Political economy Books

Book SynopsisTechnological advancements, expanding education, and unfettered capitalism have encouraged many around the world to aspire to better lives, even as declines in employment and widening inequality are pushing more and more people into insecurity and hardship. In Egypt, a generation of young men desire fulfilling employment, meaningful relationships, and secure family life, yet find few paths to achieve this. The Labor of Hope follows these educated but underemployed men as they struggle to establish careers and build satisfying lives. In so doing, this book reveals the lived contradiction at the heart of capitalist systems—the expansive dreams they encourage and the precarious lives they produce. Harry Pettit follows young men as they engage a booming training, recruitment, and entrepreneurship industry that sells the cruel meritocratic promise that a good life is realizable for all. He considers the various ways individuals cultivate distraction and hope for future mobility: education, migration, consumption, and prayer. These hope-filled practices are a form of emotional labor for young men, placing responsibility on the individual rather than structural issues in Egypt's economy. Illuminating this emotional labor, Pettit shows how the capitalist economy continues to capture the attention of the very people harmed by it.Trade Review"There is no doubt that Harry Pettit has the gift of ethnographic presentation. The Labor of Hope is an important, original, and truly laudable addition to the emerging literature on contemporary labor in Egypt."—Nefissa Naguib, University of Oslo, author of Nurturing Masculinities"The Labor of Hope is an amazing ethnography of capitalist dreams that motivate Egyptians of modest means to strive for success—a success largely denied by inequalities that push people towards precarious service work. Harry Pettit reveals what happens when you're inspired to be the next Steve Jobs, but the labor market wants you for the call center."—Samuli Schielke, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient,author ofMigrant Dreams"The Labor of Hope brings into sharp focus the emotive work undertaken by slipping middle classes as they endure the many indignities and compromised life-trajectories of a polarized labor market. Harry Pettit offers a penetrating analysis of the affective labor that underpins contemporary capitalism marked by steepening inequalities."—Bruce O'Neill, Saint Louis University, author of The Space of Boredom"There is no doubt that Harry Pettit has the gift of ethnographic presentation. The Labor of Hope is an important, original, and truly laudable addition to the emerging literature on contemporary labor in Egypt."—Nefissa Naguib, University of Oslo, author of Nurturing Masculinities"The Labor of Hope is an amazing ethnography of capitalist dreams that motivate Egyptians of modest means to strive for success—a success largely denied by inequalities that push people towards precarious service work. Harry Pettit reveals what happens when you're inspired to be the next Steve Jobs, but the labor market wants you for the call center."—Samuli Schielke, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient,author ofMigrant Dreams"The Labor of Hope brings into sharp focus the emotive work undertaken by slipping middle classes as they endure the many indignities and compromised life-trajectories of a polarized labor market. Harry Pettit offers a penetrating analysis of the affective labor that underpins contemporary capitalism marked by steepening inequalities."—Bruce O'Neill, Saint Louis University, author of The Space of BoredomTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Selling Hope 2. The Drugs of Life 3. Without Hope There Is No Life 4. The Labor of Love 5. The Migration of Hope Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA collection of previously untranslated writings by Henri Lefebvre on rural sociology, situating his research in relation to wider Marxist workOn the Rural is the first English collection to translate Lefebvre’s crucial but lesser-known writings on rural sociology and political economy, presenting a wide-ranging approach to understanding the historical and rural sociology of precapitalist social forms, their endurance today, and conditions of dispossession and uneven development. In On the Rural, Stuart Elden and Adam David Morton present Lefebvre’s key works on rural questions, including the first half of his book Du rural à l’urbain and supplementary texts, two of which are largely unknown conference presentations published outside France. On the Rural offers methodological orientations for addressing questions of economy, sociology, and geography by deploying insights from spatial political economy to decipher the rural as a terrain and stake of capitalist transformation. By doing so, it reveals the production of the rural as a key site of capitalist development and as a space of struggle. This volume delivers a careful translation—supplemented with extensive notes and a substantive introduction—to cement Lefebvre’s central contribution to the political economy of rural sociology and geography. Trade Review"On the Rural is a remarkable collection. Lefebvre wrote as a historian, a sociologist, a geographer, a political-economist, and a philosopher. This makes for challenging reading at times but there are also brilliant passages that will goad readers on to the next page. "—Cleveland Review of BooksTable of ContentsFrom the Rural to the Urban and the Production of SpaceStuart Elden and Adam David MortonNotes on TranslationAcknowledgments1. Introduction to From the Rural to the Urban (1969)2. Problems of Rural Sociology: The Peasant Community and its Historical-Sociological Problems (1949)3. Social Classes in Rural Areas: Tuscany and the mezzadria classica (1950)4. Perspectives on Rural Sociology (1953)5. Social Relations, Population Phenomena, and Labor Problems in the Agricultural Sector of Underdeveloped Countries (1954)6. The Village Community (1956)7. The Theory of Ground Rent and Rural Sociology (1956)8. The Marxist–Leninist Theory of Ground Rent (1964)9. Introduction to the Psychosociology of Everyday Life (1960)10. The New Urban Complex: Lacq-Mourenx and the Urban Problems of the New Working Class (1960)11. Experimental Utopia: For a New Urbanism (1961)12. The Valley of Campan: A Study in Historical Sociology (1963)Publication HistoryIndex

