Political economy Books

Book SynopsisThe classic economic treatise that insipired Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First CenturyThe publication of The Wealth of Nations in 1776 coincided with America's Declaration of Independence, and with this landmark treatise on political economy, Adam Smith paved the way for modern capitalism, arguing that a truly free market - fired by competition yet guided as if by an 'invisible hand' to ensure justice and equality - was the engine of a fair and productive society. Books I - III of The Wealth of Nations examine the 'division of labour' as the key to economic growth, by ensuring the interdependence of individuals within society. They also cover the origins of money and the importance of wages, profit, rent and stocks, but the real sophistication of his analysis derives from the fact that it encompasses a combination of ethics, philosophy and history to create a vast panorama of society.This edition contains an analytical introductioTrade Review"Adam Smith's enormous authority resides, in the end, in the same property that we discover in Marx: not in any ideology, but in an effort to see to the bottom of things."--Robert L. Heilbroner

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Book SynopsisTraditional economic models of how to manage environmental problems relating to renewable natural resources, such as fisheries, have tended to recommend either government regulation or privatisation and the explicit definition of property rights. These traditional models ignore the practical reality of natural resource management. Many communities are?able to spontaneously develop their own approaches to managing such common-pool resources. In the words of Mark Pennington: '[Professor Ostrom's] book Governing the Commons is a superb testament to the understanding that can be gained when economists observe in close-up detail how people craft arrangements to solve problems in ways often beyond the imagination of textbook theorists.' In particular, communities are often able to find stable and effective ways to define the boundaries of a common-pool resource, define the rules for its use and effectively enforce those rules. The effective management of a natural resource often requires 'polycentric' systems of governance where various entities have some role in the process. Government may play a role?in some circumstances, perhaps by providing information to resource users or by assisting enforcement processes through court systems. Elinor Ostrom's work in this field, for which she won the ?Nobel Prize in economics in 2009, was grounded in the detailed empirical study of how communities managed common-pool resources in practice. It is essential that we avoid the 'panacea problem'. There is no correct way to manage common-pool resources that will always be effective. Different ways of managing resources will be appropriate in different contexts - for example within different cultures or where there are different physical characteristics of a natural resource. Nevertheless, there are principles that we can draw from?the detailed study of the salient features of different cases to help us understand how different common-pool resources might be best managed; which rules systems and systems of organisation have the best chance of success or failure; and so on. Elinor Ostrom's approach has been praised by the left, who often see it as being opposed to free-market privatisation initiatives. In fact, her approach sits firmly within the classical liberal tradition of political economy. She observes communities freely choosing their own mechanisms to manage natural resource problems without government coercion or planning. In developing a viable approach to the management of?the commons, it is important, among other things, that a resource can be clearly defined and that the rules governing the use of the resource are adapted to local conditions. This suggests that rules imposed from outside, such as by government agencies, are unlikely to be successful. There are important areas of natural resource management where Elinor Ostrom's ideas should be adopted to avoid environmental catastrophe. Perhaps the most obvious example relevant to the UK is in European Union fisheries policy. Here, there is one centralised model for the management of the resource that is applied right across the European Union, ignoring all the evidence about the failure of that approach.

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Book SynopsisSince the late-1990s Turkey has emerged as a significant economic power. Never colonized and straddling the continents of Europe and Asia, it plays a strategically important role in a region of increasing instability. Bülent Gökay examines Turkey’s remarkable domestic political and economic transformation over the past two decades within the context of broader regional and global changes. By situating the story of Turkey’s economic growth within an analysis of the structural changes and shifts in the world economy, the book provides new insights into the functioning of Turkey’s political economy and the successes and failures of its ruling party’s economic management.Trade ReviewThis is a superb long durée perspective on the political economy of contemporary Turkey over the last two decades, one we ignore at our own peril. -- Vassilis K. Fouskas, University of East London, and founding editor of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern StudiesUsing insights gathered from world systems analysis and global shift approaches, this book departs from Eurocentric lenses and casts a critical eye on Turkey’s geopolitical and economic positionality in a highly informative and engaging manner. It consequently fills an important gap in Turkish studies, global political economy and international relations. -- Tunc Aybak, Middlesex UniversityThis is an important book. It shows us the developmental trajectory of Turkey over the last two decades. Similar to the impact of China, middle-sized rising powers like Turkey have huge potential to shift the global power structure with profound implications. Professor Gokay reminds us in this book that despite the destructive strategies of neoliberalism there are opportunities for global powers to collaborate in the pursuit of their own development and growth strategies. -- Qingan Huang, Guangdong University of Finance and EconomicsTurkey in the Global Economy examines the transformation of the country over the past two decades, from an underdeveloped and weak economic power into an important regional player with a dynamic economy and a significant role in global networks. In laying out this trajectory, Bulent Gokay deploys two optics. On the one hand, he offers a broad view of Turkey in the context of what he refers to as the 'global shift' of political and financial power from the developed West and North to the countries of the East and South. This shift is most apparent in the emergence of the BRIC quartet, but Gokay argues that it opened up vital opportunities for other middle-range regional powers such as Turkey as well, allowing them to enhance their regional and global influence. At the same time, the book provides a more granular focus on the political and economic transformation of Turkey itself. This took the form of a wide-ranging neoliberal reform aimed at creating an export-oriented industrial sector and restructuring Turkey's financial system. These external and internal processes are examined against the backdrop of a domestic political scene in Turkey dominated by the AKP party of Recep Erdogan, who paradoxically sought to advance the neoliberal agenda while co-opting traditionalist-Islamist elements into Turkey’s ruling elite for the first time in its modern history. The book is a stimulating work of impressive scholarship and considerable originality. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of modern Turkey and the Middle East, and it is very highly recommended for those desiring a more synthetic and sophisticated understanding of the dynamics that have reshaped global geoeconomics and geopolitics in the new millennium. -- Mark Bassin, Center for Baltic and East European Studies, Södertörn University, SwedenTable of ContentsIntroduction Part I Global shift and the world economy1. An emerging market economy2. The Turkish economy in the twentieth century Part II The AKP 1: populist neoliberalism3. Deep financial and economic crisis: Turkey prepares the ground for the AKP4. The “golden age”: stable growth, fiscal discipline and “heaven” for foreign direct investment5. Crisis at the global centre Part III The AKP 2: authoritarian neoliberalism6. The global financial crisis and Turkey’s response7. Turkish foreign policy: the Arab Spring and the Syrian catastrophe8. The Taksim Gezi protests and the authoritarian turn9. The 2016 failed coup and crackdown Part IV The crisis of global hegemony10. The US–Turkey stand-off, trade wars and new partners11. Turkey and uncertain predictions for the world economy12. The Covid-19 pandemic13. Towards a conclusion: some key trends

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Book SynopsisA LITHUB BOOK OF THE DECADE. The US is one of the largest democracies in the world or is it?America is experiencing an age of profound economic inequality. Employee protections have been decimated, and state welfare is virtually non-existent, while hedge fund billionaires are grossly under-taxed and big businesses make astounding profits at the expense of the environment and of their workers. How did this come about, and who were the driving forces behind it?In this powerful and meticulously researched work of investigative journalism, New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer exposes the network of billionaires trying to buy the US electoral system and succeeding. Led by libertarian industrialists the Koch brothers, they believe that taxes are a form of tyranny and that government oversight of business is an assault on freedom. Together, they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars influencing politicians and voters, and hijacking American democracy for their own ends. Dark Money brilliantly illuminates a shady corner of US politics. It is essential reading for anybody interested in the future of democracy.

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Book SynopsisA New York Times Bestseller!2019 was the last great year for the world economy.For generations, everything has been getting faster, better, and cheaper. Finally, we reached the point that almost anything you could ever want could be sent to your home within days - even hours - of when you decided you wanted it.America made that happen, but now America has lost interest in keeping it going.Globe-spanning supply chains are only possible with the protection of the U.S. Navy. The American dollar underpins internationalized energy and financial markets. Complex, innovative industries were created to satisfy American consumers. American security policy forced warring nations to lay down their arms. Billions of people have been fed and educated as the American-led trade system spread across the globe.All of this was artificial. All this was temporary. All this is ending.In The End of the World is Just the Beginning, author and geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan maps out the next world: a world where countries or regions will have no choice but to make their own goods, grow their own food, secure their own energy, fight their own battles, and do it all with populations that are both shrinking and aging.The list of countries that make it all work is smaller than you think. Which means everything about our interconnected world - from how we manufacture products, to how we grow food, to how we keep the lights on, to how we shuttle stuff about, to how we pay for it all - is about to change.A world ending. A world beginning. Zeihan brings readers along for an illuminating (and a bit terrifying) ride packed with foresight, wit, and his trademark irreverence. Trade Review“Peter Zeihan is the Nostradamus of the twenty-first century. Using geography as his analytical foundation, he’s able to explain why nations behave the way they do today, and predict with astounding accuracy how they’ll behave tomorrow. Nowhere will you find a more objective and logical examination of geopolitical currents. A masterful blend of economics, demographics, environmental factors, cultural propellers, and realpolitik. The world is changing, especially America’s role in it, and Peter navigates this journey with clarity, rigor, and wit. If your passion is politics, investing, energy, technology, international relations or just being interesting at parties, read Peter’s book.” — Jesse Watters “Peter Zeihan’s latest work projects a future that will challenge your assumptions on how the world works, what nations are best postured to prosper, and which are fragile. The world he envisions is fraught with danger as powers rise and ebb, but not without opportunity. A worthy read to flesh out your worldview.” — Major General Patrick Donahoe, commanding general, U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence “I’ve never been so upbeat about the end of the world. Deeply researched, powerfully argued, and well written. Zeihan stitches together insights from economic geography, demography, and history to give us an original yet intuitive theory of geopolitics.” — Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group “From time to time, we hear how ‘everything is going to change.’ None of us ever believe it. Now I do.” — Bill Owens, former governor of Colorado “Peter Zeihan has done it again! The End of the World Is Just the Beginning offers a glimpse of the future by looking to the past. The geopolitics and demography that gave us our ‘perfect moment’ in history is passing. What is in store for us and generations to come? Move Zeihan’s latest to the top of your stack and find out.” — Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL sniper and number one New York Times bestselling author of In the Blood “I found Peter Zeihan’s description of the future to be both plausible and provocative. Regardless of the details of how the next decades unfold, Zeihan’s book convinced me that it is at our own peril that we assume the future will look just like the present. Now more than ever, all our children—regardless of race—need to be equipped with a portable and flexible skill set that will enable them to adapt to circumstances and opportunities that we can’t even imagine right now.” — Robert L. Woodson Sr., founder and president of the Woodson Center, 1776 Unites, Voices of Black Mothers United

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Book SynopsisJosh Lerner, leading Harvard Business School professor, explores what lies behind successful innovation, and what managers and companies can learn from successful and unsuccessful cases. He combines both analysis of in-house innovation in corporate research labs, with more finance based venture capital investment in innovation.Table of ContentsPART I: THE TRADITIONAL MODEL; PART II: THE VENTURE ALTERNATIVE; PART III: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS?

