - with care and rigour - demonstrates how much accepted economic orthodoxy is based on ideology and not reality. A very readable and well-researched book that we all should read.—Margaret Hodge, former chair of the UK parliament’s Public Accounts CommitteeAn entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of economic theories that have been both widely accepted and largely wrong . . . I devoured it in a couple of sittings.—Reuters BreakingviewsFantastically provocative book . . . a really great read.—David McWilliams, economist and author

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Book SynopsisThe breakthrough text that closes the gap between economic theory and the day-to-day behaviour of banks and financial markets.Working froma macro framework based on the Fed's use of interest rate, Ball presents the core concepts necessary to understand the problems of the stock market and the causes of recessions and banking crises

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Book SynopsisIs unabated inflation the new normal? Inflation is back and here to stay. For companies, this means that the world in which they do business has fundamentally changed. This book examines inflation from multiple perspectives and offers actions and strategies for companies to cope with and manage it to ensure their survival. For businesses and consumers, it is not a question of eliminating inflation, but how to cope with it in order to suffer as little damage as possible. This includes not just price management, but also sales, finance, purchasing, cost management along with digitalization and innovation activities in equal measure. It also requires corporate cultural change, which if managed fast and successfully, the prospects of defeating inflation and thus ensuring the survival of the company are good.Table of ContentsComeback of the Inflation Specter.- Victims and Profiteers of Inflation.- Getting Ahead of Inflation.- Understand Profit Mechanics.- Optimize Prices in Line with Inflation.- Control Value-to-customer.- Lead in Competition.- Strengthen Pricing Power.- Exploit Digital Opportunities.- Apply Smart Pricing Tactics.- Introduce Innovative Pricing Systems.- Toughen the Sales Force.- Prioritize Finance.- Reduce Costs.- What to Do - Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisPaul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics, shows how today's crisis parallels the events that caused the Great Depression - and explains what it will take to avoid catastrophe.In 1999, in The Return of Depression Economics, Paul Krugman surveyed the economic crises that had swept across Asia and Latin America, and warned that those crises were a warning for all of us: like diseases that have become resistant to antibiotics, the economic maladies that caused the Great Depression were making a comeback.In the years that followed, as Wall Street boomed and financial wheeler-dealers made vast profits, the international crises of the 1990s faded from memory. But now depression economics has come to America: when the great housing bubble of the mid-2000s burst, the U.S. financial system proved as vulnerable as those of developing countries caught up in earlier crises - and a replay of the 1930s seems all too possible. In this new, greatly updated edition of The Return of Depression Economics, Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an increasingly out-of-control financial system set the United States, and the world as a whole, up for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. He also lays out the steps that must be taken to contain the crisis, and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession. Brilliantly crafted in Krugman's trademark style-lucid, lively, and supremely informed - this new edition of The Return of Depression Economics will become an instant cornerstone of the debate over how to respond to the crisis.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Irwin outlines [the] long evolution of trade politics from the mercantilist 1640s to the present, when Trump has made trade controversial again by arguing for a renewal of protectionist policies. [His] chronicle--lengthy, detailed, and readable--traces the winding trail that has brought us to the liberal world trading order we enjoy today."--George Melloan, Wall Street Journal "At a time when Washington's approach to trade seems poised to undergo a significant shift, this magisterial book surveys the entire history of US trade policy since the Colonial era, using congressional debates and actions to show how conflicting domestic economic interests have led Americans to clash repeatedly over trade."--Foreign Affairs, Best of Books 2018 (01/02/2019) "Tells the history of American trade policy, showing that trade is neither dull nor deserving of the attacks on it. . . . As Mr Irwin spins this grand narrative, he also debunks trade-policy myths."--Economist "At a time when concerns about trade wars unsettle financial markets and engage media pundits, those seeking a deeper understanding may choose to consult Irwin's hefty volume."--EH.net "Irwin's magnum opus . . . is already a classic. Given the prominent role trade is playing in politics right now, it is also very timely. At almost seven hundred pages, Clashing over Commerce looks intimidating. But once you start reading, it isn't. Irwin tells a coherent story that spans generations, showcasing the prominent personalities in the great trade debate, their larger philosophical and economic arguments, and the legislation and policies they fought over. It hits on all levels."-- (01/02/2019) "Other histories have been written about US trade policy, but Irwin's is the most comprehensive and useful for guiding our current decision making on trade. . . . Irwin combines scholarly analysis with a historian's eye for trends and colorful details. This book is readable and illuminating, for the trade expert and for all Americans wanting a deeper understanding of America's evolving role in the global economy." --National Review "Clashing over Commerce is a magisterial book. Irwin takes readers through the long story of American trade policy with keen insight and a sense for historical significance."--I. M. Destler, University of Maryland "Clashing over Commerce is a very impressive book. Besides a detailed history of trade policy, it provides a general picture of American political and economic history."--Regulation "This is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive discussion of trade policy since Taussig's immensely influential Tariff History of the United States. Irwin describes the profound evolution of American trade policy from colonial times to the present, bringing up to date with the most recent empirical research and the emergence of a broader trade policy. In its breadth and depth, Clashing over Commerce represents a major contribution."--Jeremy Atack, Vanderbilt University

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Book SynopsisEssential Economics for Business offers students a concise, accessible and engaging introduction to the key principles of micro and macroeconomics, in addition to broader business-related topics, including business organisation and strategy.  Numerous cases and examples throughout the text illustrate how economics can be used to understand specific business problems or aspects of the business environment, from economic growth, to levels of business investment, interest rates, employment issues, the prices firms charge, the rise of online shopping and Brexit. This is the ideal text for students taking a module including economics on any business or management degree or diploma course.Table of ContentsBrief Contents Preface Publisher’s acknowledgements Part A INTRODUCTION 1 Business and the economic environment Part B MARKETS, DEMAND AND SUPPLY 2 The working of competitive markets 3 Demand and the consumer 4 Supply decisions in a perfectly competitive market Part C THE MICROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS 5 Pricing and output decisions in imperfectly competitive markets 6 Business growth and strategy 7 Multinational corporations and business strategy in a global economy 8 Labour and employment 9 Government, the firm and the market Part D THE MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS 10 The economy and business activity 11 National macroeconomic policy 12 The global trading environment 13 The global financial environment Websites appendix Key ideas Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisThe book studies the impact of COVID-19 on the Chinese economy and the country's response to policies. It examines various aspects of national macroeconomic operations, industrial shocks, changes in financial markets, regional economic order, public governance challenges. It also analyzes changes in the world economy while integrating economic, financial, industrial, and environmental disciplines.At the macro level, the book emphasizes counter-cyclical responses, with an emphasis on comprehensive measures and precise efforts. It highlights differentiated development strategies for industries and promotes structural adjustment and supply-side reform. At the micro-level, the book emphasizes enterprises' resumption of work and production and supply chain management. The book promotes the concept of integration, stressing that China's economy was and is sufficiently resilient and the importance of maintaining and improving public confidence. At the same time, it attaches importance to prescribing the correct remedies for shortcomings, strengthening weaknesses, confronting the obstacles and difficulties in economic development, and restoring social order. The studies are not restricted to the facts but also focus on transforming and upgrading a modernized socialist economy and governance in the long term.