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Book SynopsisJust a few years ago, Greece appeared to be a politically secure nation with a healthy economy. Today, Greece can be found at the center of the economic maelstrom in Europe. Beginning in late 2008, the Greek economy entered a nosedive that would transform it into the European country with the most serious and intractable fiscal problems. Both the deficit and the unemployment rate skyrocketed. Quickly thereafter, Greece edged toward a pre-revolutionary condition, as massive anti-austerity protests punctuated by violence and vandalism spread throughout Greek cities. Greece was certainly not the only country hit hard by the recession, but nevertheless the entire world turned its focus toward it for a simple reason: the possibility of a Greek exit from the European Monetary Union, and its potential to unravel the entire Union, with other weaker members heading for the exits as well. The fate of Greece is inextricably tied up with the global politics surrounding austerity as well. Is austerTrade Review"Kalyvas' slim volume puts this story into perspective with remarkable clarity and brevity. If you read one general introduction to Greek politics, this should be it." -- Foreign AffairsTable of ContentsIntroduction ; Chapter One: Modern Greece as a project ; Did Modern Greece spring from Ancient Greece? ; How did the Greek National movement begin? ; What were the social sources of Greek Nationalism? ; Who were the Nationalists? ; How did Greece secede from the Ottoman Empire?Who rebelled? ; How did a Greek state emerge out of the war? ; How did international politics impact on the war? ; What was the European reaction to the Modern Greek project? ; How was the new state built? ; Why was nation-building successful? ; What was the state of the economy in 19th century Greece? ; How did democracy come to Greece? ; How did the new democratic institutions operate? ; How did Greece become a national of small land-holders? ; Chapter Two: State Consolidation and National Expansion ; What was the fate of Trikoupis' modernization project? ; What was the Great Idea? ; Who were the unredeemed Greeks? ; What were the consequences of irredentist foreign policy? ; What was the Macedonian Conflict? ; How did Greece double its territory? ; What was the National Schism? ; What was the Anatolian Disaster? ; What was the impact of the Anatolian Disaster? ; How did the military become politicized? ; How popular was communism in Greece? ; Chapter Three: War, Occupation, and Civil War ; What were the causes of the Greek Civil War? ; How did the occupation morph into civil war? ; What explains the rise of the communists? ; Why did KKE's competitors in the resistance fail? ; What drove collaboration in Greece? ; How was the postwar fate of Greece sealed? ; How did Greece become the frontline of the Cold War? ; Why did the winners win and the losers lose? ; What is the legacy of the Civil War ; Chapter Four: The Greek Miracle and Its Aftermath ; How did Greece take off? ; What Greece a democracy? ; What caused the April 1967 coup? ; Why was the transition to democracy so smooth? ; What was Greek Socialism and what explains its success? ; What was the impact of EU membership? ; Is Greek politics clientelistic? ; Why are Greeks and Turks fighting? ; Chapter Four: The 2010 Crisis ; Was the adoption of the Euro a good idea for Greece? ; How did Greece end up with an explosive debt? ; What has been the effect of the austerity program and the IMF/ECB/EU bailout? ; Conclusion ; What are the broader lessons of the Greek story? ; What does the future hold for Greece?

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Book SynopsisFor a century, economists have driven forward the cause of globalization in financial institutions, labour markets, and trade. Yet there have been consistent warning signs that a global economy and free trade might not always be advantageous. Where are the pressure points? What could be done about them? Dani Rodrik examines the back-story from its seventeenth-century origins through the milestones of the gold standard, the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the Washington Consensus, to the present day. Although economic globalization has enabled unprecedented levels of prosperity in advanced countries and has been a boon to hundreds of millions of poor workers in China and elsewhere in Asia, it is a concept that rests on shaky pillars, he contends. Its long-term sustainability is not a given. The heart of Rodrik''s argument is a fundamental ''trilemma'': that we cannot simultaneously pursue democracy, national self-determination, and economic globalization. Give too much power to governmentsTrade ReviewReview from previous edition This book takes on the biggest issue of our time - globalization - and eloquently enlarges the debate about the extent and limits of global cooperation * Gordon Brown, MP *In this powerfully argued book, Dani Rodrik makes the case for country-specific paths to economic development and saner, more sustainable forms of growth. A provocative look at the excesses of hyper-globalization, The Globalization Paradox should be required reading for those who seek to prevent the financial crises and unfair trade practices that feed the backlash against open markets * Nouriel Roubini, co-author of Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance *Dani Rodrik may be globalization's most prominent - and most thoughtful - gadfly. In The Globalization Paradox, he wonders aloud whether extreme globalization undermines democracy - and vice-versa. Read it and you'll wonder, too * Alan S. Blinder, former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve *His excellent new book is a sequel to an earlier book about the often disruptive impact of international trade on national labor markets and social policies. The new book develops and extends this theme to include financial globalization... Rodrik concludes by considering how the world economy might be reformed * Robert Rowthorn, Finance and Development *His message is nuanced and rigorous, drawing on history, logic and the latest economic data, he manages to convey it in simple, powerful prose tht any reader can follow * Steven Pearlstein, The Washington Post *Simply the best recent treatment of the globalization dilemma. . . he gives us nothing less than a general theory of globalization, development, democracy, and the state. The book provides the pleasure of following a thoughtful, critical mind working through a complex puzzle. Rodrik writes in highly friendly and nontechnical prose, blending a wide-ranging knowledge of economic history and politics and a gentle, occasionally incredulous, skepticism about the narrow and distorting lens of his fellow economists * Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Recasting Globalization's Narrative ; 1. Of States and Markets: Globalization in History's Mirror ; 2. The Rise and Fall of the First Great Globalization ; 3. Why Doesn't Everyone Get the Case for Free Trade? ; 4. Bretton Woods, GATT, and the WTO: Trade in a Politicized World ; 5. Financial Globalization Follies ; 6. The Foxes and Hedgehogs of Finance ; 7. Poor Countries in a Rich World ; 8. Trade Fundamentalism in the Tropics ; 9. The Political Trilemma of the World Economy ; 10. Is Global Governance Feasible? Is It Desirable? ; 11. Designing Capitalism ; 12. A Sane Globalization ; Afterword: A Bedtime Story for Grown-ups

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Why are measures of stress and anxiety on the rise, when economists and politicians tell us we have never had it so good? While statistics tell us that the vast majority of people are getting steadily richer the world most of us experience day-in and day-out feels increasingly uncertain, unfair, and ever more expensive. In Angrynomics, Eric Lonergan and Mark Blyth explore the rising tide of anger, sometimes righteous and useful, sometimes destructive and ill-targeted, and propose radical new solutions for an increasingly polarized and confusing world. Angrynomics is for anyone wondering, where the hell do we go from here?