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Book SynopsisAusterity has been at the center of political controversy following the 2008 financial crisis, invoked by politicians and academics across the political spectrum as the answer to, or cause of, our post-crash economic malaise. However, despite being the cause of debate for more than three centuries, austerity remains a poorly understood concept. In this book, Suzanne J. Konzelmann aims to demystify austerity as an economic policy, a political idea, and a social phenomenon. Beginning with an analysis of political and socioeconomic history from the seventeenth century, she explains the economics of austerity in the context of the overall dynamics of state spending, tax, and debt. Using comparative case studies from around the world, ranging from the 1930s to post-2008, she then evaluates the outcomes of austerity in light of its stated objectives and analyzes the conditions under which it doesn’t – and occasionally does – work. This accessible introduction to austerity will be essential reading for students and scholars of political economy, economics, and politics, as well as all readers interested in current affairs.Trade Review“Suzanne J. Konzelmann’s book is an incredibly valuable contribution to the growing backlash against austerity. The broad and rich historical and international perspective confirms that these pernicious policies have a track record of failure.”Geoff Tily, senior economist, Trades Union Congress “In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, austerity policies were imposed in many countries, with results ranging from disappointing to disastrous. Konzelmann shows how the logic of austerity was fundamentally undermined by the emergence of the welfare state in the twentieth century. Austerity policies threaten the automatic stabilizing effects of a large welfare state, and are therefore counterproductive.”John Quiggin, University of QueenslandTable of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Shifting Responses to the Evolution of National Debt and the Economic Role of the State Chapter 3 National Accounting and the Economics of Austerity Chapter 4 Selling Austerity – Economics, Politics and Society Chapter 5 Austerity and Welfare – An Unstable Mixture: Britain, Germany & the United States between the Wars Chapter 6 Austerity (and Stimulus) in Post-war Chile, America, Ireland and Japan Chapter Some have Austerity thrust upon them, Others Embrace it: Ireland, Greece and the United Kingdom after the 2008 crisis Chapter 8 Post-2008 Variations on Austerity: Iceland and the United States Chapter 9 Austerity’s political economic, ideological and socio-cultural dimensions Chapter 10 Conclusions Notes References

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Book SynopsisThis book charts the fall of productivity growth and the rise of inequality within global economies and societies. Set out through a series of economic models, the impact of falling rates of productivity growth, particularly in the USA, are examined in relation to lowering interest rates, the lifting of the stock market, and an increasingly unequal distribution of wealth. The economic impact of COVID-19, including the increased tendency to work from home and renewed public debt pressures, are contextualised within broader issues of wage suppression and discontent within the labor force to highlight how average workers have been left behind. The rise of China and the geopolitical tensions that it has created is also discussed.This book sets out the macro and microeconomic innovations that can create a revival in productivity growth in the coming years. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in global economic trends and the political economy.Table of Contents1. Introduction.- 2. The slowdown and real interest rates.- 3. The slowdown and asset prices.- 4. The slowdown and the share of profits.- 5. The slowdown in the data.- 6. Losing ground to China and other countries.- 7. The pandemic and its aftermath.- 8. Growth to the Rescue.

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Book Synopsis'I could not recommend this more. If you're looking for a sense of optimism, a sense of political possibility, this book is very important' Owen JonesWhat would a fair and equal society actually look like?Imagine a world with no banks. No stock market. No tech giants. No billionaires.In Another Now world-famous economist, Yanis Varoufakis, shows us what such a world would look like. Far from being a fantasy, he describes how it could have come about - and might yet. But would we really want it?Varoufakis's boundary-breaking new book confounds expectations of what the good society would look like and confronts us with the greatest question: are we able to build a better society, despite our flaws.'A vision of a new society with new ways of thinking is possibly the most important thing an artist can offer at the moment' Brian EnoTrade ReviewCombining a provocative thought-experiment with a deeply original sci-fi narrative, this book is both visionary in its search for new possibilities and realistic in its embrace of the complexities of our human nature -- Alfonso Cuarón, Oscar-winning Director of Roma and GravityA landmark work ... A vision of a new society with new ways of thinking is possibly the most important thing an artist can offer at the moment -- Brian EnoI am enjoying Yanis Varoufakis's Another Now. The way we live is not inevitable -- Jeanette WintersonI could not recommend this more. If you're looking for a sense of optimism, a sense of political possibility, this book is very important -- Owen JonesFrom @yanisvaroufakis' sf novel ANOTHER NOW, the absolute best description of the scam of #InvestmentBanking I've ever read * Cory Doctorow on Twitter *There is something exciting, even invigorating, about envisioning this world alongside Varoufakis ... one finishes Another Now buzzing with a sense of possibility * The Monthly *Another Now is structurally, ideologically and linguistically an extraordinary work -- Zoe WilliamsI've absolutely loved reading [Another Now] ... the second I started reading it, it surprised and intrigued me -- Matthew Taylor, RSAAnother Now is not only a marvellously good read - it is a notable addition to the literature of social change * The Wire *The reason Varoufakis seems to have captured the imaginations of so many is that his words about the European crisis speak universal truths about democracy, capitalism and social policy * Guardian *One of my few heroes -- Slavoj ZizekThe most interesting man in the world * Business Insider *

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Book SynopsisThe relentless pursuit of economic growth is the defining characteristic of contemporary societies. Yet it benefits few and demands monstrous social and ecological sacrifice. Is there a viable alternative? How can we halt the endless quest to grow global production and consumption and instead secure socio-ecological conditions that support lives worth living for all? In this compelling book, leading experts Giorgos Kallis, Susan Paulson, Giacomo D’Alisa and Federico Demaria make the case for degrowth - living well with less, by living differently, prioritizing wellbeing, equity and sustainability. Drawing on emerging initiatives and enduring traditions around the world, they advance a radical degrowth vision and outline policies to shape work and care, income and investment that avoid exploitative and unsustainable practices. Degrowth, they argue, can be achieved through transformative strategies that allow societies to slow down by design, not disaster. Essential reading for all concerned citizens, policy-makers, and students, this book will be an important contribution to one of the thorniest and most pressing debates of our era.Trade Review“COVID-19 is the symptom; the profit-driven destruction of natural and social habitants is the disease. There's only one cure consistent with global social justice. Read this eloquent and urgent book and find out what it is.”Mike Davis, University of California and author of Ecology of Fear and Planet of Slums “The Case for Degrowth is a brief and straightforward explainer, and a good starting point for anyone who wants to get their head around the degrowth movement and what it wants to acheive.”Jeremy Williams, editor of Time to Act and co-author of The Economics of Arrival “The Case for Degrowth does what its title promises; it assertively advocates for a society and economy that aim at the wellbeing of all while also sustaining the natural basis of life, refuting the myth of green growth, and providing a clear compass to evaluate the directionality of sustainability transitions.”Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions “This is a major contribution to the current debate on growth and degrowth. The authors lay bare the innards of each and show us the importance of degrowth. Wellbeing, equity, and sustainability are key vectors organizing this text. These should be understood in the fullness of their capacities to move us out of our current modernity --a decaying order that is today still dominant. But history has shown us across the centuries that no system of power can last for ever, and nor will our current system. Indeed, it is busy destroying itself.”Saskia Sassen, Columbia University and author of Expulsions “Degrowth is one of the most important ideas of the 21st century. Here it is in compact form. Clear, timely, urgent. Don't miss this book.”Jason Hickel, London School of Economics and author of The Divide and Less is More “The COVID pandemic is laying bare dysfunctions of the growth model and the urgency of a pathway to sanity, climate protection, and security for all. This wonderful and accessible introduction by leading degrowth scholars is a vital resource for anyone interested in viable alternatives, rooted in cooperative economic relations and respect for planetary limits.”Juliet Schor, author of After the Gig: how the sharing economy got hijacked and how to win it back “A superb account of why capitalist economies fail life on Earth, even as peoples initiatives in community sharing already revive joy and hope for our futures. This small book teaches economics like no other. It will reply to your doubts about change. It should be on every public library shelf and every syllabus; give copies to your friends.”Ariel Salleh, activist and editor of Eco-Sufficiency and Global Justice: Women write Political Ecology“As the panoply of growth-induced disasters becomes ever more evident with the COVID-19 crisis, it becomes patently clear that the growth imperative must come to a stop. A new vision of the economy –and, hence, of economics—is absolutely essential to the welfare of Earth and all its beings. With The Case for Degrowth, Kallis, Paulson, D’Alisa and Demaria give us a decisive chapter towards such reframing. They show that degrowth is about much more than just the economy: it’s about a radically different way of being, doing and world-making. Degrowth enlightens us on the design of wiser societies that go at a slower pace precisely because they are attuned to Earth. By incorporating the paradigms of care, mutual aid, commoning, and justice, this stunning short book by the foremost thinkers of degrowth finally makes tangible a radical transition towards the peaceful and mutually-enhancing co-existence of humans and the Earth.”Arturo Escobar, author of Encountering Development, and Designs for the Pluriverse and Professor of Anthropology at University of North Carolina “The case for degrowth as argued in this book is so well rounded and compelling that it is difficult to imagine how progressive politicians could avoid integrating the many policies advocated here into their party manifestos . . . unless of course they cannot escape the growth mentality that has suffocated progressive policies for decades. But even in this case, the book offers ways of changing that mentality through commoning and collective action.”Massimo De Angelis, University of East London, editor of The Commoner, and author of Omnia Sunt Communia"Many before have made the point that there are limits to growth, but few have pondered so convincingly on how to break from our addiction to growth."Stefania Barca, University of Coimbra, co-editor of Towards a Political Economy of Degrowth“The degrowth movement now has its Manifesto. A rigorous, practical analysis that will guide grassroots and institutional politics so they can realize a transformation akin to degrowth and turn the current global crisis into a new opportunity and pathway towards more sustainable and carrying societies.”Isabelle Anguelovski, Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (BCNUEJ) and author of Neighborhood as Refuge “By this book, degrowth finally becomes adult. No longer a simple game of hide-and-seek with the growth regime. No longer a vague illusion postponed until the advent of a catastrophe that never comes. No longer a generous experimentation among circles of virtuosos nor an extreme form of resilience by the excluded from the banquet of the consumer society, but a mature and innovative political project, facing the hegemony challenge in the open field of the social arena. The authors are the best fruits of the degrowth movement: activists at the forefront and at the same time leading scholars.”Onofrio Romano, University of Bari and author of Towards a society of degrowth “Decrecer es la consigna. Más y más crecimiento económico en un mundo finito es una locura. Más todavía si éste ahonda las diferencias sociales, las frustraciones y la infelicidad. No podemos mantener ese ritmo despiadado de acumulación del que afloran múltiples pandemias, como la del coronavirus. No hay duda, requerimos una desaceleración programada de la actividad económica para reencontrarnos armónicamente con los ritmos de la Madre Tierra, así como para construir otras sociedades basadas en la diversidad, la sostenibilidad, la pluralidad y la reciprocidad; bases fundamentales del Pluriverso: un mundo donde quepan todos los mundos posibles que aseguren una vida digna a humanos y no humanos.”Alberto Acosta, former president of the Constituent Assembly of Ecuador and author of Buen Vivir “Degrowth is one of the most exciting approaches to emerge from the belly of the industrialised and colonising world, fundamentally challenging its unsustainable and inequitable path of 'development'. But approaches and concepts also need praxis, else they remain in rarified ivory towers. Perhaps for the first time, here, degrowth proponents transform visions and recommendations into a coherent set of actions, from our individual choices to macro-economics and politics. Essential reading for anyone interested in transforming society to be crisis-resilient and crisis-avoiding!”Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh/Global Tapestry of Alternatives and co-editor of Pluriverse: A Post-Development Dictionary​"Is there life after economic growth? Kallis and his co-authors have taken up the baton from the early proponents of degrowth and created a vibrant, accessible discourse for the 21st Century. The Case for Degrowth provides the why, the where and the how of a better economy and a richer society. Its vision is needed now more than ever."Tim Jackson, Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, author of Prosperity without Growth“This is a bold book that goes beyond naysaying and critique, and in writing such a book, the authors are doing a great service to all us educators who are frequently asked by our students ‘now what? What can we do?’”Manisha Anantharaman, Saint Mary’s College of California“A concise and thorough overview of the case for degrowth and an alternative vision of sustainable and equitable wellbeing.”Anders Hayden, Dalhousie University“The Case for Degrowth is a brief and straightforward explainer, and a good starting point for anyone who wants to get their head around the degrowth movement and what it wants to achieve.”Jeremy Williams, editor of Time to Act and co-author of The Economics of Arrival“This pithy book offers a well-argued critique of growth systems while presenting policy packages for promoting degrowth that will help people produce only as much, consume less, share more, enjoy time, and live with dignity and joy.”The Hindu