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Book SynopsisFrom an award-winning professor of economics, an accessible and comprehensive introduction to what causes, and what can address, increases in the cost of living.Anyone who has balked at the price of a carton of eggs or lamented the cost of a tank of gas in the past five years has experienced the sting of inflation. What causes inflation? When has it surged historically? And which policies best address it? In this concise and timely volume, economist Martha Olney explains what inflation is, its patterns over time, its underlying causes, the controversial Phillips Curve and its possible relevance, anti-inflation policy, and more. From the obvious rise in the cost of living to the more discreet decrease in quality of goods and services, Olney provides an indispensable introduction to the concept of inflation and what we can do to address its effects.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ''Superb ... It is tremendous fun, tremendously told'' The Times ''A fluid intellectual thriller'' Daily Telegraph From the global bestselling author of The Big Short, the gripping story of the maverick scientists who hunted down Covid-19 ''It''s a foreboding,'' she said. ''A knowing that something is looming around the corner. Like how when the seasons change you can smell Fall in the air right before the leaves change and the wind turns cold.'' In January 2020, as people started dying from a new virus in Wuhan, China, few really understood the magnitude of what was happening. Except, that is, a small group of scientific misfits who in their different ways had been obsessed all their lives with how viruses spread and replicated - and with why the governments and the institutions that were supposed to look after us, kept making the same mistakes time and again. This group saw what nobody else did. A pandemic was coming. We weren''t prepared. The Premonition is the extraordinary story of a group who anticipated, traced and hunted the coronavirus; who understood the need to think differently, to learn from history, to question everything; and to do all of this fast, in order to act, to save lives, communities, society itself. It''s a story about the workings of the human mind; about the failures and triumphs of human judgement and imagination. It''s the story of how we got to now. ''Lewis is a master of his form'' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewWhen the stories of our times are told, there will be no more seminal documents than the books of Michael Lewis. * Guardian *He is so good everyone else may as well pack up. * Evening Standard *Michael Lewis is one of the premier chroniclers of our age. * Huffington Post *Superb ... It is tremendous fun, tremendously told. There is a lot to take from it - about the inertia of the US civil service, about the "malignant obedience" of middle managers, about how people fearful of the pandemic were treated with the "wary indulgence of the sane in the presence of the fanatic" ... Among those truths, in a familiar lesson for much of the world this year, is the danger of hubris. -- Tom Whipple * The Times *A gripping story ... This is a book about some brave, curious people who tried hard to swim against the tide. As always in a Lewis book they are brought vividly alive ... Lewis is a master of his form. -- Christina Patterson * The Sunday Times *A fluid intellectual thriller ... As always with Lewis, the book is full of fascinating facts and personal angles. -- Steven Poole * Daily Telegraph Books of the Year 2021 *[Reading The Premonition] we see a disturbing common trait emerging in our country and others: the unwillingness to prioritise people's lives over ideas and ingrained structures. -- Kazuo Ishiguro * Observer Books of the Year 2021 *It is hard to think of a writer who has had more success than Michael Lewis at turning forbiddingly complex situations into propulsive nonfiction narratives ... Without his ever having to spell it out, Lewis's message comes across very powerfully: the US government, in its institutional dysfunction, is in danger of abandoning its citizens to a private sector that is even less equipped to deal with large-scale disasters such as Covid. -- Mark O’Connell * The Guardian *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewDeirdre Nansen McCloskey latest meticulous work examines how economics can become a more "human" science"Can we have economic thought that focuses on people and tries to understand rather than merely observe? Rejecting contemporary trends, McCloskey paves the way to an economics dedicated to the betterment of human lives." * The Bookseller *“There is no doubting the extraordinary breadth and depth of [McCloskey’s] knowledge... A critique by someone who knows what she’s talking about.” * The Enlightened Economist *“This book presents a series of arguments for improving academic enquiry through the lens of 'humanomics.' For economists, or other academics, who haven’t come across humanomics before, it is in essence a combination of the rigorous tools of economics with more human elements such as the critical perspectives that are often found in the humanities. Pioneers of this approach include 'the father of economics,' Adam Smith, Nobel prizewinner Vernon Smith and experimental economist Bart Wilson. . . McCloskey presents compelling arguments that economic agents are not merely attempting to maximise their utility, but are influenced by other factors such as the power of words.” * Times Higher Education *Best Summer Books of 2021 "What economics needs to fulfil its unparalleled potential as the premier science of human progress, [McCloskey] insists, is the rediscovery of its origins as the discipline that successfully marries the methods of the sciences and the humanities. In Bettering Humanomics, a sparkling cameo of a book, she offers a summary of this, her life-long project. The result is a richly allusive account of what such a combination — 'humanomics', as she calls it — looks like, and why it offers a better guide to understanding where prosperity ultimately comes from and what policymakers can do to help it on its way." * Financial Times *“This new book quite seriously advances the continuing conversation in humanomics. It discovers Adam Smith and resumes a path that McCloskey has so magnificently helped to reinvigorate in the last half century.” -- Vernon Smith, Chapman University and 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics“How is economic science going to progress? By embracing ethics, the humanities, and language as part of the tool kit alongside mathematics—and recognizing that economists should never try to be social engineers because they are part of the societies they study. McCloskey makes a compelling case for economics for humans—and offers some hope that the discipline is tilting in that direction.” -- Diane Coyle, University of Cambridge"Provocative, bold, ironic, erudite, and above all, well-written." * Metascience *Table of ContentsPreface Part I. The Proposal Chapter 1. Humanomics and Liberty Promise Better Economic Science Chapter 2. Adam Smith Practiced Humanomics, and So Should We Chapter 3. Economic History Illustrates the Problems with Nonhumanomics Chapter 4. An Economic Science Needs the Humanities Chapter 5. It’s Merely a Matter of Common Sense and Intellectual Free Trade Chapter 6. After All, Sweet Talk Rules a Free Economy Chapter 7. Therefore We Should Walk on Both Feet, Like Ludwig Lachmann Chapter 8. That Is, Economics Needs Theories of Human Minds beyond Behaviorism Part II. The Killer App Chapter 9. The Killer App of Humanomics Is the Evidence That the Great Enrichment Came from Ethics and Rhetoric Chapter 10. The Dignity of Liberalism Did It Chapter 11. Ideas, Not Incentives, Underlie It Chapter 12. Even as to Time and Location Chapter 13. The Word’s the Thing Part III. The Doubts Chapter 14. Doubts by Analytic Philosophers about the Killer App Are Not Persuasive Chapter 15. Nor by Sociologists or Political Philosophers Chapter 16. Nor Even by Economic Historians Notes Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisDeath and taxes are our inevitable fate. We''ve been told this since the beginning of civilisation. But what if we stopped to question our antiquated system? Is it fair? And is it capable of serving the needs of our rapidly-changing, modern society? In Daylight Robbery, Dominic Frisby traces the origins of taxation, from its roots in the ancient world, through to today. He explores the role of tax in the formation of our global religions, the part tax played in wars and revolutions throughout the ages, why, at one stage, we paid tax for daylight or for growing a beard. Ranging from the despotic to the absurd, the tax laws of the past reveal so much about how we got to where we are today and what we can do to build a system fit for the future.Featured on Stepping up with Nigel Farage''An important book for investors in gold and bitcoin'' - Daniela Cambone, Stansberry Research''This entertaining, surprising, contrarian book is a tour de force!'' - Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything''In this spectacular gallop through history, Frisby shows how taxation has warped, stunted and thwarted human progress'' - Mark Littlewood, Director General, Institute of Economic Affairs''Frisby''s historical interpretation and utopian ideas will outrage Left and Right'' - Steve Baker, MP for Wycombe and Member of the House of Commons Treasury Committee ''Fascinating book which exposes the political and economic basis of tax. A must read for those of us who believe in simpler, lower taxes'' - Rt Hon Liz Truss, MP for South West Norfolk, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of TradeTrade ReviewWith dazzling clarity, Frisby illuminates just how much of history is explained by arguments over tax, from Magna Carta to the American civil war to today's political debates. This entertaining, surprising, contrarian book is a tour de force * Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything *An engaging and informative trip through tax history that leads on to some radical suggestions for the future. A must-read for anyone thinking about how our tax system should be structured * Roger Bootle, author of The AI Economy *A real page-turner! Dominic Frisby's historical interpretation and utopian ideas will outrage Left and Right. Both should read this book! * Steve Baker, MP for Wycombe, member of the House of Commons Treasury Committee *In this spectacular gallop through history, Frisby shows how taxation has warped, stunted and thwarted human progress. An absolute must-read for anyone who thinks higher taxes are the answer to our ills. Should be compulsory reading for anyone who aspires to high political office! * Mark Littlewood, Director General, Institute of Economic Affairs *A fascinating book which exposes the political and economic basis of tax. A must read for those of us who believe in simpler, lower taxes * Rt Hon Liz Truss, MP for South West Norfolk, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade *It has been said that the income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government. Dominic Frisby masterfully delves into the fascinating topic of taxation, vividly bringing it to life * Jon Matonis Monetary Economist *An utterly gripping account of the impact of taxes on the course of civilisation * Simon Evans, Comedian *A fantastic education on the surprising ways tax policies have shaped mankind's past and will impact our future * Roger Ver, Chairman, Bitcoin.com *A brilliant book full of insights into how governments have fleeced us down the ages. This is a must read for anyone interested in how technology might at last tilt things back in favour of the citizen rather than the state * Douglas Carswell, MP for Clacton, Co-founder Vote Leave *How when and where we pay tax affects everything - how and where we work, how we save, when we retire, whether we marry or not, whether we live in houses we own or not and sometimes even how many children we have. Few of us think properly about the way this shapes our lives and societies. With this well-written and hugely engaging book Dominic Frisby might be about to change that * Merryn Somerset Webb, Editor in chief of Moneyweek *A great read * George Galloway, former Member of Parliament, broadcaster and bestselling author of I'm Not the Only One *Both amusing and informative, you'll come away with a much deeper understanding of what taxation is all about * Bill Bonner, bestselling author of Empire of Debt *Whether you think your taxes are fair or unfair, too high or too low, you need to read this book * Greg Moffitt, editor of New Thought *Highly readable * Luke Johnson, British entrepreneur and Sunday Times columnist *A hugely readable, well-researched book about the history, reality and future of tax, which can draw the occasional chuckle! Also an informative tome, which raises important questions about how and why governments are funded * James Roberts, Political Director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance *A book about tax, that is readable, fascinating - and fun! Sounds impossible, I know. But that's what Dominic Frisby has written * Liam Halligan, the Telegraph *This entertaining, easily read book will make you laugh and arm you for debates * Heather McGregor, Mrs Moneypenny, The Sunday Times *Frisby is a moonlighting phenomenon: a finance journalist by day and Edinburgh Fringe comedic star by night, he brings wit to the world of policy-wonkery in a way that is probably unique * Helen Dale, author of The Hand that Signed the Paper *Whatever your political leanings, you will find much to enjoy in this entertaining and educational romp through the history of taxation * Moneyweek *Please let's let Dominic Frisby loose on the Treasury! * Jamie Blackett, The Critic *a fascinating book...educational and fun. You will enjoy it! * Mish Talk, The Street *