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Book SynopsisSubprime Cities: The Political Economy of Mortgage Markets presents a collection of works from social scientists that offer insights into mortgage markets and the causes, effects, and aftermath of the recent ''subprime'' mortgage crisis. Provides an even-handed and detailed analysis of mortgage markets and the recent housing crisis Features contributions from various social scientists with expertise in critical social theories who have assembled and analyzed detailed empirical information Offers a unique and powerful rebuttal to many of the misleading popular explanations of the crisis and its aftermath Reveals how racial minorities and the neighbourhoods inhabited by them are more likely to be targeted by subprime and predatory lenders Trade Review"Aalbers has edited a commendable volume that makes a strong case for the centrality of urban processes in crisis formation. It has implications for a number of subfields in political science—including urban politics, economic and housing policy processes, race and ethnicity, politics and history, and federalism and intergovernmental relations—and should be read by scholars seeking to pinpoint the urban origins of the global financial crisis, as well as by those with an interest in learning more about the unavoidable and deepening connection between the fate of cities and the fate of nations." (Perspectives on Politics, 1 September 2013) “So its reading will benefit not only economic geographers, but also sociologists, political scientists and, dare we say, economists.” (Political Studies Review, 8 January 2014) "Aalbers has edited a commendable volume that makes a strong case for the centrality of urban processes in crisis formation. It has implications for a number of subfields in political science—including urban politics, economic and housing policy processes, race and ethnicity, politics and history, and federalism and intergovernmental relations—and should be read by scholars seeking to pinpoint the urban origins of the global financial crisis, as well as by those with an interest in learning more about the unavoidable and deepening connection between the fate of cities and the fate of nations."(Perspectives on Politics, September 2013) “The book will be extremely useful for advanced courses in economic geography, housing policy and related topics. It should be widely cited in the ongoing debates over the subprime crisis as well as in discussions of mortgage and housing markets more generally.” (International Journal of Housing Policy, 20 June 2013) “Overall, the book is a must-have for not only those interested in the economics, geography, and politics of the subprime crisis or mortgage markets, but also those more broadly interested in economic geography more broadly, especially as it concerns finance. The book will be extremely useful for advanced courses in economic geography, housing policy, and related topics. It should be widely cited in the ongoing debate over the subprime crisis as well as in discussions of mortgage and housing markets more generally.” (International Journal of Housing Policy, 2012) Table of ContentsList of Figures vii List of Tables viii Notes on Contributors ix Foreword: The Urban Roots of the Financial Crisis xiii David Harvey Series Editors’ Preface xx Acknowledgments xxi Part I Introduction 1 Subprime Cities and the Twin Crises 3 Manuel B. Aalbers Part II The Political Economy of the Mortgage Market 23 1 Creating Liquidity Out of Spatial Fixity: The Secondary Circuit of Capital and the Restructuring of the US Housing Finance System 25 Kevin Fox Gotham 2 Finance and the State in the Housing Bubble 53 Herman Schwartz 3 Expanding the Terrain for Global Capital: When Local Housing Becomes an Electronic Instrument 74 Saskia Sassen 4 Building New Markets: Transferring Securitization, Bond-Rating, and a Crisis from the US to the UK 97 Thomas Wainwright 5 European Mortgage Markets Before and After the Financial Crisis 120 Manuel B. Aalbers 6 The Reinvention of Banking and the Subprime Crisis: On the Origins of Subprime Loans, and How Economists Missed the Crisis 151 Gary A. Dymski Part III Cities, Race, and the Subprime Crisis 185 7 Redlining Revisited: Mortgage Lending Patterns in Sacramento 1930–2004 187 Jesus Hernandez 8 The New Economy and the City: Foreclosures in Essex County New Jersey 219 Kathe Newman 9 Race, Class, and Rent in America’s Subprime Cities 242 Elvin Wyly, Markus Moos, and Daniel J. Hammel Part IV Conclusion 291 10 Subprime Crisis and Urban Problematic 293 Gary A. Dymski Glossary 315 Index 324

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Book SynopsisWhy is it so difficult to develop and sustain liberal democracy? The best recent work on this subject comes from a remarkable pair of scholars, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. In their latest book, The Narrow Corridor, they have answered this question with great insight. -Fareed Zakaria, The Washington Post From the authors of the international bestseller Why Nations Fail, a crucial new big-picture framework that answers the question of how liberty flourishes in some states but falls to authoritarianism or anarchy in others--and explains how it can continue to thrive despite new threats. In Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson argued that countries rise and fall based not on culture, geography, or chance, but on the power of their institutions. In their new book, they build a new theory about liberty and how to achieve it, drawing a wealth of evidence from both current affairs and disparate threads of world history.   Liberty is hardly the natural order of things. In most places and at most times, the strong have dominated the weak and human freedom has been quashed by force or by customs and norms. Either states have been too weak to protect individuals from these threats, or states have been too strong for people to protect themselves from despotism. Liberty emerges only when a delicate and precarious balance is struck between state and society. There is a Western myth that political liberty is a durable construct, arrived at by a process of enlightenment. This static view is a fantasy, the authors argue. In reality, the corridor to liberty is narrow and stays open only via a fundamental and incessant struggle between state and society: The authors look to the American Civil Rights Movement, Europe’s early and recent history, the Zapotec civilization circa 500 BCE, and Lagos’s efforts to uproot corruption and institute government accountability to illustrate what it takes to get and stay in the corridor. But they also examine Chinese imperial history, colonialism in the Pacific, India’s caste system, Saudi Arabia’s suffocating cage of norms, and the “Paper Leviathan” of many Latin American and African nations to show how countries can drift away from it, and explain the feedback loops that make liberty harder to achieve. Today we are in the midst of a time of wrenching destabilization. We need liberty more than ever, and yet the corridor to liberty is becoming narrower and more treacherous. The danger on the horizon is not just the loss of our political freedom, however grim that is in itself; it is also the disintegration of the prosperity and safety that critically depend on liberty. The opposite of the corridor of liberty is the road to ruin.