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Book SynopsisNamed a Best Book of the Year by Amazon.com and the Washington Post Three years ago, Pulitzer Prize-winner Chris Hedges and award-winning cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco set out to take a look at the sacrifice zones, those areas in America that have been offered up for exploitation in the name of profit, progress, and technological advancement. They wanted to show in words and drawings what life looks like in places where the marketplace rules without constraints, where human beings and the natural world are used and then discarded to maximize profit. Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt is the searing account of their travels.Trade Review"Sacco's sections are uniformly brilliant. The tone is controlled, the writing smart, the narration neutral... This is an important book." --New York Times Book Review "An unabashedly polemic, angry manifesto that is certain to open eyes, intensify outrage and incite argument about corporate greed... Through immersion reportage and graphic narrative, the duo illuminate the human and environmental devastation in those communities, with the warning that no one is immune... A call for a new American revolution, passionately proclaimed." --Kirkus (Starred Review) "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt is a journey through contemporary American misery and what can be done to change the course, interpreted through the eyes of two of today's most relevant literary journalists... The graphics illustrate what words alone cannot, capturing a past as it's told, where there's no longer anything left to photograph." --Asbury Park Press "[T]he radical disjunction between how Hedges and Sacco approach their subjects is fascinating and instructive. Hedges is at ease with the grand, sweeping Howard Zinn--moments of matchbook history... And if sweeping, historical connect-the-dots is your cup of tea, then you will find Hedges deeply moving. But if, like Sacco, you distrust all history that does not have a face, a name, and a voice behind it, you will find more to call you to action in the voices that speak from the decimated landscapes of America's deepest poverty, which we (like Dickens's "telescopic philanthropists") know even less well than we do the sufferings of peoples halfway around the world. Together, Sacco and Hedges might just have created a form that can speak across divides unbridgeable without the supplement of graphic narrative." --Public Books "...a bleak, fist-shaking look at the effects of global capitalism in the United States." --Joe Gross, Austin American-Statesman "This is a book that should warm the hearts of political activists such as Naomi Klein or the nonagenerian Pete Seeger. And cause apoplexy among the Tea Party and its fellow travellers... Sure, it's a polemic, but it's a polemic with a human face." --Globe and Mail (Canada) "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt is a harrowing account of the exploited American underclass... It is their stories that shape Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt to be a mesmeric indictment of an America that has failed its populace... From the title alone it is evident that neither Hedges nor Sacco remain objective or shy away from the palpable condemnation of capitalism and the American government. Regardless, they develop an accurate account of the despondency that plagues and divides American culture. This is an imperative read in an era where widespread economic depression and grief reign supreme... Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt is powerful and remarkable, arguably one of the best publications of the year." --PopMatters.com "This is an important book." --Winnipeg Free Press (Canada) "It is a fascinating journey... This book hit me in the gut. It will move you to engage in battle." --Ed Garvey "This searing indictment of our unsustainable society is unsettling. To keep our chance for dignity, we must do our part to champion the organizers and whistleblowers, committee members and protesters. Amen. Pass the word." --Brooklyn Rail "[H]arrowing descriptions... Hedges tells the story, not only of the people but of the town, and despite the differences in setting, certain similarities show through: poverty, addiction, violence; but more than that, a long series of broken promises and mounting despair. Sacco illustrates these chapters with his distinctive, careful line drawings... [A]n excellent piece of journalism -- engaging, troubling, and in its own way, beautiful." --TowardFreedom.com "As quixotic as the quest may seem, Days of Destruction brings the rhetoric and the reality into a nobler focus after a very disturbing tour." --The Star-Ledger (New Jersey) "It's rare that a book carries so much courage and conviction, forcing reflection and an urge to immediately rectify the problems." --Bookslut "A powerful social and political exploration." --Midwest Book Review/California Bookwatch "[Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt] is, without question, the most profoundly disquieting (and downright shocking) portrait of modern America in recent years, and one that is essential reading for anyone wanting to comprehend the quotidian struggle of what sociologists called 'the underclass'. To describe the book as Dickensian in its horror-show reports of frontline industrial decrepitude and socio-economic dysfunction is to engage in understatement... Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt is unapologetically combative and profoundly J'accuse. And though many a conservative think-tanker could try to punch holes in its arguments no one can remain unmoved or unsettled by its brilliantly documented reportage from the precipice of a society that prefers to turn a blind eye to its nightmarish underside." --The Times (Saturday Review) "[B]rilliant combination of prose and graphic comics." --Ralph Nader "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt (Nation) is as moving a portrait of poverty and as compelling a call to action as Michael Harrington's 'The Other America,' published in 1962." --Boston Globe "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt is a gripping and thoroughly researched polemic." --Grantland "[R]ead Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt to know what is happening in this country." --Caffeinated Muslim "... a scorching look at communities burned out not by foreign bombs but by American capitalism." --The Stranger (Seattle) "When their narrative culminates in Zucotti Park, readers will feel just as outraged as the protesters portrayed on the page." --Barnes and Noble Review "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt examines how corruption and greed have shaped the history of the United States in an unfortunate way... This is an excellent book for those who actually need a reason to revolt, and should be read by anyone seeking public office." --San Francisco/Sacramento Book Review "Be prepared for an emotional experience without a happy ending. Be prepared to be defensive. Be prepared to be angry. Be prepared to be ashamed... [T]he book is accompanied by sections that are a graphic novel approach to the individual stories of the real people interviewed in these zones of despair. What is so overpowering, and discussable, in these biographies is that they read as much like a confessional as they do a history... Can there be anything more important to discuss?" --Book Group Buzz, Booklist Online "This is indeed an extraordinary, must read book." --OpEdNews.com

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Book Synopsis‘This is essential reading for anybody interested in global history.’ —Professor Ugo Panizza, The Graduate Institute of Geneva, SwitzerlandThis illuminating book offers a compact survey and new interpretation of trends and policies in the US economy from the end of the nineteenth century to the initial period of the Trump administration. Valli maps three stages in this period of US economic history: first, the economic and demographic consequences of the frontier; second, the Fordist model of growth; and third, the attempt to build an economic empire through economic and financial globalization, military and political power and rapid technological progress.Examining pivotal moments from the Wall Street Crash and the World Wars to the recent Great Recession, Obamacare and Trump's electoral promises and first controversial decisions, this book is essential reading for all those interested in American economic power and its future. Trade Review“It could be a great read, given the enormous wealth of facts and the author’s broad knowledge of American contemporary history.” (Andreas Freytag, Journal of Economics, Vol. 131, 2020)Table of ContentsChapter 1: The Birth of a Great Economic Power.- Chapter 2: The Fordist Model of Economic Development.- Chapter 3: The Great Depression and the New Deal.- Chapter 4: Return and Crisis of the Fordist Model of Development.- Chapter 5: Capital Accumulation, Technological Progress and Knowledge.- Chapter 6: The Global Power of the United States.- Chapter 7: Main Weaknesses in the American Economic Power.- Chapter 8: Towards a Global Economic Empire.- Chapter 9: The Great Recession.- Chapter 10: Obanomics.- Chapter 11: The Economic Consequences of Donald Trump.- Chapter 12: America’s Decline?: Towards an Imperfect Multipolar World.