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Book SynopsisThe new edition of a concise and nontechnical but rigorous introductory text that emphasizes fundamental concepts and real-world applications, thoroughly revised and updated.This introductory text offers an alternative to the encyclopedic, technically oriented approach taken by traditional textbooks on macroeconomic principles. Concise and nontechnical but rigorous, its goal is not to teach students to shift curves on diagrams but to help them understand fundamental macroeconomic concepts and their real-world applications. It accomplishes this by providing a clear exposition of introductory macroeconomic theory along with more than 700 one- or two-sentence “news clips,” based on economics media coverage, as illustrations or student exercises. Although the writing is accessible, end-of-chapter questions are challenging, requiring a thorough understanding of related macroeconomic concepts, critical-thinking skills, and an ability to make connections to the real worl

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Book SynopsisThe bankruptcy of the investment bank Lehman Brothers was the pivotal event of the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession that followed. Ever since the bankruptcy, there has been heated debate about why the Federal Reserve did not rescue Lehman in the same way it rescued other financial institutions, such as Bear Stearns and AIG. The Fed''s leaders from that time, especially former Chairman Ben Bernanke, have strongly asserted that they lacked the legal authority to save Lehman because it did not have adequate collateral for the loan it needed to survive. Based on a meticulous four-year study of the Lehman case, The Fed and Lehman Brothers debunks the official narrative of the crisis. It shows that in reality, the Fed could have rescued Lehman but officials chose not to because of political pressures and because they underestimated the damage that the bankruptcy would do to the economy. The compelling story of the Lehman collapse will interest anyone who cares about what caused Trade Review'What caused the financial crisis of 2008? Are policymakers ready to handle the next one? These are key questions for anyone interested in economic history and policy. In the past decade, a conventional wisdom has developed about the answers. Yet a new book questions that orthodoxy, offering a more disturbing perspective on the past and a less sanguine prognosis for the future.' The New York Times'Ten years after the Lehman Brothers collapse, one might think that it's time to end the debate over its causes. Laurence M. Ball, an economics professor at The Johns Hopkins, doesn't agree. He makes a persuasive case that a key lesson remains overlooked: that the Lehman failure and the market crash that followed didn't have to happen and that the political response, the 2010 Dodd-Frank banking law, has made future financial crises more likely, not less … Mr Ball's argument that Dodd-Frank contains the seeds of further politically motivated fiascoes is persuasive - and worrisome.' Wall Street Journal'Laurence M. Ball has produced a brilliant and riveting study of the most important moment of modern financial history: the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. In a remarkably detailed and careful analysis Ball argues that decisions were driven by politics rather than sound policy. In short, this is a must-read masterpiece of financial and historical analysis.' Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University, New York'Government failure to rescue Lehman Brothers investment bank, and its bankruptcy in September 2008, precipitated a monumental financial crisis. Laurence M. Ball combs through a mass of documents, and presents a new and quite disturbing perspective on the events. Some may disagree with his take, but it is a milestone in the historical analysis of the crisis.' Andrei Shleifer, Harvard University, Massachusetts'A monumental piece of scholarship that is essential for understanding the financial crisis of 2008 - and the Great Recession that followed. Meticulous, gripping, and compelling.' David Romer, Herman Royer Professor of Political Economy, University of California, Berkeley'With unprecedented and exciting investigative research, Laurence M. Ball convincingly puts forth an important new view of the financial crisis, uncovering fundamental inconsistencies in the government's often-told story of its role in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the panic of 2008. He shows that the Fed could have legally prevented the bankruptcy, but didn't do so either because of political concerns or a botched implementation of its game plan.' John B. Taylor, Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics, Stanford University'The official narrative of any crisis is not always the most accurate. Professor Laurence M. Ball's authoritative account of Lehman's demise debunks the Fed's narrative of the calamity and raises uncomfortable questions about the Fed's inconsistent use of its discretionary authority. This captivating book should be required reading for anyone with a stake in preventing the next financial collapse.' Athanasios Orphanides, Massachusetts Institute of Technology'Ball supports his hypothesis with ample documentation. Whether readers come away convinced that the Fed made a grievous error in not being the lender of last resort to Lehman will probably depend on their view of the Fed. And even if future Fed leaders 'take the Lehman lesson to heart', they may be hamstrung in their actions.' Brenda Jubin, Talk Markets (www.talkmarkets.com)'Laurence Ball's new book The Fed and Lehman Brothers is an excellent book on the 2008 Financial Crisis … This is a valuable lesson I have learned from Professor Ball's explanation of how the Fed could have saved Lehman. Merely by broadening the types of collateral accepted for cash funding from the Fed and maintaining the functioning of the repo market, the Fed can ensure solvent financial institutions being able to withstand the turbulence of financial crisis.' Seeking Alpha (www.seekingalpha.com)'The bank that precipitated the [financial] crisis was Lehman Brothers. In The Fed and Lehman Brothers, [Laurence M. Ball], a senior American economics professor, has written an entire book on this episode, based on a careful archival reconstruction of events. His findings are fascinating and significant, and so is his villain: not Lehman Brothers but the Federal Reserve.' Paul Collier, The Times Literary SupplementTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. The crisis of 2008; 3. The legal criteria for Fed assistance; 4. Lehman's balance sheet and solvency; 5. Lehman's liquidity crisis; 6. Lehman's collateral and the feasibility of liquidity support; 7. Fed discussions of collateral and liquidity support; 8. Fed actions that ensured Lehman's bankruptcy; 9. Possible long-term outcomes for Lehman; 10. How risky were the Fed's rescues of other firms?; 11. Who decided that Lehman should fail?; 12. Explaining the Lehman decision; 13. Conclusion; References; Endnotes; Index.