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Book SynopsisA non-Eurocentric, sweeping look at the material conditions and events that created capitalismTrade Review'A fundamental rethinking of the origins of capitalism and the emergence of Western domination by the interactive relations with the non-European world. Highly Recommended.' -- CHOICE'A fascinating tour de force that will surely be debated in the fields of history, sociology, Marxism and International Relations for years to come' -- Justin Rosenberg, Professor in International Relations at the University of Sussex'An excellent book' -- Professor John M. Hobson, University of Sheffield'This rigorously argued book presents a compelling challenge to standard narratives of capitalist modernity. The authors combine theoretical sophistication and a wide-ranging account of extra-European histories to provide a superb - and provocative - alternative' -- Gurminder K Bhambra, author of Connected Sociologies'A superb account which successfully transcends a false dichotomy. Drawing on the best aspects of Historical Sociology and International Relations, and within a rigorous Marxist framework, the authors offer a challenge to all existing explanations of the rise of the West to world dominance' -- Neil Davidson, author of How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions?'There is much talk these days of Big History, yet the advocates invariably stop short of talking about capitalism. With their bold and wide-ranging treatment, Anievas and Nişancıoğlu now place the origins of capitalism at the very centre of the agenda' -- Geoff Eley, Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Michigan'An excellent, inventive and fascinating piece of scholarship' -- Tony Mckenna, Marx & Philosophy Review of Books'A work of towering scholarly erudition combined with deep political insights that must be reckoned with' -- Louis Proyect'Provocative and brilliant ... An enormous contribution to redressing the one-sided debates about the origins of capitalism and the West's conquest of the planet ... Their book should be read by anyone hoping to understand as well as challenge Eurocentrism, imperialism, and the capitalist system as a whole' -- International Socialist Review'Provides an important introduction to a truly global history of the origins of capitalism which recognises the vital inputs and roles of a range of non-European societies' -- Review of African Political EconomyTable of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Transition Debate: Theories and Critique 2. Rethinking the Origins of Capitalism: The Theory of Uneven and Combined Development 3. The Long Thirteenth Century: Structural Crisis, Conjunctural Catastrophe 4. The Ottoman-Habsburg Rivalry over the Long Sixteenth Century 5. The Atlantic Sources of European Capitalism, Territorial Sovereignty and the Modern Self 6. The ‘Classical’ Bourgeois Revolutions in the History of Uneven and Combined Development 7. Combined Encounters: Dutch Colonisation in South-East Asia and the Contradictions of ‘Free Labour’ 8. Origins of the Great Divergence over the Longue Durée: Rethinking the ‘Rise of the West’ Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisAcclaim for previous edition:'Benjamin J. Cohen's Advanced Introduction to International Political Economy evaluates the fragmented intellectual landscape of international political economy and suggests points of convergence, if not integration, among its varied elements. His analysis is wide-ranging and balanced, geographically and in its examination of a variety of standpoints; it is engaging in its combination of sympathy and criticism. All advanced students of the field will benefit from reading it.'- Robert O. Keohane, Princeton University, US Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Now in its second edition, Benjamin J. Cohen's introduction provides a comprehensive and up-to-date global survey of the field of international political economy. With detailed discussions regarding the divergent paths of different schools of thought in the field, this unique guide explores the links between contending factions. This Advanced Introduction gives students access to the multiple analytical styles and traditions of all perspectives in this rich field of study. Key features of the second edition: ? Concise introduction to the field in an accessible, non-technical form updated with the most recent discussions in IPE? Further in depth analysis of the most established American and British schools of IPE? Extended discussion of other key regions contributing to IPE, including Continental Europe, Latin America, Australia, Canada and China. Written in a concise and dynamic style, this Advanced Introduction serves as a thoughtful entry point text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as being an excellent go-to resource for scholars specializing in international political economy.Trade ReviewAcclaim for previous edition:'There is no better guide through the terrain of international political economy. Jerry Cohen has been a major contributor since the contemporary field emerged in the late 1960s at the intersection of international relations and international economics. He remains a superbly clear writer with first-hand knowledge of the key developments in what is now a truly global discipline. I recommend this book enthusiastically for introductory courses at the undergraduate or graduate levels.' --Louis W. Pauly, University of Toronto, Canada'A concise, readable and deeply informed survey of different approaches to international political economy. Essential reading for students in the field. Even advanced professionals will appreciate the diversity of perspectives examined. Cohen aims to create a more open field of IPE that appreciates and learns from difference. This book is a major contribution towards that goal.' --David A. Lake, University of California, San Diego, US'Jerry Cohen occupies that rare position from which, when he defines a field, other people sit up and take notice. Here, his experience, insight and vision are brought to bear on how best to define international political economy (IPE) for students who are already familiar with its basic subject matter. Written with his usual panache and in his usual engaging prose, this is a must-read book for both advanced students of IPE and the people who teach them.' --Matthew Watson, University of Warwick, UKTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. The American school 3. America’s “Left-Out” 4. The British school 5. Britain’s “Far-Out” 6. Continental Europe 7. Latin America 8. China 9. The geography of IPE 10. What have we learned? Index

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Book SynopsisIn Resource Nationalism in Indonesia, Eve Warburton traces nationalist policy trajectories in Indonesia back to the preferences of big local business interests. Commodity booms often prompt more nationalist policy styles in resource-rich countries. Usually, this nationalist push weakens once a boom is over. But in Indonesia, a major global exporter of coal, palm oil, nickel, and other minerals, the intensity of nationalist policy interventions increased after the early twenty-first-century commodity boom came to an end. Equally puzzling, the state applied nationalist policies unevenly across the land and resource sectors. Resource Nationalism in Indonesia explains these trends by examining the economic and political benefits that accrue to domestic business actors when commodity prices soar. Warburton shows how the centrality of patronage to Indonesia's democratic political economy, and the growing importance of mining and palm oil as drivers of export earnings, enhanced both the instrumental and structural power of major domestic companies, giving them new influence over the direction of nationalist change.