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Book SynopsisWhen the Treasury lost control of interest rates to the Bank of England in 1997, its status looked under threat. However, it quickly reasserted its power by dominating policymaking across Whitehall and diminishing other ministries in the process. It also successfully fought off attempts by Prime Ministers, from Blair to Johnson, to cut it down to size. In this fascinating insider account, based on in-depth interviews with the Chancellors and key senior officials, Howard Davies shows how the past twenty-five years have nonetheless been a roller-coaster ride for the Treasury. Heavily criticized for its response to the global financial crisis, and for the rigours of the austerity programme, it also ran into political controversy through its role in the Scottish referendum and the Brexit debate. The Treasury’s dire predictions of the impact of Brexit have not been borne out. Redemption of a kind, though a costly one, came from its muscular response to the COVID crisis. Anyone with an interest in economic policymaking, in the UK and elsewhere, will find this a valuable and entertaining account.Trade Review"A thoughtful, gossipy and highly readable account of recent British economic history, Howard Davies’s survey covers all the big Treasury issues and personalities of the past twenty-five years, with especially interesting insights on financial regulation and the Treasury’s post-Brexit policy challenges."Ed Balls, former Education Secretary and Shadow Chancellor "These are fascinating, personal assessments of the performance of our Chancellors by someone particularly well qualified to make them."Gus O’Donnell, former Cabinet Secretary and Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury"Witty and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Treasury."House Magazine"Howard Davies has written a succinct and fascinating assessment of the Treasury’s crucial role since 1997. How the department responds to the challenges of the future is likely to determine the UK’s prospects for decades to come.”Literary Review“A succinct and fascinating assessment of the Treasury’s crucial role.”David Gauke, former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice“This insider’s view […] manages to be both authoritative and quite cheeky.”Ferdinand Mount, The Spectator“Davies is kinder to the Treasury than I would be. Nevertheless, he recognises that trouble lies ahead: political and economic realities do not look friendly to the belief in free markets and fiscal discipline that guides this powerful institution.”Martin Wolf, The Financial Times“It’s a “fascinating” story, covering many challenges and changes.”The Weekly“informative and entertaining”William A. Allen,The Society of Professional Economists"a source of great insight"Craig Berry, University College London Table of ContentsForeword 1. Economic Performance 2. Macroeconomic Policy 3. Public Expenditure 4. Tax Policy 5. Scotland: Saving the Union 6. Europe: the ins and outs 7. Financial Regulation and the City of London 8. Climate change: the road to Net Zero 9. The Treasury’s changing shape 10. Leadership 11. Trouble ahead Notes

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Book SynopsisIn politics, money is often the name of the game. Politicians enrich themselves while in office, spend campaign money to finance their re-election, and accept lucrative ''golden parachute'' jobs after leaving office. Money in Politics argues that these different forms of capital are part of a common system and should be analyzed in a single framework. The book advances a comparative theory that shows how self-enrichment, campaign spending, and golden parachute jobs are connected to each other. This theory explains when and how money enters politics, ultimately illuminating that a change in one form affects the other types and revealing the consequences this has for democracy. The book uses a wide range of evidence from countries around the world, including causally identified quantitative studies, qualitative cross-national comparisons, and original survey experiments. Enlightening and instructive, this book shows that we can only fully comprehend the role of money in politics when we Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Types of Money in Politics; 3. The System of Money in Politics; 4. The Connection between Self-Enrichment and Campaign Spending; 5. The Connection between Campaign Spending and Golden Parachute Jobs; 6. The System of Money in Politics in Comparative Perspective; 7. Consequences for Democracy; 8. Evolving the Conversation about Money in Politics.

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Book SynopsisThe capitalist mode of destruction traces contemporary capitalism’s economic, ecological and democratic crises. Combining insights from a range of disciplines, including psychology, sociology and political economy, Panayotakis interprets these crises as manifestations of a previously unrecognized contradiction: over time, the benefits of capitalism’s technological dynamism tend to decline even as its threats to humanity and the planet continue to mount.To explain this contradiction, the book analyzes the production and distribution of surplus in capitalist societies and rethinks the concept of surplus itself. Identifying the public sector and households as sites of production no less important than the workplace, this book attributes capitalism’s contradictions to working people’s lack of control over the surplus they produce. This lack of control is undemocratic and threatens the planet. Only a classless society, in which working people democratically determine the size and use of the surplus they produce, can effectively respond to our current predicament. Recognizing such a democratic classless society as the essence of the communist ideal, the book argues that, far from becoming obsolete, this ideal is ever more indispensable. But since the necessity of this ideal does not guarantee its realization, the book also investigates the conditions necessary for the formation of an anti-capitalist alliance for social justice, democracy and ecological sustainability.Table of ContentsConfronting the capitalist virus: A prefatory noteIntroduction1 Rethinking the Surplus2 Surplus and Freedom3 Capital’s Real Subsumption of Consumption 4 Consumerism and Capital’s Use of Science and Technology to Undercut Democracy5 Capitalism as a Force of Destruction6 Futile Growth and Mounting Destruction: The Need to Rethink Contemporary Capitalism’s Contradictions7 The Crisis of Capitalist Democracy and the Continuing Relevance of the Communist IdealConclusion: Rethinking the Relationship Between Capitalism, Communism and Democracy

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Book SynopsisIn a public-private partnership, or P3, a private, for-profit corporation assumes control over the design, construction, financing and operation of public infrastructure and services. P3s have been used in Canada since the early 1990s, but they are now so common that they have become the standard way in which multimillion-dollar projects and services are delivered across the country. There are now more than two hundred P3 projects in this country, with contract lengths from twenty to ninety-nine years.The problem? P3s fundamentally transform public infrastructure, public services, labour relations, public sectors and the everyday lives of Canadians. While contracting out services is supposed to save money, P3s often cost more in the long run and are host to poor working conditions and confidentiality and accountability issues. And in the end, it is us, the public, who foots the bill for these increasing costs, essentially subsidizing corporate investments for services that our governments used to provide.

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Book SynopsisThe interaction of sustainability governance and global value chains has crucial implications the world over. When it comes to sustainability the last decade has witnessed the birth of hybrid forms of governance where business, civil society and public actors interact at different levels, leading to a focus on concepts of legitimacy within multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs). Based in over 15 years of theoretical engagement and field research, Business, Power and Sustainability draws from both labour-intensive value chains, such as in the agro-food sector (coffee, wine, fish, biofuels, palm oil), and from capital-intensive value chains such as in shipping and aviation, to discuss how sustainability governance can be best designed, managed and institutionalized in today’s world of global value chains (GVCs). Examining current theoretical and analytical efforts aimed at including sustainability issues in GVC governance theory, it expands on recent work examining GVC upgrading by introducing the concept of environmental upgrading; and through new conceptions of orchestration, it provides suggestions for how governments and international organizations can best facilitate the achievement of sustainability goals. Essential reading on the governance of sustainability in the twenty-first century.Trade ReviewSince the 1980s, the main question has been how to leverage foreign direct investment and GVC engagement for economic development. Now, with the habitability of the planet in question, this book shifts the lens toward sustainability. Very timely! * Timothy J. Sturgeon, Ph.D. Senior Researcher, MIT Industrial Performance Center (IPC) *A profoundly important book that will be required reading not only for today’s practitioners and students, but for the next generation as well. * Benjamin Cashore, Professor of Environmental Governance & Political Science at Yale University *A great book that all students of Global Value Chains and transnational sustainability governance should buy and read. Ponte is an expert and innovator in both fields of study, and successfully synthesizes insights from both literatures to build a provocative and compelling argument about ongoing and impending transformations in the global economy. * Luc Fransen, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Amsterdam. *Ponte shows not only how sustainability management is a key feature of contemporary capitalism, but also why pursuing "just sustainabilities’ is so imperative. I strongly recommend the book. * Professor Peter Newell, University of Sussex, author of Globalization and the Environment and Global Green Politics. *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Business, Sustainability and the Global Economy 1. What We Know About Sustainability Governance 2. Power in Global Value Chains 3. Sustainability, Power and Governance in the Wine, Coffee and Biofuels Global Value Chains 4. Value Creation and Capture through Economic and Environmental Upgrading 5. Orchestrating Sustainability Conclusion: ‘Just Sustainabilities’ in a World of Global Value Chains