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Book SynopsisAn accessible and engaging introduction to the big picture of UK and international economics Are you studying macroeconomics, but don''t know inflation from stagflation? Have no fear! This easy-to-understand guide, written specifically for the UK market, is packed with real-world examples and cases that easily illustrate the key concepts you''ll need to know to fully grasp macroeconomics and ace your exams. Taking a fun, step-by-step approach to the topic, this great guide provides an engaging introduction to macroeconomics and then delves into more specific topics, such as business cycles, inflation, unemployment, domestic output, monetary policy, and much more. When it comes to the interaction of politics, business decisions, consumer actions, and monetary policy, the study of economics is international in scope. That means you must understand not just the economies of nations, but also the interrelatedness of national economies throughout the world. This easy, acceTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 Part I: Getting Started with Macroeconomics 5 Chapter 1: Discovering Why Macroeconomics Is a Big Deal 7 Chapter 2: Looking at Key Questions and Concepts 21 Chapter 3: Curing a Sick Economy of Four Afflictions 35 Part II: Measuring the Things that Matter 47 Chapter 4: Totting up a Country’s Economic Activity: Gross Domestic Product 49 Chapter 5: Facing the Fact of Increasing Prices: Inflation 67 Chapter 6: Unemployment: Wasting Talent and Productivity 87 Part III: Building a Model of the Economy 105 Chapter 7: Working Out a Country’s Economic Demand 107 Chapter 8: Determining How Much Stuff an Economy Can Produce 125 Chapter 9: Using the AD–AS Model to Analyse Shocks to the System 139 Part IV: Examining Macroeconomic Policy 161 Chapter 10: Using Monetary Policy to Influence the Economy 163 Chapter 11: Fiscal Policy: Balancing the Books – Perhaps 183 Chapter 12: Seeking Low Unemployment and Low Inflation: The Phillips Curve 197 Chapter 13: Following Rules or Using Discretion: Two Approaches to Economic Policy 213 Part V: Understanding the Financial Crisis 227 Chapter 14: Considering Fundamental Weaknesses of the Financial System 229 Chapter 15: Getting Away with Excessive Risk‐Taking: Moral Hazard 245 Chapter 16: Considering the Lessons of the 2008 Financial Crisis 265 Part VI: The Part of Tens 283 Chapter 17: Getting to Know Ten Great Macroeconomists 285 Chapter 18: Ten Top Tips to Take Away 291 Index 299

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Book Synopsis This book provides a coherent Blockchain framework for the business community, governments, and universities structured around microeconomics, macroeconomics, finance, and political economy and identifies how business organizations, financial markets and governmental policies are changed by digitalization, specifically Blockchain. This framework, what they authors call “disintermediation economics,” affects everything by providing a paradigm that transforms the way we organize markets and value chains, financial services, central banking, budgetary policies, innovation ecosystems, government services, and civil society. Bringing together leading and experienced policy makers, corporate practitioners, and academics from top universities, this book offers a road map of best practices that can be immediately useful to firms, policy makers as well as academics by balancing theory with practice. Table of ContentsCh. 1: What is Disintermediation Economics: An introduction (Psarrakis).- Part A: Disintermediation in Microeconomics.- Ch. 2: Distributed Ledger Economics: Organizations, Incentives and Strategy (Psarrakis).- Ch. 3: Economics of Smart Contracts: Efficiency and legal challenges (Dobrauz-Saldapenna and Schrackmann).- Ch. 4: Corporate Strategies for Blockchain-based Solutions (Verheggen).- Ch. 5: Distributed Data Economics (Shrier).-Part B: Disintermediation in Macroeconomics and Finance.- Ch. 6: Blockchain for Growth: Applying distributed ledger technologies to the UN Sustainable goals (Thomason).- Ch. 7: The New Money: The utility of Cryptocurrencies and the need for a New Monetary Policy (Lee and Teo).- Ch. 8: Privately Issued Digital Currencies (Disparte).- Ch. 9: Crypto-assets, Distributed Ledger Technologies and Disintermediation in Finance: Overcoming impediments to scaling: A view from the EU (Noble).- Ch. 10: Crypto-assets and Disintermediation in Finance: A view from Asia (Johnstone).- Part C: Disintermediation in Political Economy and Regulation.- Ch. 11: The Political Economy of the Blockchain (Zilgalvis).- Ch. 12: Regulating Blockchain in the EU: Building a global competitive advantage (Kaili).- Ch. 13: Advancing Digital Transformation in the Public Sector with Blockchain: A view from the European Union (Baldacci and Frade).- Ch. 14: Disposable Identities? Why digital identity matters to blockchain disintermediation and for society (Anania, Le Gars, and van Kranenburg).

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Book SynopsisOlivier Blanchard studied at the University of Paris, Nanterre, and has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1982. He was Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund between 2008 and 2015. He is currently the Fred Bergsten Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. He also remains Robert M. Solow Professor of Economics Emeritus. Francesco Giavazzi is a Professor of Economics at Bocconi University in Milan and has been a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for over a decade, where he teaches a course on Macroeconomics to Undergraduate students based on this textbook. Alessia Amighini is an associate professor of Economics at Universita del Piemonte Orientale in Novara, Italy, and an adjunct professor of international economics at the Catholic university in Milan.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"John Campbell is one of the leading researchers and teachers in asset pricing. This remarkably clear and well-organized book is strong testimony to his expertise. I will use it often in my own research."—Kenneth R. French, Dartmouth College"John Campbell has given us the definitive course text on financial decision making and asset pricing. Every student and researcher in the field will want this masterful integration of decades of study on actual investor behavior and market equilibrium."—Darrell Duffie, Stanford University"John Campbell has long been a top researcher in the vibrant intersection of asset pricing and macroeconomics. This book provides an interesting and in-depth exposition of his take on the current state of this important area."—Eugene Fama, University of Chicago Booth School of Business"Written by a major contributor to the economics of financial markets, Financial Decisions and Markets is a comprehensive, insightful, and authoritative graduate-level introduction to asset pricing. This book stresses the interplay between theory, econometrics, and empirics, the hallmark of John Campbell's research. The critical analysis and problem sets stimulate readers to confront open questions at the research frontier. I plan to adopt this book in my PhD-level course."—George M. Constantinides, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