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Book Synopsis"A powerful case for limitarianism—the idea that we should set a maximum on how much resources one individual can appropriate. A must-read!" —Thomas Piketty, bestselling author of Capital in the Twenty-First CenturyAn original, bold, and convincing argument for a cap on wealth by the philosopher who coined the term "limitarianism."How much money is too much? Is it ethical, and democratic, for an individual to amass a limitless amount of wealth, and then spend it however they choose? Many of us feel that the answer to that is no—but what can we do about it?Ingrid Robeyns has long written and argued for the principle she calls "limitarianism"—or the need to limit extreme wealth. This idea is gaining momentum in the mainstream – with calls to "tax the rich" and slogans like "every billionaire is a policy failure"—but what does it mean in practice?Robeyns explains the key reasons to support the case against extreme wealth: It keeps the poor poor and inequalities growing It’s often dirty money It undermines democracy It’s one of the leading causes of climate change Nobody actually deserves to be a millionaire There are better things to do with excess money The rich will benefit, too This will be the first authoritative trade book to unpack the concept of a cap on wealth, where to draw the line, how to collect the excess and what to do with the money. In the process, Robeyns will ignite an urgent debate about wealth, one that calls into question the very forces we live by (capitalism and neoliberalism) and invites us to a radical reimagining of our world.Trade Review"A powerful case for limitarianism – the idea that we should set a maximum on how much resources one individual can appropriate. A must-read!"—Thomas Piketty, bestselling author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century"Robeyns has written an essential book from a radical point of view. It is high time someone asked the question, "Is there such a thing as having too much money?" Along with its corollary question, 'So what are we going to do about it?' Robeyns tackles both with deep knowledge, experience and empathy." —Abigail Disney, filmmaker, philanthropist, and activist "Is it possible to meet the needs of all people within the means of the living planet? Definitely not in a world dominated by extreme wealth, as Ingrid Robeyns powerfully argues. This landmark book combines meticulous logic with compelling personal stories to draw everyone - from the super-rich to the super-riled - into one of the most critical public debates of our times. Read it." —Kate Raworth, bestselling author of Doughnut Economics "Limiting extreme wealth is an idea whose time has surely come and Ingrid Robeyns makes a powerful case for why this should be a priority for public and political debate. Limitarianism builds on what the epidemiology shows so clearly - inequality damages all of us and it needs to be tackled with the greatest urgency." —Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Livel "Robeyns proves that in a true democracy there are no rights without duties – no wealth without limits. Limitarianism offers a way to re-democratize wealth and thus re-socialize the richest 1%." —Marlene Engelhorn, author of Geld and co-founder of taxmenow "Many people accept that there is a threshold that no one should fall below. But few have thought that there is a threshold that no one should be free to soar above. In this wonderful book, Ingrid Robeyns presents a novel and nuanced set of arguments for just such an upper threshold. This is a model of how to bring rigorous analysis to bear on practical issues, and to do so in an engaging, humane and accessible way." —Debra Satz, author of Why Some Things Should Not Be For Sale"Ingrid Robeyns raises what, historically, would be a tendentious question because in the Industrial Age a rising tide of wealth tended to lift yachts and dinghies alike. But in our Digital Age yachts proliferate while dinghies get swamped. Robeyns’ argument that top heavy wealth is sinking living standards for the many, spreading economic fear that authoritarians exploit is sound and her thoughtful ideas for reining in extreme wealth are provocative."—David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Perfectly Legal, Free Lunch, and It's Even Worse Than You Think"Effortlessly navigating between ethics, political theory, economics and public policy, Ingrid Robeyns’ nuanced and persuasive defence of limitarianism is also a much-needed manifesto for reimagining political institutions." —Lea Ypi, author of Free: Coming of Age at the End of History "Robeyns delivers an urgent, thought provoking treatise that is both a compelling critique of limitless inequality and an imaginative account of a world without the superrich." —Peter Geoghegan, author of Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics "The best case I've read for putting an upper limit on the accumulation of wealth. Even the super-rich might be glad if there was a finishing line!" —Richard Wilkinson, bestselling author of The Spirit Level and The Inner Level (with Kate Pickett)"There is a limit beyond which additional wealth can’t do much to enhance its owner’s life or happiness. But our economic system generates fortunes far beyond any such limit. Is the existence of billionaires and multi-millionaires a necessary feature of a system that makes everyone better off in the long run? Or is it one of the sources of the growing inequality and political breakdown that we see today? Ingrid Robyens makes a convincing case that an upper limit on wealth would be good for society as a whole and even for the wealthy themselves." —John Quiggin, author of Zombie Economics"Ingrid Robeyns makes a compelling case for limiting extreme wealth, along economic, political and moral lines—and outlines the structural, fiscal and ethical actions required to achieve this. This argument has never been more important, and this book is a persuasive call to action." —Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts AmherstTable of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: How much is too much?Chapter 2: Keeping the poor poor while inequalities growChapter 3: Dirty moneyChapter 4: Undermining democracyChapter 5: Setting the world on fireChapter 6: Nobody deserves to be a multimillionaireChapter 7: There’s so much we can do with excess moneyChapter 8: Philanthropy is not the answerChapter 9: The rich will benefit, tooConclusion: the road ahead

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Book SynopsisThis powerful book shows how poor countries can ignite growth without waitingfor global action or the creation of ideal local conditions.Trade Review"Shortlisted for the 2018 Africa-Asia ICAS Book Prize, International Convention of Asia Scholars and Association for Asian Studies in Africa"

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Book SynopsisA powerful analysis of how the bias towards wealth that is woven into the very fabric of American capitalism is damaging people, the economy, and the planet, and what the foundations of a new economy could be.This bold manifesto exposes seven myths underlying wealth supremacy, the bias that institutionalizes infinite extraction of wealth by and for the wealthy, and is the hidden force behind economic injustice, the climate crisis, and so many other problems of our day: The Myth of Maximizing: No amount of wealth is ever enough. The Myth of Fiduciary Duty: Corporate managers? most sacred duty is to expand capital. The Myth of Corporate Governance: Corporate membership must be reserved for capital alone. The Myth of the Income Statement: Income to capital must always be increased, while income to labor must always be decreased. The Myth of Materiality: Profit?material gain?alone is real, while social and environmental damages are not. The Myth of Takings: The first duty of government must be the protection of private property. The Myth of the Free Market: There should be no limits on the field of action of corporations and capital. Kelly argues instead for the democratization of ownership: public ownership of vital services, worker-owned businesses, and more. And she sketches the outlines of a non-extractive capitalism that would be subordinate to the public interest. This is an ambitious reimagining of the very foundations of our economy and society.