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Book SynopsisAn explosive exposé of the man who devoted his career to shackling democracy — and succeeded. Libertarian billionaires are using their wealth and power to drastically curtail the US democratic process, disempowering ordinary citizens whilst entrenching the influence of corporations as never before. In Democracy in Chains, award-winning historian Nancy MacLean reveals how the ideas of Nobel Prize-winning political economist James McGill Buchanan have been used to undermine the power of voters in a country whose Constitution is founded on the principle ‘We the people’. Now, with Mike Pence as Vice President, this chilling movement has a loyalist in the White House, as well as supporters in the House, the Senate, a majority of state governments, and the courts. Democracy in Chains is a timely, important book, which should be read by anybody interested in the future of democracy.Trade Review‘It’s the missing chapter: a key to understanding the politics of the past half century. To read Nancy MacLean’s new book, Democracy in Chains is to see what was previously invisible.’ -- George Monbiot * The Guardian *'It’s happening: the subversion of our democratic system from within. How did the political right do it? Nancy MacLean tells the long-overlooked story of the political economist who developed the playbook for the Koch brothers. James McGill Buchanan merged states rights’ thinking with free market principles and helped to fashion the inherently elitist ideology of today’s Republican Party. Professor MacLean’s meticulous research and shrewd insights make this a must-read for all who believe in government ‘by the people.' -- Nancy Isenberg, author of White Trash: the 400-year untold history of class in America'This book is mesmerising. Rarely have I encountered a work that speaks to such significant issues, with evidence rooted in conclusive new sources. In clear prose, MacLean reveals how a public once committed to social responsibility and egalitarian values became persuaded that only an unregulated free market could protect ‘liberty’ and ‘choice.’ Because of this, our once cherished democracy is now subject to attack. Everyone who wants to understand today’s confrontational politics should read this important book, now.' -- Alice Kessler-Harris, author of In Pursuit of Equity: women, men, and the quest for economic citizenship in twentieth-century America‘How did we get to where we are today? How did corporations come to possess ‘rights?’ How did democracy come to be defined as selfish individualism? Or money as free speech? Nancy MacLean’s Democracy in Chains provides the answers. It is essential reading in order to understand the ideas that billionaires use to justify their control of our political institutions. I can’t imagine a more timely or urgent book.’ -- Greg Grandin, author of Fordlandia (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize) and The Empire of Necessity (winner of the Bancroft Prize)‘[MacLean] creates a chilling portrait of an arrogant, uncompromising, and unforgiving man … [she] offers a cogent yet disturbing analysis of libertarians' current efforts to rewrite the social contract and manipulate citizens' beliefs … An unsettling exposé of the depth and breadth of the libertarian agenda.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘MacLean constructs an erudite, searing portrait of how the late political economist James McGill Buchanan (1919 - 2013) and his deep-pocketed conservative allies have reshaped — and undermined — American democracy … A thoroughly researched and gripping narrative, she exposes how Buchanan’s strategies shaped trends in government in favour of ‘corporate dominance’ and against the welfare state … She has delivered another deeply important book … Her work here is a feat of American intellectual and political history.’ STARRED REVIEW * Publisher's Weekly *‘For those who think the Tea Party, Freedom Caucus, and the alt-right are recent constructs, MacLean provides an extensive history lesson that traces the genesis of the right wing back to post-WWII doctrines … A worthy companion to Jane Mayer’s Dark Money, MacLean’s intense and extensive examination of the right-wing’s rise to power is perhaps the best explanation to date of the roots of the political divide that threatens to irrevocably alter American government.’ STARRED REVIEW * Booklist *‘A remarkable new book which argues that the radical right revolution engineered by Charles and his brother David is not just about accruing political and economic power, but about restricting democracy itself.’ * The New Republic *‘[A] vibrant intellectual history of the radical right … [MacLean] has dug deep into her material — not just Buchanan’s voluminous, unsorted papers, but other archives, too — and she has made powerful and disturbing use of it all … The behind-the-scenes days and works of Buchanan show how much deliberation and persistence — in the face of formidable opposition — underlie the anti-governing politics ascendant today. What we think of as dysfunction is the result of years of strategic effort.’ * The Atlantic *‘This sixty-year campaign to make libertarianism mainstream and eventually take the government itself is at the heart of Democracy in Chains … [MacLean] takes the time to meticulously trace how we got here … If you're worried about what all this means for America's future, you should be … And if someone you know isn't convinced, you have just the book to hand them.’ * NPR *‘[A] riveting, unsettling account of 'Tennessee country boy' James McGill Buchanan, key architect of today's radical right.’ * O, The Oprah Magazine *‘Clear and compelling … timely.’ * The Sunday Post *‘A remarkable book … Democracy in Chains is a revelation, as politics and as history.’ * Jacobin *‘Democracy in Chains should be read by every thinking person in the United States. It is disturbing, revealing, and vitally important.’ * new york journal of books *‘Nancy MacLean has done us a true and timely service.’ * New Internationalist *‘This book’s importance cannot be underestimated … powerful and disturbing.’ -- Antony Loewenstein * Weekend Australian *‘Explosive and controversial.’ * Canberra Times *‘Democracy in Chains leaves me with hope: Perhaps as books like MacLean’s continue to shine a light on important truths, Americans will begin to realise they need to pay more attention and not succumb to the cynical view that known liars make the best leaders.’ * New York Times Book Review *‘[T]his book is a superb contribution to our understanding of the rise of libertarian notion and right-wing political power in the US.’ -- Bill McKibbern * TLS *‘Nancy MacLean’s Democracy In Chains is a work of the utmost importance and makes a unique and outstanding contribution in understanding America, in both historic and contemporary terms. It forces us to engage with and think deeply about the use and abuse of power.’ * Economic and Labour Relations Review *

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Book SynopsisPoverty is something we all want to see less of. So why does it prove so difficult to tackle? Can empathy help fix it?

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Book SynopsisA timely and important examination of the environmental crises, investigating their biophysical, political, economic, and socio-cultural aspects, that reveals why previous conservation efforts failed.The eastern part of the Mau Forest, the most important closed-canopy forest in East Africa, has come under severe threat since the 1990s. In this political ecology Lisa Fuchs exploring the failure of the government-led forest restoration and rehabilitation initiative to 'Save the Mau', launched in 2009, the author examines two of the most contentious issues in Kenya since colonial times: land and the environment. She sheds light on the structural factors and the role of individuals in the forest's destruction and of non-protection and traces the colonial legacy of post-independent environmental conservation policies and practices. In doing so, Fuchs demonstrates that the Mau crisis is more than an environmental crisis: it is also a political, an economic, and a socio-cultural crisis.Though a detailed empirical analysis, the author shows that the 'Mau crisis' led to the near collapse of landscapes and livelihoods in the Mau Forest ecosystem. She traces the implementation of insufficient conservation programmes, which resulted from historical path-dependency and the adoption of global environmental governance blueprints, forest allocation and benefits, and exposes a forest management system that prioritises commercial forest production over biodiversity conservation. Access and entitlements to the highly fertile forest land, and the amalgamation of forest rehabilitation with the reclamation of grabbed public forest are emphasised as a further core contributor to the crisis. The socio-cultural dynamics within and among various forest-dwelling communities, including the indigenous hunting and gathering Ogiek and 'in-migrant' groups, are also analysed. The book highlights that local types of environmentalism are caught between the 'invention of traditions' and 'perverse modernisation' and shows the contradictory effects of the celebrated, highly anticipated but poorly executed 'Save the Mau' initiative, and how the presence of political will to maintain the crisis conditioned its perseverance. Finally, the book proposes realistic alternatives to sustainable forest management in politicised environments, whose relevance and applicability are considerable in this age of anthropogenic 'environmental' crises and conflicts.Published in association with IFRA/AFRICAE

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year AwardA New York Times technology and business reporter charts the dramatic rise of Bitcoin and the fascinating personalities who are striving to create a new global money for the Internet age.Digital Gold is New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper''s brilliant and engrossing history of Bitcoin, the landmark digital money and financial technology that has spawned a global social movement.The notion of a new currency, maintained by the computers of users around the world, has been the butt of many jokes, but that has not stopped it from growing into a technology worth billions of dollars, supported by the hordes of followers who have come to view it as the most important new idea since the creation of the Internet. Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments. More than just a tech industry fad, Bitcoin has threatened to decentralize some of society''s most basic institutions.An unusual tale of group invention, Digital Gold charts the rise of the Bitcoin technology through the eyes of the movement''s colorful central characters, including an Argentinian millionaire, a Chinese entrepreneur, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Bitcoin''s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Already, Bitcoin has led to untold riches for some, and prison terms for others.Trade ReviewLively and thorough... a vivid guide to the characters who met online and built bitcoin -- John Gapper * Financial Times *An amazing story... crucial reading for anyone who wants to understand the future -- Walter Isaacson, author of The InnovatorsAn elegant, thrilling tour-de-force, the fast-paced action never stops in the ongoing quest to create something the world has never seen before -- William D. Cohan, author of House of CardsA highly readable and informative account of the early years of a technology-cryptocurrency-that may one day turn out to be almost as significant as the internet itself... a tech thriller -- John Naughton * Observer *

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Book SynopsisThis book is the perfect introduction to the subject of economics and economic ideas through history.From the earliest forms of currency to the Industrial Revolution, and from the birth of the stock market to free-market capitalism and globalized trade, The Little Book of Economics brings economic theory and the work of key economists to life. Journeying through centuries of economic thought, it is the perfect pocket-sized guide to the subject.Packed with infographics and flowcharts that explain complex concepts clearly and simply, The Little Book of Economics offers you a combination of clear text and hard-working infographics in a portable format that is perfect for reading on the go.

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Book SynopsisWith protectionist sentiment and economic nationalism on the rise, international trade and how it is governed is at the heart of some of the most important contemporary economic and political debates. Comprehensive and clear, this book skilfully outlines and analyses the dynamics of trade in the 21st century. Ken Heydon examines three broad themes: the nature and distribution of the gains from trade, the institutional and governance framework of the international trade system, and the contentious practical issues confronting policy-makers across the world. He considers pressing contemporary debates surrounding issues ranging from agriculture and food security to the links between trade and environment protection, core labour standards and intellectual property rights. He demonstrates the importance of a change of mindset in terms of how we see trade policy: it should not, he argues, be simply a question of international negotiation, but also a key component of sound domestic economic management. In short, we need to put commerce in context. Drawing on the author’s experience as a policy practitioner, trade policy analyst and teacher, the volume is informed by an extensive analysis of the literature and by relevant case studies. It is designed for students and scholars of international political economy and trade policy, trade officials, and the general public.Trade Review"[A] well-written introduction to the world trading system as it actually exists today"Foreign Affairs"At a time of instability and change in the multilateral trading order, the issues raised by this book deserve critical, ongoing consideration."Journal of Australian Political EconomyTable of ContentsList of Case Studies List of Figures Abbreviations Structure: The Building Blocks Introduction: Echoes of Mercantilism Part 1: The Gains from Trade: Winners and Losers Chapter 1: The Political Economy of Trade: The Domestic Setting Chapter 2: Trade, Growth and Development Chapter 3: Trade, Investment and the Global Value Chain Part 2: The Institutional Framework Chapter 4: The Systemic Threats to the Multilateral Trading Order Chapter 5: The Rise of Preferential Trade Agreements Part 3: Confronting the Issues Chapter 6: Distortions to Trade in Manufactures Chapter 7: The Special Case of Agriculture Chapter 8: Negotiating Services and Investment Chapter 9: Competition Policy and the Role of the Firm Chapter 10: Trade Links to Environment, Labour Standards and Property Rights Conclusion: Putting Commerce in Context Acknowledgements Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisWhat is life like for workers in the gig economy? Is it a paradise of flexibility and individual freedom? Or is it a world of exploitation and conflict? Callum Cant took a job with one of the most prominent platforms, Deliveroo, to find out. His vivid account of the reality is grim. Workers are being tyrannised by algorithms and exploited for the profit of the few – but they are not taking it lying down. Cant reveals a transnational network of encrypted chats and informal groups which have given birth to a wave of strikes and protests. Far from being atomised individuals helpless in the face of massive tech companies, workers are tearing up the rulebook and taking back control. New developments in the workplace are combining to produce an explosive subterranean class struggle – where the stakes are high, and the risks are higher. Riding for Deliveroo is the first portrait of a new generation of working class militants. Its mixture of compelling first-hand testimony and engaging analysis is essential for anyone wishing to understand class struggle in platform capitalism.Trade Review"This is a timely and insightful discussion of the conditions faced by gig economy workers. Powerfully written and politically urgent, it should be essential reading for anybody looking to understand - and to challenge - precarity in the age of platform capitalism." Helen Hester, University of West London “Riding for Deliveroo is a must read for those interested in the gig economy, providing a powerful argument for how work can be transformed today.” Jamie Woodcock, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford “Riding for Deliveroo provides a compelling and insightful account of the labour struggles at the front lines of the gig economy, deftly weaving individual stories of worker resistance into a rigorous theoretical analysis of modern-day capitalism.” Wendy Liu"Essential reading."Morning Star"interesting and encouraging"Transfer: European Review of Labour and ResearchTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Job 3. The System of Control 4. A Short History of Precarious Militants 5. The Workers 6. The Strikes 7. Looking Forward 8. A New Wave 9. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThis book is a timely study of an important political economic phenomenon: ESG investing and stakeholder capitalism. This book encourages new ways of thinking about corporate responsibility and how to contest it. -- .