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Book SynopsisFrom blind faith in ever-rising housing prices to plummeting confidence in capital markets, 'animal spirits' are driving financial events worldwide. This book aims to challenge the economic wisdom that got us into this mess, and puts forward a fresh vision that can transform economics and restore prosperity.Trade ReviewRobert J. Shiller, Co-Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics George A. Akerlof, Co-Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics Winner of the 2009 Book Award, getAbstract International Winner of the 2009 Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security, TIAA-CREF Winner of the 2009 Finance Book of the Year, CBN (China Business News) Financial Value Ranking Shortlisted for the 2009 Book of the Year, Financial Times//Goldman Sachs Business Featured on the Financial Times (FT.com)'s Books of the Year list Listed on Bloomberg.com in a review by James Pressley as two of "our favorite financial-crisis books this year." "Akerlof and Shiller are the first to try to rework economic theory for our times. The effort itself makes their book a milestone... And their book takes their case not just to economists, but also to the general reader. It is short (176 pages of text) and easy enough for laymen to understand."--Louis Uchitelle, New York Times Book Review "There is barely a page of Animal Spirits without a fascinating fact or insight."--John Lanchester, New Yorker "Akerlof and Shiller succeed, too, in demonstrating that conventional macroeconomic analyses often fail because they omit not just readily observable facts like unemployment and institutions such as credit markets but also harder-to-document behavioral patterns that fall within the authors' notion of 'animal spirits.' Confidence plainly matters, and so does the absence of it. When the public mood swings from exuberance to anxiety, or even fear, the effect on asset prices as well as on economic activity outside the financial sector can be large."--Benjamin M. Friedman, New York Review of Books "Animal Spirits [is] ... the new must-read in Obamaworld."--Michael Grunwald, Time "[Animal Spirits] really applies to all the big areas where we need change."--Peter Orszag, Obama budget director (quoted from Time magazine article) "White House Budget Director Peter Orszag is a numbers guy, a propeller head as President Obama would say. But as David Von Drehle and I write in this week's print version of Time, Orszag has been spending his time recently reading not about spreadsheets, but about psychology. In particular, he has been reading a new book by the economists George Akerlof and Robert Shiller called Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives The Economy, and Why It Matters For Global Capitalism... We are, it turns out, slaves to the Animal Spirits. They have brought us to our knees. And now they are the only things that can save us."--Michael Scherer, Time.com's Swampland "In their new book, two of the most creative and respected economic thinkers currently at work, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, argue that the key is to recover Keynes's insight about 'animal spirits'--the attitudes and ideas that guide economic action. The orthodoxy needs to be rebuilt, and bringing these psychological factors into the core of economics is the way to do it... The connections between their thinking on the limits to conventional economics and the issues thrown up by the breakdown are plain, even if they were unable to make every link explicit. Even more than Akerlof and Shiller could have hoped, therefore, it is a fine book at exactly the right time... Animal Spirits carries its ambition lightly--but is ambitious nonetheless. Economists will see it as a kind of manifesto."--Clive Crook, Financial Times "An influential Democrat who was also one of the world's top-ten, highest-paid hedge fund managers last year thinks he knows which book is at the top of the White House reading list this spring: Animal Spirits, the powerful new blast of behavioural economics from Nobel prize-winner George Akerlof and Yale economist Robert Shiller."--Financial Times "Akerlof and Shiller remind us that emotional and intangible factors--such as confidence in institutions, illusions about the nature of money or a sense of being treated unfairly--can affect how people make decisions about borrowing, spending, saving and investing. Animal Spirits is an affectionate tribute to the man [John Maynard Keynes] whose ideas, unfashionable for the past 30 years, have resurged."--Nature "Animal Spirits is a welcome addition to our Hannitized national economic debate, in which anyone who advocates government spending risks being labeled a socialist... Animal Spirits is most compelling when the authors summon all the key behavioral patterns to explain vast, complex phenomena such as the Great Depression... Animal Spirits ... [is] aimed squarely at the general reader, and rightly so: Macroeconomics is now everybody's business--the banks are playing with our money."--Andrew Rosenblum, New York Observer "[A] lively new financial crisis book."--James Pressley, Bloomberg News "The two superstars have produced a truly innovative and bold work that attempts to show how psychological factors explain the origins of the current mess and offer clues for possible solutions. At a time when plummeting confidence is dragging down the market and the economy, the authors' focus on the psychological aspect of economics is incredibly important."--Michael Mandel, BusinessWeek "What Sigmund Freud did for the study of the mind, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller are doing for economics. Freud, healer or fake--take your pick--built a career and a field of medicine on the idea that people are driven by irrational forces. Akerlof, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics, and Shiller, the Yale economist who is the eminence grise of the housing meltdown, argue that massive government market intervention programs are the only way to turn fear into enthusiasm for spending and investing--the 'animal spirits' that are an essential part of recovery... Akerlof and Shiller pick up on the idea of the emotional impetus to investment. With elegant reasoning and lovely prose, they demonstrate that we'll all be wallowing in misery unless governments around world, especially the in the G7 nations, help to return markets to optimism... Animal Spirits is a fine discussion of the last few decades of development of economic theory, especially monetary economics."--Andrew Allentuck, The Globe & Mail "[T]his book is rather more than the usual lament about the failings of economics. Its authors are two of the discipline's leading lights... Most of the time, the unrealistic assumption of rationality serves economists fairly well. They should, however, be more prepared to depart from it, especially in times like these--even if that makes behaviour more difficult to describe in elegant equations. Messrs Akerlof and Shiller have therefore done their profession a service."--The Economist "With Animal Spirits we hone in on how incentives and narratives can be created to channel the human psychological factor into collectively healthy directions, and how to be aware of the fictions we tell ourselves about how we wish the world and greed and financial security worked. [Animal Spirits] sheds light on complex issues and leaves readers with a better grasp of undercurrents and--most importantly--a rediscovered belief in principles of common sense and caution."--Daily Kos "The new book from George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, Animal Spirits, has been getting a lot of press of late, and quite rightly: it's really good. It's not only very readable; it also offers a compelling vision of a very different type of macroeconomics--one where behavioral considerations are front and center, rather than simply providing what Clive Crook calls 'ad hoc modifications' to the standard, ridiculously oversimplified and unrealistic, model... [I]f you read only one book on this subject, make it Animal Spirits."--Felix Salmon, Portfolio.com "As George Akerlof and Robert Shiller show in a new book Animal Spirits, this is no freak storm. It may mark the long-awaited encounter between psychology and economics... Akerlof and Shiller's book is probably the first macroeconomic exploration of the subject that is accessible to those interested in the subject but who don't have the academic training to understand the detailed argument."--Mint "My book of the week is an easy one this time around: it's Animal Spirits, by Robert Shiller and George Akerlof... Admittedly, I'm biased as a fan of both Shiller's and Akerlof's. Believe me, however, when I say the blessedly brief Animal Spirits is a thoughtful and well-written look at how economics discarded psychology and lost its way on the trip from Adam Smith, through Keynesianism, to laissez-faire. The book puts the current crisis in a useful economic context, with consistent and practical selections from behavioral finance illuminating everything along the way... Highly recommended."--Paul Kedrosky, SeekingAlpha "Another contribution to the human-nature-ensures-economics-is-irrational school of thought. But, unlike many of the rants against people trying to make an honest profit, this is a measured examination of how the present crisis is explained in economic terms. And so it should be. George Akerlof is a Nobel prizewinner, Robert Shiller teaches at Yale and is the author of Irrational Exuberance, which should give you an idea of this one's approach. This fascinating work uses economics to explain real-life issues, such as real estate price cycles, to key policy problems, such as the relationship between inflation and employment."--Stephen Matchett, The Australian "George Akerlof and Rober Shiller's Animal Spirits is a plea to start believing our lying eyes rather than the model. Rather than try to explain away the apparent irrationality in human behaviour, Akerlof and Shiller say we need to try to understand it and shape policies that take it into account... The core message of Animal Spirits is that we should stop trying to cage the spirits and instead admit their central importance. Specifically, this means that world governments will need to intervene forcefully in the current economic crisis with both fiscal stimulus and direct measures to stimulate lending--to restore some of the confidence that the crash has sapped."--Matthew Yglesias, The National "In saluting Keynes' quip, Akerlof and Shiller argue that much of the story is in the unreliability and incompleteness of supposedly rational behavior--the micro-foundation of the free-market model. They contend that modern economics, even self-described Keynesian economics, has given short shrift to this core behavioral insight... Their best chapter is on the limited capacity of central banks to prevent or cure calamities."--Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect "Akerlof and Shiller take psychological research seriously, and it's refreshing to see that they're not trying to reinvent the wheel... The book is an interesting read and would probably be very useful for an undergrad class that needs an introduction to behavioral economics. A & S do a nice job of moving between the theoretical and the practical, the empirical and the implied. The writing is accessible and the topic is more than relevant to our current economic situation."--Orgtheory.net "Animal Spirits is succinct, clear and lively."--Brad Willis, Edmonton Journal "In an intriguing new book, Animal Spirits, US economists George Akerlof and Robert Shiller argue that psychology plays a far bigger role in determining economic outcomes than economists realize--and that, broadly speaking, people get what they expect. If we think good times are ahead, we act confidently in a way that creates them. And if we expect a downturn ahead, we act defensively and unwittingly ensure that's what we get."--Tim Colebatch, The Age "The authors are right in pointing out the inadequacy of conventional economics in understanding, not to say addressing, today's economic woes, because they fail to take into account these animal spirits."--Wan Lixin, Shanghai Daily "[Animal Spirits] is a short, thoughtful and sometimes simplistic book that calls for a different vision of economics... Animal Spirits may well be a GPS system for a changing economic future."--Gene Rebeck, Delta Sky "Animal Spirits presents a rigorous case for the importance of 'confidence multipliers' and 'stories' in explaining recent market behaviour and of 'fairness' and 'money illusion' in preventing wages from falling in recessions to the market-clearing rate. Written in an accessible style, the book provides a very useful practical primer for policy-makers, practitioners and academics on many aspects of the current crisis. The authors also make a compelling theoretical case for macroeconomists taking more account of the role of non-economic motives and irrational responses."--Richard Bronk, The Business Economist "[T]he authors do a superb job of conveying the importance of bevaioural economics to a non-specialist audience. They increase our understanding of recent economic events and they show that animal spirits affect how governments should manage the economy."--Natalie Gold, Times Higher Education "Animal Spirits offers a road map for reversing the financial misfortunes besetting us today. Read it and learn how leaders can channel animal spirits--the powerful forces of human psychology that are afoot in the world economy today."--Money Science "[T]his very book seems to be one of the 'must-reads' in the Obama administration."--Andreas Ernst, JASSS "Ideologists are likely to dismiss this volume. However, for other readers--whether their perspectives are quantitative or qualitative--Animal Spirits may fill a troubling gap in existing investigations of the causes of booms and busts."--Thomas H. Wilkins, Investment Professional "Akerlof and Shiller's book is an interesting and thought-provoking attempt to understand how underlying human psychology drives the economy. The questions they pose and the examples they provide should be read by any economist seeking to better understand the differences between what economics predict will occur, and how people actually behave as individuals and within larger groups."--Dmitri Leybman, Midway Review "Animal Spirits, which attempts to leverage the insights of behavioral economics to reanimate the vision of John Maynard Keynes, is perfectly timed for the present moment."--Nick Schulz, Wilson Quarterly "Animal Spirits is exceptional in showing how economics can be accessible and relevant in dealing with this awesome challenge."--Irish Times "A reader would be right in thinking that Animal Spirits is an especially appealing but provocative appetizer that stimulates the interest of unorthodox and anti-orthodox economists everywhere to rewrite macroeconomics as if humans beings with their messy emotions, group dynamics, and all the rest really exist. Readers will also find Animal Spirits an invitation for society to ignore new classical economics in the interest of effective and decent economic policy."--Marcellus Andrews, Challenge "[T]he authors are ... [b]oth ... credited with a deep understanding of economic history, the history of economic thought, and today's global economic environment. That makes this book a 'must read' for anyone seeking insights into recent economic events and seeking ways of crafting government policies to prevent another similar economic downturn."--Jagadeesh Gokhale, Cato JournalTable of ContentsPreface vii Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 Part One: Animal Spirits Chapter One: Confidence and Its Multipliers 11 Chapter Two: Fairness 19 Chapter Three: Corruption and Bad Faith 26 Chapter Four: Money Illusion 41 Chapter Five: Stories 51 Part Two: Eight Questions and Their Answers Chapter Six: Why Do Economies Fall into Depression? 59 Chapter Seven: Why Do Central Bankers Have Power over the Economy (Insofar as They Do)? 74 Postscript to Chapter Seven: The Current Financial Crisis: What Is to Be Done? 86 Chapter Eight: Why Are There People Who Cannot Find a Job? 97 Chapter Nine: Why Is There a Trade-off between Inflation and Unemployment in the Long Run? 107 Chapter Ten: Why Is Saving for the Future So Arbitrary? 116 Chapter Eleven: Why Are Financial Prices and Corporate Investments So Volatile? 131 Chapter Twelve: Why Do Real Estate Markets Go through Cycles? 149 Chapter Thirteen: Why Is There Special Poverty among Minorities? 157 Chapter Fourteen: Conclusion 167 Notes 177 References 199 Index 219