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Book SynopsisA case for a re-reading of world history in terms of foreign relationsTrade Review'Van der Pijl's innovative concept 'modes of foreign relations'challenges Marxists to revisit international relations and encouragesinternational relations specialists to broaden their horizons as herelates a fascinating interpretation of global politics stretching fromnomads to Empires, old and new. A wonderful, provocative book' -- Robert O'Brien, Professor of Global Labour Issues, McMaster University'Tracing the history of foreign relations, Kees van der Pijl shows that they are inscribed in daily life. Nomads, Empires, States is an artful study that redefines the field of international studies' -- James H. Mittelman, Professor, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC'His highly accessible tour de force is rich, provocative, and interesting. It is also important for an understanding of this difficult and (hopefully) transitional moment in history' -- George Wright, Professor Emeritus, Department of Poltical science, California State University.'A masterful work of historical materialism, showing how human social organisation proceeds from its manipulation of nature and technology, how human social organisations are transformed through their 'foreign relations' with other such organisations, and how such relations are becoming internal rather than 'international'. Whatever one might think of the human future after reading this book, it will certainly leave one thinking about it' -- Ronnie D. Lipschutz, Professor of Politics University of California, Santa Cruz'An intellectual tour de force! This important, innovative and insightful book challenges the dominant Euro-centric and state-centric approach to International Relations. By offering an alternative framework based on the concept of 'modes of foreign relations,' Van der Pijl takes us on a journey through time that allows us to grasp the origins and development of 'relations between communities.'' -- Susanne Soederberg, Canada Research Chair, Department of Development Studies, Queen’s University, Canada.'A work of scholarship, imagination, cogency and irreducible humanistic optimism' -- Professor Fred Halliday, LSE'Provides a majesterial and authentic historical materialist account of 'foreign relations' that is at once conceptually innovative and deeply historical. This impressive work deserves a very wide readership, particularly by those of us who recognise the importance of van der Pijl's subject but make use of different theoretical traditions' -- Dr Randall Germain, Associate Professor, Carleton University, Canada.'Synthesises a massive amount of research in dividing human history into four main modes of foreign relations: tribal, empire/nomad, sovereign equality, and global governance. A convincing case is made for the power of his theorisation of our past and its crucial contribution not only for understanding the present, but also for mapping the paths to desirable futures' -- Robert Albritton, Professor Emeritus, York University, Toronto, CanadaTable of ContentsPreface 1. Foreign Relations and the Marxist Legacy 2. Tribal Encounters 3. Imperial Universalism and the Nomad Counterpoint 4. The Conquest of the Oceans-Ethnogenesis of the West 5. Worlds of Difference References Index

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisIn this Very Short Introduction James Fulcher considers what capitalism is, the forms it can take around the world, and its history of crises and long-term development. In this new edition he discusses the fundamental impact of the global financial crises of 2007-8 and what it has meant for capitalism worldwide.Table of Contents1. What is capitalism? ; 2. Where did it come from? ; 3. How did we get here? ; 4. Is capitalism the same everywhere? ; 5. Has capitalism gone global? ; 6. Crisis? What crisis? ; References ; Further reading ; Index

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Book SynopsisIn the 1840s, La Crosse, Wisconsin, was barely more than a trading post nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River. But by 1900 the sleepy frontier town had become a thriving city. Hinterland Dreams tracks the growth of this community and shows that government institutions and policies were as important as landscapes and urban boosters in determining the small Midwestern city''s success. The businessmen and -women of La Crosse worked hard to attract government support during the nineteenth century. Federal, state, and municipal officials passed laws, issued rulings, provided resources, vested aldermen with financial and regulatory power, and created a lasting legal foundation that transformed the city and its economy. As historian Eric J. Morser demonstrates, the development of La Crosse and other small cities linked rural people to the wider world and provided large cities like Chicago with the lumber and other raw materials needed to grow even larger. He emphasizes the rTrade Review"An enjoyable and innovative look into the forging of American individualism and exceptionalism." * Urban History *"From the perspective of a small city in the Midwest, Morser impressively contributes to our understanding of how the 'hinterland dreams' of a small city could affect regional development." * Journal of American History *"Good history occasionally intersects with good storytelling to create a remarkable result. This book is one such happy achievement. . . . Fascinating . . . Highly recommended." * Choice *"Hinterland Dreams is a clearly written, well organized, and thoroughly researched work. Urban history has focused on the giants like Chicago. Smaller cities have largely been neglected until now. By examining La Crosse, Wisconsin, Morser breaks new ground and offers a needed reminder of the importance of government in urban development." * Jon C. Teaford, Purdue University *Table of ContentsPrologue: Professor Turner's Audience Part I. Paving the Way Chapter One. Red Bird's Tale Chapter Two. A Story of Settlement Chapter Three. Politics and Pine Part II. Boosting Municipal Power Chapter Four. Iron Tracks to the City Chapter Five. "The Most Necessary Reformes" Part III. New Economic Voices Chapter Six. From White Beaver to Working Man Chapter Seven. Fredericka's World Conclusion. "A City of Bustling Trade" Notes Index Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisThe West has long defined the pursuit of happiness in economic terms but now, in the wake of the 2007-8 financial crisis, it is time to think again about what constitutes our happiness.In this wide-ranging new book, the leading economist Daniel Cohen traces our current malaise back to the rise of homo economicus: for the last 200 years, the modern world has defined happiness in terms of material gain. Homo economicus has cast aside its rivals, homo ethicus and homo empathicus, and spread its neo-Darwinian logic far and wide. Yet, instead of bringing happiness, homo economicus traps human beings in a world devoid of any ideals. We are left feeling empty and dissatisfied.Today more and more people are beginning to recognize that competition and material gain are not the only things that matter in life. The central paradox of our era is that we look to the economy to give direction to our world at the very time when social needs are migrating toward sectors that arTrade Review"What are we losing, as we are increasingly pressured to define the pursuit of happiness in narrowly economic terms? That is the question Daniel Cohen asks – and indeed answers – with frequently piercing new insights in this thought-provoking combination of ancient history, sociology, psychology and alternative economics." Colin Crouch, University of Warwick "The economy is the driving force of our world but to what end? In a fascinating book, the economist Daniel Cohen offers a long-term perspective on the relation between the search for individual happiness and the market. He shows how the market, in imposing its own model and valuing competition above everything else, has disrupted the relations between human beings. The emergence and eventual triumph of Homo Economicus has led to the collapse or stagnation of the indicators of wellbeing in the most advanced countries." Libération "Find happiness, or try to achieve it: a topic addressed often in the past by literature or philosophy is now a topic for economics. In Homo Economicus, the economist Daniel Cohen shows how our ultra-competitive societies have disrupted social relations and undermined all the indicators of wellbeing. He starts from a sombre fact: never before has so much wealth been created, never have people had access to so many goods, and yet they are not happier – if anything they are less happy. Why?" Le Monde "A highly readable, thought-provoking critique." Political Studies ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgements vi Introduction 1 1 Gross Domestic Happiness 5 2 Work: A Diminishing Value 20 3 The Decline of Empire 34 4 De-Centring the World 54 5 The Great Western Crisis 76 6 Darwin's Nightmare 91 7 The Postmodern Condition 106 Conclusion 124 Notes 127 Index 145