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Book SynopsisThese days almost anyone is bound to be depressed by the litany of economic woes we are told are besieging Canada. At the same time, mainstream economists, politicians and business leaders claim that workers' wages must fall, the social safety net must be stripped away, taxes must be cut and environmental regulations must be relaxed. "There Is No Alternative" if Canada is to be competitive.But is this the case? If we are to even begin to respond to this new economic mantra we have to know what makes our economy tick. In Inside Capitalism, Paul Phillips introduces us to political economic analysis-why firms behave as they do, why we have such a high level of economic monopoly, who benefits from the economic structure of capitalism. In so doing, he not only shows that traditional economic analysis is mainly ideology, but we can clearly see that the dismal prospects that average Canadians face are not the result of immutable economic laws but of the political and economic power that business has amassed with the aid of successive governments and the Bank of Canada.

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Book SynopsisThis study is among the first in Canada to document the transformation of municipal governance and public services from Keynesian to neoliberal public policy at the urban scale. Focusing on the neoliberal transformation of cites in Ontario from 1954 to 2014, with special attention to Toronto, it begins with a theoretical analysis of the remaking of municipal public finances and intergovernmental transfers, exposing the social and political causes of urban fiscal crises. This study makes the case that cities have been underfinanced, which has led to a deterioration of public services based on the contention that they are unaffordable. Reductions to employee compensation have been a stated aim of municipal austerity. Megacity Malaise analyzes the interactions and strategies used by civic workers and community groups as they struggle to understand and respond to demands for concessions. Focusing on two major Toronto strikes (by CUPE locals 79 and 416), it puts forward a range of evidence-based social policy alternatives to austerity, drawing attention to labour-community coalitions as the most effective strategy for building resistance against neoliberalism. As headquarters to Canada s largest financial institutions, local government, employment centre and municipal unions, Toronto provides a vivid setting for studying municipal restructuring. Fanelli s analysis is grounded in critical political economy and informed by his decade-long experiences as a Toronto civic worker and municipal unionist. Rigorous intellectual analysis is combined with municipal employee interviews and participant observation, providing a unique methodological approach to examining the socio-political struggles in Toronto and connecting them to municipalities across Ontario and beyond."

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Book SynopsisWhen our infrastructures deteriorate, when social benefits are frozen, when our living conditions are precarious, it is because of tax havens. A source of growing inequalities and colossal tax losses, the use of tax havens by large corporations and wealthy individuals explains the increasingly popular austerity policies of governments in the West.With formidable efficacy and clarity, and in the wake of the Paradise Papers leak, Alain Deneault raises the political questions behind of this legalized theft: What are the consequences of tax havens? How do we counter the private sovereignty thus conferred on the powerful? As taxpayers shoulder the social and financial burdens while corporations hide billions in off-shore tax havens, Deneault identifies the urgent need to put an end to this legalized theft.

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Book SynopsisPublic private partnerships in which the private sector takes on roles previously carried out by the public sector have been heavily promoted in the provision of infrastructure throughout the world, but especially in the UK, the USA and Canada. In Ideology Over Economics, economist John Loxley examines the expansion of P3s following the 2008 global financial crisis, when corporations responded to the crisis by lobbying governments for financial assistance and austerity governments responded by expanding financial resources for P3s. For many governments, the rationale for using P3s lies in the state manufactured fiscal crisis. The usual economic arguments underlie government largesse – lower cost, reduced risk and high-quality construction for public projects. In these arguments little has changed.From his close examination of case studies of P3s in the UK, Canada and developing countries, John Loxley concludes that P3s do not achieve any of these promised goals and argues that the expansion of P3s owes more to ideology than to a rational evaluation of their economic and community building benefits.

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Book SynopsisThe climate crisis is not primarily a problem of 'believing science' or individual 'carbon footprints' - it is a class problem rooted in who owns, controls and profits from material production. As such, it will take a class struggle to solve. In this ground breaking class analysis, Matthew T. Huber argues that the carbon-intensive capitalist class must be confronted for producing climate change. Yet, the narrow and unpopular roots of climate politics in the professional class is not capable of building a movement up to this challenge. For an alternative strategy, he proposes climate politics that appeals to the vast majority of society: the working class. Huber evaluates the Green New Deal as a first attempt to channel working class material and ecological interests and advocates building union power in the very energy system we so need to dramatically transform. In the end, as in classical socialist movements of the early 20th Century, winning the climate struggle will need to be internationalist based on a form of planetary working class solidarity.Trade ReviewHuber has written a 'What Is To Be Done?' for all of us who are vexed by the failure of progressive climate activism to produce a blueprint for a national action with clear strategic goals. In a blazing critique, he skewers 'radical' as well as liberal environmentalists who advocate market solutions to a crisis whose very cause is the cost-and-profit logic of energy markets. Equally he shows that the electoral road to a Green New Deal is a dead-end without a massive public struggle, integrally involving labor, for public ownership of the power industry. The shelves groan with books on the coming apocalypse , but here, at long last, is a concrete strategy for socialists. -- Mike DavisMore and more people recognize capitalism as a primary driver of climate change. Matt Huber takes the crucial next step. He powerfully demonstrates not just why working class power is indispensable to a just transition but how we build it. -- Jodi DeanThe most powerful missile yet hurled against bourgeois climate politics. With a laser-sharp focus, it strikes at the central fortress: the sphere of production, where one class dominates another and wrecks the planet in the process. A book for every union organiser and every climate activist and everyone who wishes for the two to join forces - to be read, studied, debated, aimed and fired. -- Andreas MalmThis book represents an important and timely contribution to the climate fight. -- Jonathan Rosenblum * Jacobin *We know we need to challenge the power of fossil capital to preserve a habitable planet - but how? Climate Change as Class War injects a necessary dose of strategic thinking into debates about the way forward, arguing for a mass climate politics rooted in the decommodification of basic needs and an organizing strategy focused on workers who can exert power at the point of electricity production. Huber's sharp analysis and challenging arguments open up debates that climate, labor, and socialist movements badly need to have. -- Alyssa BattistoniClimate Change as Class War is an audacious argument, particularly in its unabashed revitalization of Marxism. -- Ryne Clos * Spectrum Culture *

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Book SynopsisEconomics and the Left presents interviews with 24 leading progressive economists, whose life work has been dedicated to both interpreting the world and changing it for the better. They all deploy the technical tools of their trade-the "dismal science"-in various ways. Much more importantly, they are all people dedicated to the principles of egalitarianism, democracy and ecological sanity. The result is a combustible brew of ideas, commitments and reflections on major historical events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting global economic recession.Interviewed are: Michael Ash, Nelson Henrique Barbosa Filho, James K. Boyce, Ha-Joon Chang, Jane D'Arista, Diane Elson, Gerald Epstein, Nancy Folbre, James K. Galbraith, Teresa Ghilarducci, Jayati Ghosh, Ilene Grabel, Costas Lapavitsas, Zhongjin Li, William Milberg, Léonce Ndikumana, Ozlem Onaran, Robert Pollin, Malcolm Sawyer, Juliet Schor, Anwar Shaikh, William Spriggs, Fiona Tregenna, Thomas WeisskopfTrade ReviewPraise for Chomsky and Pollin: Climate Crisis and the Green New Deal, Verso, 2020:This book is a survival manual for civilization. I want everyone-yes, every person on the planet-to learn its message and to face the challenge it poses: 'What am I doing to help bring about a global Green New Deal in the early years of this decade?' For Americans, the first steps are clear: consign all climate deniers to permanent political oblivion and force all other policymakers to match fine words with deeds-i.e. commit to the Pollin-Chomsky global program for climate stabilization, a massive expansion of good jobs, and just transition. -- Daniel Ellsberg, author of The Doomsday MachinePraise for Chomsky and Pollin: Climate Crisis and the Green New Deal, Verso, 2020:The project that is the Green New Deal is enriched by the insights of two great minds: those of Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin. Both understand that the GND will fail if it does not protect the jobs and livelihoods of the working class. They explain how a transformation needed to restore the ecosystem can, and will transform the organizations and lives of working people worldwide-for the better. -- Ann Pettifor, author of The Case for The Green New DealPraise for Chomsky and Pollin: Climate Crisis and the Green New Deal, Verso, 2020:Chomsky and Pollin argue it is possible to tackle climate collapse over the next 30 years. A capitalist system that fails to respond does not deserve to survive. * Irish Times *Praise for Chomsky and Pollin: Climate Crisis and the Green New Deal, Verso, 2020:Emphasizes the crisis our planet faces but also says 'there is a solution at hand.' * Irish Examiner *This fascinating collection of interviews with 24 leading progressive economists is profoundly entertaining, revealing, more directly than in their published work, how they came to believe what they believe. The lively interviews convey the infectious excitement of doing research on substantive questions of great social importance and a deep commitment to bringing about equitable and sustainable progress in a mixed economy. Each interviewee offers rare insights into their intellectual biographies and motivations that readers will find nowhere else. Each interview has important intellectual lessons to teach to anyone wishing to understand the world and to improve it. Unendingly gripping. -- Servaas Storm, Professor of Economics, Delft University of TechnologyAs James Galbraith argues in this book, 'economics needs two things: glasnost and perestroika.' This book offers 'glasnost' to anyone interested in the work of some of the most remarkable economists working today, economists whose work is effectively censored by the orthodoxy of the profession. The women economists interviewed- including the remarkable Jane D'Arista - are testament to the need to restructure economics so that women's genius can finally be recognised and celebrated. -- Ann Pettifor, author of The Case for the Green New DealProgressive economists, long voices in the wilderness, have had new influence lately, because the reality they have long described has become demonstrably evident, even to the orthodox. For an introduction to these prophetic voices, you can do no better than to read Economics and the Left: Interviews with Progressive Economics. -- Robert Kuttner, co-editor, The American ProspectThis is a wonderful collection of interviews with a wide variety of inspiring progressive economists who do not only try to understand the world, but also to change it. I learned a lot from it, even about the economists I thought I knew quite well. Reading this book is an enriching and uplifting adventure! -- Irene van Staveren, Professor of Pluralist Development Economics, Erasmus UniversityThis collection of engaging, spirited interviews with economists who have put rigorous economic analysis to work for the common good belongs in the hands of every aspiring economics student. Their accounts of the winding paths that led them to economics are unsparingly honest and contain little-known details that illuminate how their early years influenced their later interests. These economists reject the mainstream, neoclassical framework but embrace economic modes of thinking inspired by a large number of writers- Marx among them - and the tools of rigorous economic analysis including statistics and econometrics. These are used to analyze how class and power, and for some the legacies of slavery and patriarchy, structure labor, commodity and financial markets and market outcomes - persistent wage disparities, unequal burdens of care, food and housing insecurity, environmental degradation, financial instability, and wealth inequality. Intellectually rigorous and morally passionate, their analyses lead to solutions that reside in collective action that respects individual rights, in regulation of markets, and - as the Covid-19 pandemic made clear - in the role of the state in the planning, administration, and allocation of key resources. -- Eileen Appelbaum, Co-director, Center for Economic and Policy AnalysisEconomics and the Left opens a unique window to the hearts and minds of 24 progressive economists -men and women- marked by an extraordinary combination of, on the one hand, brilliance in their academic contributions and of, on the other hand, a passionate commitment to apply their talents -through policy making and advising- to make a better, more equal and sustainable world. This work will be highly enjoyable reading by any economic practitioner, academic or student undergrad and graduate interested in what is -and what is not- the Left in Economics and also by anyone with avid curiosity on how the world economy works and how we can overcome its problems and challenges. -- Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid, Professor of Economics, National Autonomous University of Mexico