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Book SynopsisA provocative look at how data is reinventing the market: where big firms will no longer be dominant.Trade ReviewIdeas on how best to organise a data economy are far and few between. This book offers plenty of food for thought * Ludwig Siegele, Technology Editor, The Economist *This landmark book . . . should challenge and inspire every corporate strategist and public policy maker * Philip Evans, Senior Advisor, The Boston Consulting Group *Anyone interested in the future of business should read this fascinating book . . . Reinventing Capitalism makes a compelling case that it will change the nature of the market itself. With brilliant insights, it explains how the shift from simple price signalling to data-rich preference matching will determine the winners and losers of the 21st century economy, and thoughtfully outlines steps to curb the excesses of this new environment * Kevin Werbach, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania *Praise for Big Data:An optimistic and practical look at the big data revolution - just the thing to get your head around the big changes already underway and the bigger changes to come * Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing *Teems with great insights on the new ways of harnessing information, and offers a convincing vision of the future. It is essential reading for anyone who uses - or is affected by - big data * Jeff Jonas, IBM Fellow & Chief Scientist, IBM Entity Analytics *An excellent primer * Financial Times *Fascinating * Observer *

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Book SynopsisFrom Nobel Prize-winning economist and bestselling author Joseph Stiglitz, this account of the dangers of free market fundamentalism reveals what has gone so wrong, but also shows us a way out.We all have the sense that our economy tilts toward big business, but as Joseph E. Stiglitz explains in People, Power and Profits, a few corporations have come to dominate entire sectors, contributing to skyrocketing inequality and slow growth. This is how the financial industry has managed to write its own regulations, tech companies have accumulated reams of personal data with little oversight, and government has negotiated trade deals that fail to represent the best interests of workers. Too many have made their wealth through exploitation of others rather than through wealth creation. If something isn''t done, new technologies may make matters worse, increasing inequality and unemployment.Stiglitz identifies the true sources of wealth and increases iTrade ReviewThis eminent economist provides an authoritative defence of government intervention using mainstream economics and a justification for how to build a fairer society without sacrificing growth -- Gavin Jacobson * Financial Times *His conclusions are bleak, his prescriptions radical -- Gerard Baker * The Times *People, Power, and Profits builds on Stiglitz's earlier work and adds some pretty big ambitions -- Daniel W. Drezner * The New York Times *Urgent ... Unless rising inequality caused by mismanaged globalization, financial liberalization, and destabilizing technological change is addressed, Stiglitz argues, nostrum-peddling demagoguery will find a receptive audience * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisAn accessible guide to the natural rate of interest, why it is likely going up, and what that means for the future of the global economy and markets. Ask most people who sets interest rates, and they'll say it's the central bank. At a fundamental level, though, decisions by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and their peers around the world are constrained by the natural rate of interest. The natural rate - the interest rate that balances supply of saving and demand for investment, whilst keeping inflation low and employment high - has moved from academic obscurity to a central role in monetary policy, and the operation of the economy and financial markets. For almost half a century from the 1970s to the 2010s, the natural rate in the US and other advanced economies fell. In the last decade, it has started to rise. In the years ahead, the cost of borrowing has further to climb. That shift from falling to rising borrowing costs reflects seismic shifts in demographics, technology, and geopolitics. In the years ahead, risk factors from war to artificial intelligence and climate change could accelerate its rise. For everyone from Ministers of Finance balancing the books to Wall Street titans making the next big bet, the shift from falling to rising borrowing costs has profound consequences. In a world where money is more expensive, the cost of managing it poorly gets higher. In The Price of Money, the Bloomberg Economics team explain the evolution of the natural rate, the forces driving it, where it is headed, and what that means for everything from government debt to saving for retirement.