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Book Synopsis* A robust and unflinching account of the ongoing take-over of politics by global corporations * Lifts the lid on the world of lobbying, trade negotiations and treaties, in particular the controversial TTIP and its likely ramifications for national sovereignty in Europe and in the US.Trade Review"Susan George�s work has provided deep understanding of the world in which we live. Shadow Sovereigns carries these insights further to the carefully hidden core of global decision-making, a matter of prime significance for those who hope to take their fate into their own hands in times when critical decisions will determine the future of the human experiment."Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "Driven by a virulent strain of neoliberalism, the global corporate assault on democracy has now reached unprecedented and planet-cooking extremes. Nobody is better qualified than Susan George to document and dissect the inner workings of this process. The result is a book will galvanize those new to the subject while providing veteran opponents with renewed urgency and fresh insights." Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything and The Shock Doctrine "Susan George has found and revealed the blueprint that transnational corporations are using to conquer our political system. In this vital book, written with characteristic rigor and flair, she lifts the veil on the many mechanisms through which corporations buy politicians, manipulate global policy, and in the process render our democracy a farcical pantomime. Most importantly, Shadow Sovereigns hauls corporations out of the dark where they like to operate and shows them to be the frontline troops in the neoliberal assault on public life. George�s diagnosis that the grand Enlightenment tradition is being fatally corrupted by what she calls the Great Neoliberal Regression is chilling. But by shining a light on our new silent rulers and telling us how they work, George replenishes the intellectual armory we need to fight back." Matt Kennard, author of Irregular Army and The RacketTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter One: Lobbies, Mega-Lobbies and How To Join Them Chapter Two: Transnational Treaties: Tailored By and For Transnational Corporations Chapter Three: “Regulatory Cooperation”: More Danger Ahead Chapter Four: Corporate Troops Invade the United Nations Chapter Five: Davos: Designer Of The Future? Conclusion

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year""Winner of the Gyorgy Ranki Prize, Economic History Association""Essential reading for economic historians."---Anne McCants, Journal of Economic History"[A] compendious history. . . . The geographic breadth and temporal length of [Ogilvie's] coverage make The European Guilds unique."---Marc Levinson, Wall Street Journal"The new and highly comprehensive book by Sheilagh Ogilvie . . . . likely to stand as one of the more important works of economic history from the last decade."---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution"A major contribution to economic history and institutional economics."---Mark Koyama, The Review of Austrian Economics"A comprehensive study of European guilds."---Steven A. Epstein, H-France Review"Ogilvie has re-galvanised the debate on guilds."---Richard Goddard, Medieval Archaeology"A learned and comprehensive study of an institution that stood at the heart of the European non-agricultural economy for over seven centuries."---Jan de Vries, EH.net"Ogilvie’s wide-ranging and scrutinous analysis of craft guilds is an essential and stimulating read for all scholars interested in guilds and institutions."---Arie van Steensel, Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History"Ogilvie’s arguments are so well established in empirical terms, and so thoroughly designed, that all those who harbor more friendly attitudes toward guilds will have serious difficulties refuting her conclusions. . . . A unique contribution to the history of guilds.—Josef Ehmer, Renaissance Quarterly"