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Book SynopsisThis book studies the main characteristics of the operation of the Chinese economy and the world economy after the financial crisis in 2008. The analysis starts from the core logic of the dilemma of the anti-crisis and rebalancing growth of the world economy. It further analyzes the impact of major countries' macro-economic policies on the global economy and the external risks and countermeasures faced by the Chinese economy. In addition, this book studies the development of foreign direct investment and the service industry in major countries after the crisis.

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Book SynopsisThe first international history of the emergence of economic sanctions during the interwar period and the legacy of this developmentTrade Review“Valuable . . . offers many lessons for Western policy makers today.”—Paul Kennedy, Wall Street Journal“Lucidly written, scholarly and thought-provoking.”—Gideon Rachman, Financial Times“Mulder . . . looks at sanctions over the three decades after the First World War—and reaches unsettling conclusions. . . . The lessons are sobering.”—The Economist“Mulder charts how the rise of economic sanctions and blockade during the interwar years, as a tool to enforce peace, drove the autarkic policies of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, ultimately destabilising the international system rather than fortifying it.”—Robin Harding, Financial Times“Mulder argues in his impeccably well-researched and, because of its timeliness, gripping book that ‘sanctions did not stop political and economic disintegration but accelerated it’ in the interwar period. . . . Mulder’s book provides an uncomfortable warning that while sanctions have sometimes worked, they have also been contentious, ineffective and counterproductive.”—Emma Duncan, The Times“This revelatory history of ‘economic warfare’—blockades and sanctions—reminds us that up to 400,000 people died of blockade-induced malnutrition in Central Europe in the First World War, plus 500,000 in the Ottoman Middle East. You will look at twentieth-century history with fresh eyes.”—Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph, “Perfect Holiday Reads”"A fortuitously timed history of the use of economic sanctions during the interwar period of the 20th century. Their mixed success cautions against hoping that the West’s sanctions against Russia can bring about an end to war in Ukraine."—The Economist, "Best Books of 2022"A Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2022“As Nicholas Mulder shows in The Economic Weapon, a much longer history lies behind the invention of modern sanctions.”—Tom Stevenson, London Review of Books“A fascinating new book. . . . Taken as a superbly researched work of history, it lights up key aspects of the twentieth century in a deeply thought-provoking way.”—Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph“Original and persuasive analysis. . . . For those who see economic sanctions as a relatively mild way of expressing displeasure at a country’s behavior, this book, charting how they first emerged as a potential coercive instrument during the first decades of the twentieth century, will come as something of a revelation.”—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs“[A] superb study of sanctions during the interwar era. . . . Mulder’s fascinating story weaves together politics, economics and law [and] provides invaluable insight into the experience of sanctions one hundred years ago.”—Max Harris, Times Literary Supplement“An excellent historical study. . . . Western countries have directed an unprecedentedly severe battery of punitive economic measures against Russia. . . . For those of us seeking better to understand this reaction and gauge its likely efficacy, there is no better place to turn than Cornell historian Nicholas Mulder’s erudite and uncannily timely book on the origins of economic sanctions."—Alexander Watson, Literary Review“Mulder’s examination of the details of economic diplomacy in the interwar era makes for fascinating reading, and at the least it will remind us that, in the case of determined dictators, something more than sanctions may be needed.”—Matthew Partridge, Money Week, “Book of the Week”“There are few books that can be said to be timely like Nicholas Mulder's The Economic Weapon . . . [it is] an important contribution to the history of economics and international relations in the interwar period.”—Roman Köster, sehepunkteWinner of the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize for best first book by the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR)“The Economic Weapon is a superb account of the history of sanctions, and their profound impact on international politics. Although sanctions were once heralded as a force for peace, Mulder shows they often fail and sometimes make war more likely or even produce a humanitarian nightmare.&rdquot;—John Mearsheimer, author of The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities“This is a tour de force of historical research and argument. With great subtlety and richness, Nicholas Mulder transforms our understanding of twentieth-century global and international history.”—David Edgerton, King’s College London“Mulder reveals the history of liberalism’s ultimate weapon. An essential contribution both to scholarship and to the present-day debate on economic sanctions.”—Adam Tooze, author of Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World’s Economy"A fortuitously timed history of the use of economic sanctions during the interwar period of the 20th century. Their mixed success cautions against hoping that the West’s sanctions against Russia can bring about an end to war in Ukraine."—The Economist, "Best Books of 2022" * Economist *

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Book SynopsisHow can we reduce inequalities? How can we make work get better recognition and better pay?Philippe Askenazy in this new book shows that the current share of wealth is far from natural; it results from rising rents and their capture by the actors best endowed in the economic game. In this race for rents, the world of work is the big loser: while many workers feed capital rents by increased productivity and worsened working conditions, they are stigmatized as unproductive and their earnings stagnate. By proposing a new description of the capital-work relationship, calling for a remobilization of the world of work, and particularly poorly paid employees, Askenazy shows that there is a more radical alternative to neoliberalism beyond simply redistribution.Trade ReviewThe latest book by Philippe Askenazy is extraordinarily refreshing and innovative and deserves a wide international readership. Askenazy shows convincingly that is above all the relationship of forces and the legal and institutional system in which these relations are expressed that determine the share of wealth. The descriptions of the possible emergence of a new, participatory trade unionism are particularly successful: by describing the innovative mobilisations of subway drivers in New York, London or Paris, of American nurses, not to speak of cleaning workers in the luxury hotels in Paris's 'golden triangle' or bus drivers in Silicon Valley, Askenazy gives one hope again and shows that several futures are possible in the framework of the existing globalisation that is underway. -- Thomas Piketty

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Book SynopsisA comparative ethnography of the responses on the ground to austerity policies in Southern EuropeTrade Review'Grassroots Economies offers an astute and heart-breaking account of the toll decades of austerity politics have taken on southern Europe. Each chapter offers remarkable insights - taken together they present a sober and illuminating portrait of dispossession and loss.' -- Jane Collins, author of 'The Politics of Value: Three Movements to Change How We Think about the Economy’'This book vividly documents how people faced with austerity policies activated intergenerational solidarity and self-sacrifice. It is a splendid, rigorously documented and well-written account of people's resilience in difficult times that may be of even greater interest now as the pandemic crisis unfolds.' -- Enzo Mingione, Professor of Sociology, University of Milano-Bicocca'This book shows how the real economy works and thus redefines key concepts in economics such as competition, monopoly, regulation, work and value. All economists should read this book.' -- Isabelle Guérin, Economist at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development'Susana Narotzky and her colleagues have inquired into the precarious lives of people confronted with austerity in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Their Grassroot Economies is a magistral endeavor to account for the current brutalisation of societies by capitalist practices and neoliberal policies.' -- Didier Fassin, author of 'Life: A Critical User’s Manual''This volume represents a major contribution to economic anthropology and to the comparative ethnology of southern Europe. It is a rich, evocative ethnographic portrait of lives and livelihoods under conditions of austerity in southern Europe.' -- Sharryn M. Kasmir, Professor of Anthropology, Hofstra UniversityTable of ContentsList of Abbreviations Series Preface Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: Grassroots Economics in Europe - Susana Narotzky PART I: MAKING A LIVING 2. Bondage Unemployment and Intra-class Tensions in Greek Energy Restructuring - Theodora Vetta 3. Work, Wage and Subsidy: Making a Living Between Regulation and Informalization - Antonio Maria Pusceddu 4. Criminalizing Livelihoods: “Illegal Vegetables” and the Return to the Home - Carmen Leidereiter 5. Austerity, Social Values and Value: The Social Economy and Entrepreneurship in Catalonia - Patricia Homs PART II: SOCIAL REPRODUCTION 6. Austerity Welfare and the Moral Significance of Needs in Portugal - Patrícia Matos 7. Family, Housing as an Asset, and the Production of Welfare - Jaime Palomera 8. Social Reproduction in Times of Crisis: Inter-Generational Tensions in Southern Europe - Susana Narotzky and Antonio Maria Pusceddu PART III: EXPERIENCING AND EMBODYING AUSTERITY 9. The Entrepreneur’s Other: Small Entrepreneurial Identity and the Collapse of Life Structures in the “Third Italy” - Giacomo Loperfido 10. The Body Politics of Austerity in Portugal and Spain: Women, Dispossession and Agency - Diana Sarkis and Patricia Matos 11. Austerity from Below: Class, Temporality and Scale in Grassroots Analyses of Crisis - Diana Sarkis and Stamatis Amarianakis Notes on Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisFocuses on the Japanese economic bureaucracy, particularly on the famous Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), as the leading state actor in the economy.Trade Review"There are, unfortunately, few books on Japanese politics and economics that deserve to be widely recommended to nonspecialists from either discipline, let alone to the generally informed public. Happily, Chalmers Johnson's excellent study is one of those rare gems that will demand attention from wide audiences. It is a sparkling addition to scholarship and literacy."—T. J. Pempel, Political Science Quarterly"Johnson's penetrating institutional analysis—full of sideswipes against cultural explanations—stimulated generations of research into the variations among capitalist systems, in Asia and beyond."—Andrew J. Nathan, Foreign AffairsTable of Contents1. The Japanese 'miracle' 2. The economic bureaucracy 3. The rise of industrial policy 4. Economic general staff 5. From the ministry of munitions to MITI 6. The institutions of high-speed growth 7. Administrative guidance 8. Internationalization 9. A Japanese model? Appendixes Notes Bibliography Index.