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Book SynopsisAlan Griffiths, BA, MSc, is Reader in Economics in the Ashcroft International Business School, Anglia Ruskin University. Stuart Wall, BA, MSc, is Professor of Business and Economics Education in Anglia Ruskin University, and Head of the Department of International Business and Strategy. They are both authors of Economics for Business and Management', also published by Pearson. Table of ContentsGuided tour Preface Acknowledgements 1 Changes in the economic structure Structure defined Structural change in the UK &n

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Book SynopsisThis book is the first of its kind in several overlapping and rapidly developing fields that now dominate news headlines – among them the fields of crypto-currency, digital payments platforms, ‘fintech,’ and central bank digital currencies (‘CBDCs’). With crypto and fintech now threatening to transform finance in destabilizing and anti-democratic ways, and with China and other nations now digitizing their national currencies in the form of CBDCs that make the US dollar and national payments infrastructure look ever more quaint and outmoded, this book shows both why the US and other democratic commercial societies must, and how they can, democratically digitize their currencies, their national payments systems, and the authorities that respectively issue and administer them – in the US, the Federal Reserve System (‘the Fed’).Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction: Money, Finance, & Production in Contemporary Commercial Republics A. Money & Production, Public & Private: The Two-by-Two Matrix of Commercial Republican Economies B. Ills of Financial Hybridity—& Their Possible Money-Tech Cure C. Digitized Citizen Ledger Finance as Our Newly Available Cure Chapter 2: Money, Capital, & Investment: Fixing Some Critical Terms & Relations A. Capital: A Crucial Yet Oft-Muddled Term 1.Production: What Capital is (Ultimately) For 2.Generic Capital 3.Generic Capital in Production—Investment Capital B. Investment: Antonym & Antidote to Speculation 1.Investment & Finance 2.Stratification & N-ary (a.k.a.”Meta-”) Markets 3.Intermediation, Derivation, “Financialization” C. Money: From Measure to Medium—and Back 1.Paying—Including Investing 2.Accounting 3.Crediting / Debiting Chapter 3: Franchise Finance: A Brief Exposition & Exposé A. Hybridity In the Large: Exposition B. Hybridity in Detail: Exposé 1.Credit-Money’s Endogeneity: Private Lending of Public Capital 2.Endogeneity’s Blessing—and Curse: Production & Wealth, Speculation & Recursive Collective Action Problems Chapter 4. Franchise Finance: Why & How We Got Here A. Why Credit and Currency 1.Credit: Production & Payment in Time 2.Currency: From Ledgers to Tokens—and Back B. Why Uniformity 1.Spatial Uniformity: Payments & “Universal Equivalents” 2.Temporal Uniformity: “Sound Money” & “Elastic Currency” Chapter 5. Franchise Finance: Why We Retain It— & Why We Need Not 52 A. Why We Retain It: New Facts, Old Ideas B. Why We Need Not: New Facts, New Prospects C. Ending Hybridity—Citizen Ledger Finance in Broad Outline Chapter 6. Digitized Citizen Ledger Finance: What We Now Can & Must Do A. Liability-Side Reform: Reserve Accounts, Citizen Wallets, & Resident Wallets 1.What the U.S. & Others Do Now: Reserve Accounts 2.What We Must Add: Digital Citizen Wallets, Resident Wallets, & Their Common Digital Ledger B. Asset Side Reform: Digitized CB, NIC, PSF, & Other Public Issuances 1.What We Do Now: Finance Ministry Debt, Agency Debt, & (Sometimes) Other 2.What We Must Add: Digitized CB-Discounted Paper, NIC Issuances, PSF Holdings, & Other C. Systemic Ramifications: Private Sector Transformation, Public Sector Consolidation 1.Private Money Capital: From Credit-Generation & -Multiplication to Honest Intermediation 2.Public Investment Capital: From Central Bank & Finance Ministry, Fiscal & Monetary, and “T-Bill,” “Fed Note” & “Mint Coin” Separation to Digital Consolidation Chapter 7. Digitized Citizen Ledger Finance: Logistics & Technics A. From Abstract Accounting to Concrete Logistics: Making It Happen Now B. From Macro Logistics to Micro Technics: Why to Digitize Now 1.The Bright Side of the Ledger 2.The Dark Side of the Ledger Chapter 8. From Digitized Citizen Ledger Finance to Citizen Fintech: Democratic Digitization & Its Possible Forms A. Moneys and Payment Systems B. From Payments to Moneys: Technical Options for the Democratic Digital Currency Chapter 9. Digitized Citizen Ledger Finance: Cavils & Competitors

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Book SynopsisScarcity hypothesis is the cornerstone of traditional economic theory. However, in the digital era, new products such as Windows, Android, and Wechat have been introduced to the market. Traditional economic theory may not be able to explain various nez economic phenomena in the digital era. This book creatively proposes the concept of limitless supply and then discusses its implications for economy at both macro and micro-levels.It analyses and summarizes the basic features of limitless supply products, and compares the differences and similarities of how limited supply and limitless supply products are manufactured and marketed. The book also provides reasons for why manufacturers of limitless supply products create intangible assets. It argues that the scale of an enterprise producing limitless supply products depends on the number of users, whereas the scale of an enterprise producing limited supply products depends on the production capacity.This book is mainly written to construct a preliminary, simple, yet relatively comprehensive economic theory framework for limitless supply, and to interpret the phenomena and corporate behaviour. It further explores how enterprises providing limitless supply products grow financially. It also proposes the fundamental difference in growth models between enterprises providing limitless supply products and those providing limited supply products. The book also looks at how growth models can achieve fission growth.

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Book SynopsisThe transformative effect of technological change on households and culture, seen from a macroeconomic perspective through simple economic models.In Evolving Households, Jeremy Greenwood argues that technological progress has had as significant an effect on households as it had on industry. Taking a macroeconomic perspective, Greenwood develops simple economic models to study such phenomena as the rise in married female labor force participation, changes in fertility rates, the decline in marriage, and increased longevity. These trends represent a dramatic transformation in everyday life, and they were made possible by advancements in technology. Greenwood also addresses how technological progress can cause social change.Greenwood shows, for example, how electricity and labor-saving appliances freed women from full-time household drudgery and enabled them to enter the labor market. He explains that fertility dropped when higher wages increased the opportunity co

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Book SynopsisPhil Thornton is lead consultant at Clarity Economics, a consultancy and freelance writing service he set up after a 15-year career as a newspaper journalist. Before founding Clarity Economics he was Economics Correspondent at the Independent newspaper, a post he held for eight years. Phil is an award winning journalist, with a strong platform. His awards include Feature Journalist of the Year award in the Work World Media Awards, 2010 and Print Journalist of the Year Work World Media Awards, 2007Table of ContentsAbout the Author Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 – Adam Smith – the ‘founding father’ of economics Chapter 2 – David Ricardo – from immigrant to gentleman Chapter 3 – Karl Marx – the fallen hero? Chapter 4 – Alfred Marshall – microeconomics arrives Chapter 5 – John Maynard Keynes – the rise, fall, rise … and fall Chapter 6 – Friedrich Hayek – the archetypal libertarian Chapter 7 – Milton Friedman – father of monetarism Chapter 8 – Paul Samuelson – the neoclassical economist synthesist Chapter 9 – Gary Becker – economics in the real world Chapter 10 - Daniel Kahneman – economic psychologist

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Book SynopsisIntelligent laypersons are bewildered when faced with the complexity of climate change. Economics can give them a powerful tool to think clearly about the problem and to make up their own mind. The new-generation economics models are painting a radically different and exciting picture of the best course of climate action.Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. The facts on the ground; 3. Deep changes; 4. How economists think about climate change; 5. How economists look at choice; 6. How utility theory works; 7. From choice to utility; 8. What are integrated assessment models?; 9. How much should we care about future generations? 10. Growth; 11. Population; 12. So, what should we do? 13. Taking the dirty stuff out; 14 The role of nuclear energy; 15. Constraints; 16. The plumbing; 17. Unfinished business.