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Book SynopsisIn 2008, the first Green New Deal was devised by Pettifor and a group of English economist and thinkers, but was ignored within the tumults of the financial crash. A decade later, the ideas was revived within the democratic socialists in the US, forefront by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. The Green New Deal demands a radical and urgent reversal of the current state of the global economy: including total de-carbonisation and a commitment to fairness and social justice.Critics on all sides have been quick to observe that the GND is a pipe dream that could never be implemented, and would cost the earth. But, as Ann Pettifor shows, we need to rethink the function of money, and how it works within the global system. How can we bail out the banks but not the planet? We have to stop thinking about the imperative of economic growth-nothing grows for ever. The program will be a long term project but it needs to start immediately.Trade ReviewThe Case for the Green New Deal succinctly explains what the GND is, where the idea came from, why it's necessary, and how to make it happen. As an economist and expert in monetary theory, Pettifor is uniquely well placed to describe how the GND can be funded. * Morning Star *Demanding drastic, even impossible change as...Pettifor [does] may just be a way to ensure that something is done. * Financial Times *This awareness-raising contribution to an important debate should expand our understanding of what's possible and encourage us to take action * Labour Briefing *The Case for the Green New Deal...serves to inform and inspire a politics of alternatives to the otherwise forthcoming destruction of our planet. * Counterfire *Crucially, Pettifor debunks the idea that we could not afford to fund [a Green New Deal], arguing that the state is capable of financing a zero-emissions programme if constraints are put on moving capital. * Independent - Best Climate Change Books *

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Book SynopsisThis is a book that none of us can afford to ignore – an agenda-setting, campaigning investigation that shows how global finance works for the few and not the many.** A Financial Times Book of the Year **‘Essential reading’ YANIS VAROUFAKISWe need finance – but when finance grows too big it becomes a curse.The City of London is the single biggest drain on our resources, sucking talent out of every sphere, siphoning wealth and hoovering up government time. Yet to be ‘competitive’, we’re told we must turn a blind eye to money laundering and appease big business with tax cuts.Tracing the curse back through economic history, Nicholas Shaxson uncovers how we got to this point. Moving from offshore tax havens to the bizarre industry of wealth management, he tells the explosive story of how finance established a stranglehold on society – and reveals how we can begin to break free.‘A radical, urgent and important manifesto for improving our country’ Oliver Bullough, Observer‘Superbly written… A must-read’ Misha Glenny, author of McMafia‘Hard-hitting, well written and informative’ Financial TimesTrade ReviewUtterly convincing… The Finance Curse is a radical and important manifesto for improving Britain -- Oliver Bullough, author of MONEYLANDThis is a splendid polemic against modern finance, in general, and the City of London, in particular. It is hard-hitting, well written and informative. Instead of enabling productive investment, the predominant activity of contemporary finance is rent extraction. This comes in many different guises: modern finance does not only promote tax avoidance and evasion, but, argues Shaxson, enables gangsterism and corruption on an enormous scale. I fear he is right. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *This superbly written book shows definitively how global finance has been grossly mis-sold to us all. It’s a must-read for anyone who lives, works and spends in this country -- MISHA GLENNY, author of McMafiaGripping . . . a superbly written overview * Times Literary Supplement *Searing… Shaxson has form on being prescient ... his ideas should not be dismissed lightly -- Caroline Binham * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisPopulism, on both the right and the left, has spread like wildfire throughout Europe and the United States and is making inroads in other parts of the world. In simplest terms, populism is a political ideology that vilifies elites, minorities and foreigners while lionizing the people. It reached its apogee in the U.S. with the election of Donald Trump but has been a force in Europe since the Great Recession and the refugee crisis. We now see the rise of leaders with populist tendencies everywhere from Brazil to Turkey.In The Populist Temptation, Barry Eichengreen places this global resurgence of populism in its historical context. Populists have always thrived, he observes, in times of poor economic performance. Populism feeds on rising inequality, which augments the ranks of those left behind and fans dissatisfaction with the economic status quo. It responds to rapid economic change that heightens insecurity. These economic developments, Eichengreen shows, give rise to populist reactions when they highlight the divergent interests of the people and the elite. Banking and financial crises are a case in point: the financiers who are the precipitating agents of such crises are card-carrying members of the elite, and are seen as profiting at the expense of the people.But populism is also a protest against the declining influence of the traditions, beliefs and community of once-dominant groups. It is a reaction against the challenge posed by immigrants and minorities to the people as a homogeneous, well-defined entity. Populists capitalizing on these feelings appeal to a glorious, mythologized past grounded in the collective traditions of that once-dominant majority. They invoke nationalism and criticize politicians who embrace diversity, open borders and equal rights. Populism has particular appeal, Eichengreen shows, when these identity politics and economic grievances come together.There is no magic solution to these concerns, but Eichengreen points to a starting place: strengthening welfare state policies that make for greater equality of opportunity and social cohesion. Comparing Europe with the United States, he shows that America''s patchwork welfare state is less well equipped to deal with the fallout from globalization and technical change and the growing distance between social groups. This reality will be hard to change, since America''s limited welfare state reflects the country''s historically-rooted suspicion of big government. It is therefore in the United States, Eichengreen concludes, where the siren song of populism is most alluring--and dangerous.Trade ReviewBarry Eichengreen is the world leader in distilling the lessons of economic history for the policy makers of today. This important book is the best we yet have on populism and the antidotes it demands. * Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University *No one makes economic history relevant to today while doing justice to the past like Barry Eichengreen. The Populist Temptation is the best of American and European perspectives on the worst of current EU and US politics. Sobering and sensible, this is a necessary interpretative guide to our times. * Adam S. Posen, President, Peterson Institute for International Economics *Finally, a superb book that places populism in its proper historical context. And who better to write it than Barry Eichengreen, a master at shedding light on our contemporary economic problems from a historical perspective? Eichengreen brilliantly describes the backlash unleashed by economic difficulties and dislocation periodically throughout history, and the varying success of political regimes to rise to the challenge. Historical treatments with their focus on deeply rooted processes can be fatalistic. Eichengreen nicely sidesteps that trap, with a hopeful, constructive message pointing the way forward. * Dani Rodrik, Harvard University *In The Populist Temptation, Barry Eichengreen, amongst the foremost international economists today, explains why we are seeing an outburst of populist movements across the industrial world, and how they mirror similar movements from history. He argues that while the populists have genuine grievances, the solutions their leaders propose are unlikely to work. Eichengreen is skeptical that populists' concerns can be addressed easily. However, his insightful analysis is an essential starting point for anyone who wants to understand one of the most important developments of our times. * Raghuram G. Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago *Barry Eichengreen has written a characteristically lucid book on the contemporary threat of populism." - Financial TimesTable of ContentsPreface Chapter 1. The Populist Archetype Chapter 2. American Panorama Chapter 3. Luddites and Laborers Chapter 4. Voyage of the Bismarck Chapter 5. The Associationalist Way Chapter 6. Unemployment and Reaction Chapter 7. The Age of Moderation Chapter 8. Things Come Apart Chapter 9. Trumped Up Chapter 10. Breaking Point Chapter 11. Containment Chapter 12. Au Revoir Europe? Chapter 13. Prospects

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Book SynopsisThomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) was an English cleric whose ideas, as expounded in his most famous work the Essay on the Principle of Population, caused a storm of controversy. In this Very Short Introduction, Donald Winch explains and clarifies Malthus''s ideas, assessing the profound influence he has had on modern economic thought. Concentrating on his writings, Winch sheds light on the context in which he wrote and why his work has remained controversial. Looking at Malthus''s early life as well as the evolution of his theories from population to political economy, Winch considers why and how Malthus''s writings have been so influential in the thought of later figures such as Darwin and Keynes. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewWith population growth and food availability remaining major economic and social issues today, it is little wonder that Malthus ideas continue to resonate. This accessible and thorough clarification of his ideas is therefore as timely and relevant as ever. * Nicholas J. McMeniman, Australian Commonwealth Government, Political Studies Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ; 1. Reputation ; 2. Life ; 3. Population: the first Essay ; 4. Population: the second Essay ; 5. From population to political economy ; 6. The political economy of stable growth ; 7. Conclusion ; References ; Further reading

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Book SynopsisA challenge to the conventional wisdom surrounding financial risk, providing insight into why easy solutions to control the financial system are doomed to failTrade Review“In The Illusion of Control, [Daníelsson] argues that putting central banks in charge of financial stability is an error because they face ‘a complex, ill-defined policy domain for which there is no clear consensus on either the problem or the objective.’ So, the enterprise is doomed to fail. Separate agencies, with more direct political accountability, are needed for that task.”—Sir Howard Davies, The Guardian“In this thought-provoking book, Jón Daníelsson, professor of finance at the London School of Economics, offers five recommendations. First, ‘the real danger is endogenous risk,’ that is, the risks the system itself creates. Second, models of risk will always miss what matters. Third, remember the objectives of regulation. Fourth, think globally, not locally. Finally, encourage a diverse financial system, not a monoculture.”—Martin Wolf, Financial Times, “Best Books of 2022: Economics”“Daníelsson dives into why financial crises happen. His explanations also lay waste to conventional thinking.”—Mike Berner, The Tycoonist“Jón Daníelsson provides a fascinating synthesis of systemic financial crises, based on theoretical and empirical research.”—George Inderst, IPE“Too little financial regulation or too much of the wrong kind? Whatever your view, Jón Daníelsson’s lively account and richly informed discussion will surely intrigue you and challenge preconceptions.”—Patrick Honohan, former governor, Central Bank of Ireland“Financial regulators should be required to read this book. It shows in sparkling and non-technical language what aspects of risk can, and frequently cannot, be measured. Anyone concerned with portfolio management should read it.”—Charles Goodhart, London School of Economics“Jón Daníelsson makes a compelling case for a fundamental re-think in the approach to risk management taken by both financial services firms and their regulators. Those charged with the management, governance and regulation of risk—either at the level of an entity or an economy—should benefit enormously from Jón ’s alternative framework.”—Lutfey Siddiqi, Risk Management Institute, National University of Singapore“Is international cooperation on regulatory standards stifling good risk taking, leading to bad risk taking? Refreshingly critical, The Illusion of Control is an important contribution to the ongoing mapping of financial risk.”—Yves Mersch, former ECB board member and vice-chair, Single Supervisory Mechanism

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