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Book SynopsisRoger Perman is Senior Lecturer in Economics, Strathclyde University. His major research interests and publications are in the field of applied econometrics and environmental economics. Michael Common is Professor in the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Strathclyde University. His major research interests are the development of ecological economics and policies for sustainability. Yue Ma is Associate Professor in Economics, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, and Adjunct Professor of Lingnan College, Zhongshan University, China. His major research interests are international banking and finance, as well as environmental economics for developing countries. David Maddison is Professor of Economics at the University of Birmingham The late James McGilvray was Professor of Economics at Strathclyde University. He made important contributions in the fields of input-outpTable of ContentsChapter 1: An introduction to natural resource and environmental economics Chapter 2: The origins of the sustainability problem Chapter 3: Ethics, economics and the environment Chapter 4: Welfare economics and the environment Chapter 5: Pollution control: targets Chapter 6: Pollution control: instruments Chapter 7: Pollution policy with imperfect information Chapter 8: Economy-wide modelling Chapter 9: International environmental problems Chapter 10: Trade and the Environment Chapter 11: Cost-benefit analysis Chapter 12: Valuing the environment Chapter 13: Irreversibility, risk and uncertainty Chapter 14: The efficient and optimal use of natural resources Chapter 15: The theory of optimal resource extraction: non-renewable resources Chapter 16: Stock pollution problems Chapter 17: Renewable resources Chapter 18: Forest resources Chapter 19: Accounting for the environment

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Book SynopsisReviewersâ comments on the first editionâœZygmunt Bauman presents a cogently argued and compelling thesis... an important book from a distinguished scholar, that adds a new dimension to the poverty debate.âBritish Journal of Sociology âœIt will be of great interest and value to students, teachers and researchers in sociology and social policyâ [Bauman] provides a very forceful and sophisticated statement of the case; and a very well written one too. As a wide ranging analysis of our present discontents it is an admirable example of the sort of challenge which sociology at its best can offer to us and our fellow citizens to re-assess and re-think our current social arrangements.âWork, Employment and Society âœThis is a stylish and persuasive analysis of the transition between the age of the âsociety of producersâ to that of the âsociety of consumersâ.âPolitical Studies It is one thing to be poor in a society of producers and universal employmentTable of ContentsSeries editor’s forewordIntroductionPart one1 The meaning of work: producing the work ethic2 From the work ethic to the aesthetic of consumptionPart two3 The rise and fall of the welfare state4 The work ethic and the new poor5 Work and redundancy in the globalized worldPart three6 Prospects for the new poorNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisImmigration is good for society and here''s the data that proves it.Winner of the Diversity, Inclusion and Equality Award at the Business Book Awards 2021 ‘Underpinned by scholarship...entertaining…Legrain’s book fizzes with practical ideas.’ The Economist ‘The beauty of diversity is that innovation often comes about by serendipity. As Scott Page observed, one day in 1904, at the World Fair in St Louis, the ice cream vendor ran out of cups. Ernest Hami, a Syrian waffle vendor in the booth next door, rolled up some waffles to make cones - and the rest is history.’ Filled with data, anecdotes and optimism, Them and Us is an endorsement of cultural differences at a time of acute national introspection. By every measure, from productivity to new perspectives, immigrants bring something beneficial to society. If patriotism means wanting the best for your country, we should be welcomiTrade Review‘Underpinned by scholarship…entertaining… Legrain’s book fizzes with practical ideas.’ * The Economist *

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Book SynopsisCharles Kindleberger ranks as one of the twentieth century''s best known and most influential international economists. This book traces the evolution of his thinking in the context of a ''key-currency'' approach to the rise of the dollar system, here revealed as the indispensable framework for global economic development since World War II. Unlike most of his colleagues, Kindleberger was deeply interested in history, and his economics brimmed with real people and institutional details. His research at the New York Fed and BIS during the Great Depression, his wartime intelligence work, and his role in administering the Marshall Plan gave him deep insight into how the international financial system really operated. A biography of both the dollar and a man, this book is also the story of the development of ideas about how money works. It throws revealing light on the underlying economic forces and political obstacles shaping our globalized world.Trade Review'The discipline of economics is balanced, somewhat unsteadily, between two legs, with the skill of the historian on one side and of the mathematical modeler on the other. In the second half of the 20th century, the tide flowed strongly to elevate the second leg and to diminish the first. In this delightful biography of Charlie Kindleberger, a charming and loveable man, Perry Mehrling shows how Charlie, in his chosen role, as an international monetary economist, fought against that tide, often unsuccessfully. Perry writes so beautifully that one would only need a smattering of economics to enjoy the tale; while if one is interested in the history of economic thought in international monetary economics, then this book is, of course, a must read.' Charles Goodhart, Centre for Economic Policy Research'Like many legendary session players who never quite topped the charts, in his day Charles Kindleberger was revered by those hip enough to know great work when they saw it. So roll over Friedman and Samuelson. As Perry Merhling's erudite biography makes clear, to understand the urgent, real-world economic problems of our time, set aside the pop hits of yesterday (and today), and reach for Charlie's enduring, classic contributions.' Jonathan Kirshner, Boston College'As a 'literary' economist, Charlie Kindleberger thought he was professionally behind the times. As an economic historian, however, he studied financial crises before that became fashionable, and he practiced experience-based learning well before modern economists rediscovered it. Mehrling's study shows that Kindleberger in fact was ahead of, not behind, his times. This is a fine biography of both a great twentieth-century economist and the U.S. dollar as the world's premier reserve currency during Kindleberger's long career.' Richard Sylla, Professor Emeritus of Economics, New York University'Perry Mehrling's elegantly written biography of the MIT economist Charles Poor Kindleberger illuminates the relationship between money and the global structure of economic and political power.' Herman Mark Schwartz, phenomenalworld.orgTable of ContentsPreface; Introduction; Part I. Intellectual Formation, 1910–1948; 1. Golden boy; 2. Columbia; 3. Hot money; 4. A good war; Part II. International Economist, 1948–1976; 5. Tech; 6. The dollar system; 7. Among economists; Part III. Historical Economist, 1976–2003; 8. Independence; 9. Chef d'oeuvre; 10. Leadership.

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Book SynopsisThe recent rise of dollar and euro inflation rates has rekindled interest in two alternative monies: gold and Bitcoin. Written in accessible style by a respected specialist on monetary institutions, Better Money explains and evaluates gold, fiat, and Bitcoin standards without hype.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Markets and governments in the history of money; 2. How a gold standard works; 3. Common misconceptions about the gold standard; 4. How a fiat standard works; 5. How Bitcoin standard works; 6: Contrasts between gold and Bitcoin standards.

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Book SynopsisStevens tells the untold story of the search for a moral foundation for capitalism through its leading characters. His historical account reveals the rich moral critique provided by these characters and describes how that moral critique was lost through the influence of the Chicago School and its emphasis on self-interest.Trade Review'If you want a perspective on an enlightened version, possibly the originally envisioned version, of capitalism not fully reduced to its characteristic, though commonly overemphasized and misrepresented, rationale of self-interest, then read this book. By unpacking and reexamining the moral foundations of capitalism, this book will make you reflect on how capitalist societies can serve mutual benefit and achieve social welfare when liberated from its misconceived, fundamentalist clichés of naked self-interest and free markets.' Wim A. Van der Stede, Dean and Professor at London School of Economics'In this excellent description of the development of intellectual ideas on the nature and determinants of our capitalist system, Douglas Stevens provides a wide-ranging, insightful, and accessible account of how we have arrived at the current dilemmas that confront us. His book provides a valuable basis for understanding how the history of economic thought can help guide the formulation of future policy.' Colin Mayer, Emeritus Professor of Management Studies at the Said Business School, and Visiting Professor at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of OxfordTable of Contents1. Introduction: the continuing demand for a moral foundation; 2. The moral economist: Adam Smith; 3. Religion as a moral foundation: Max Weber and R. H. Tawney; 4. Humanism as a moral foundation: Karl Polanyi and John Maynard Keynes; 5. Self-interest as a moral foundation: the Chicago school and Ayn Rand; 6. Neoclassical economists join the search: Vernon Smith and Michael Jensen; 7. Rescuing capitalism from the capitalists: Amartya Sen; 8. The promise of capitalism: joining the search.

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