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Book SynopsisLooks at the ways governments have supported entrepreneurs and venture capitalists across decades and continents. This title provides insights into why some public initiatives work while others are hobbled by pitfalls, and offers suggestions for how public ventures should be implemented.Trade ReviewCo-Winner of the 2010 Gold Medal Book Award in Entrepreneurship, Axiom Business Winner of the 2009 PROSE Award in Business, Finance & Management, Association of American Publishers "[S]uperb."--Edward L. Glaeser, New York Times' Economix blog "Lots of governments would like to promote high-tech entrepreneurship and venture capital in their regions--but many don't know how to do it effectively. In his new book Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Josh Lerner ... examines which types of policies to promote entrepreneurship and venture capital tend to work--and which don't. Lerner supports his carefully researched analysis with numerous examples chosen from around the globe."--MIT Sloan Management Review "Can governments spark start-up activity and job creation by getting into the venture capital business? Or do they just waste taxpayer money whenever they try? Those are the two questions that animate the new book from Harvard Business prof Josh Lerner, Boulevard of Broken Dreams... [W]hile the stories of failures are entertaining, what's most useful about Boulevard are the examples of governments that have gotten it right... [A] really readable collection of data, anecdotes, and thoughtful arguments."--Scott Kirsner, Boston Globe blog "Innovation Economy" "Today, calls for more innovation and entrepreneurship are more fashionable than ever, especially within government, where politicians and bureaucrats wastefully attempt to manufacture, via policy and subsidies, fresh batches of master agents and adventurers. But can government policy trigger entrepreneurship and subsequent growth? The title of a new book suggests not, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, by Harvard professor Josh Lerner. Much of Broken Dreams is a first-rate handbook for policy makers keen to avoid interventions that have proven track records as disasters. Lerner produces example after example of bad program design, bad implementation and plain dumb, even corrupt, policy making."--Terence Corcoran, National Post "Mr. Lerner provides more than a dozen rules of thumb for effective government intervention in the private sector."--Harry Hurt III, New York Times "[A] useful book."--David Brooks, New York Times "During economic turmoil, many look to the government to boost the economy by investing in entrepreneurship. But is that a good idea? Josh Lerner wrestles with that question in Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which considers the history of the public sector's involvement in entrepreneurship and venture capitalism--what's worked, from Silicon Valley to Singapore, and what's gone horribly awry... This book aims to steer policymakers in the right direction."--BizEd Magazine "The book is instructive, well researched and contains some wise lessons from the past in terms of the government's role in promoting entrepreneurship and growth businesses... [T]ake note, politicians and mandarins: this book can provide much-needed advice and perhaps a shortcut to developing more effective policies... [R]ecommended reading to any local economic development practitioner who takes an interest in the big policy questions of today, and [it has] direct relevance to local economic development."--Glenn Athey, Local EconomyTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments vii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 PART ONE: CAN BUREAUCRATS HELP ENTREPRENEURS? 23 CHAPTER TWO: A Look Backwards 25 CHAPTER THREE: Why Should Policymakers Care? 43 CHAPTER FOUR: Things Get More Complicated 65 PART TWO: THREADING THE NEEDLE 87 CHAPTER FIVE: The Neglected Art of Setting the Table 89 CHAPTER SIX: How Governments Go Wrong: Bad Designs 111 CHAPTER SEVEN: How Governments Go Wrong: Bad Implementation 137 CHAPTER EIGHT: The Special Challenges of Sovereign Funds 162 CHAPTER NINE: Lessons and Pitfalls 181 Notes 193 Index 219

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Book SynopsisThe idea that the people have a right to shape political decisions through democratic means is widely accepted. The same cannot be said of the decisions that impact on our everyday economic life in the workplace and beyond. Andrew Cumbers shows why this is wrong, and why, in the context of the rising tide of populism and the perceived crisis of liberal democracy, economic democracy's time has come. Four decades of market deregulation, financialisation, economic crisis and austerity has meant a loss of economic control and security for the majority of the world's population. The solution must involve allowing people to 'take back control' of their economic lives. Cumbers goes beyond older traditions of economic democracy to develop an ambitious new framework that includes a traditional concern with workplace rights and collective bargaining, but shifts the focus to include consideration of individual economic rights and processes of public engagement and deliberation beyond the workplace. This topical and original book will be essential reading for anyone interested in radical solutions for our economic and political crises.Trade ReviewAcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter One: A Brief History of Economic Democracy as Industrial DemocracyChapter Two: The Three Pillars of Economic DemocracyChapter Three: Putting Economic Democracy into PracticeConclusionNotesReferences

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History""Winner of the Henry Adams Book Prize, Society for History in the Federal Government""Winner of the PROSE Award in North American History, Association of American Publishers""Honorable Mention for the Theodore Saloutos Book Award, Immigration and Ethnic History Society""Finalist for the Shapiro Book Prize, The Shapiro Center for American History and Culture at The Huntington""In his superbly researched and briskly narrated The Deportation Machine, Adam Goodman, an assistant professor of history and Latin American and Latino studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, comprehensively recasts the way we think about expulsions from the US and their effects."---Julia Preston, New York Review of Books"Could not be timelier. The Deportation Machine provides new, crucial insights into the history of migrant expulsion and the origins of today's crises."---Hilary Goodfriend, NACLA Report on the Americas"The Deportation Machine is the first book to measure accurately the magnitude of exclusion and removal in modern American history. With painstaking archival work, Goodman tracks the true, and truly devastating, extent of removal policies. He makes an essential contribution."---Allison Brownell Tirres, Public Books"Adam Goodman, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, examines how immigration policies and practices have been shaped as much by those who interpret, administer, execute and enforce the laws as by those who write them. . . . Although these measures may appear extreme, distasteful and even un-American, they are, Goodman reminds us, a continuation rather than a deviation from past practices."---David Nasaw, New York Times Book Review"[A] superb history. . . . The Deportation Machine unearths policies and practices that have received scant attention and contributes immeasurably to our understanding of the dark side of immigration policy."---Susan Hartmann, H-Net Reviews"Deportation policy in the United States is nonsensical because it is determined by two opposing impulses: racist hate and greed. We want immigrants because they do cheap work we won’t do ourselves, but we don’t want them because they represent, in the eyes of some Americans, a threat to our way of life. . . . Goodman is sharp on this contradiction. He demonstrates that the federal government’s immigration policy emerges from a desire both to control the borders and to cater to employers, who want to maintain a ‘well-regulated, exploitable migrant labor force."---Rachel Nolan, Harper's Magazine"Exacting study of the historical roots of U.S. deportation policies. . . . [Goodman] confidently handles arcane historical details and a volatile subject. A well-researched historical discussion with clear current relevance." * Kirkus Reviews *"Adam Goodman’s The Deportation Machine offers an expansive, readable, and thought-provoking rethinking of the history of deportation in the United States. . . . [A] sweeping, engaging overview of U.S. deportation that will encourage scholars of immigration and the state to think differently about practices of exclusion today."---Abigail Andrews, American Journal of Sociology"Indeed, there is now a burgeoning critical deportation literature in law, history, and the social sciences. In The Deportation Machine, Adam Goodman offers a powerful, well-written, thoughtful addition to this emerging body of work."---Daniel Kanstroom, Western Historical Quarterly"For sociologists and political scientists studying deportation, the book provides a clear and expansive narrative about the ways in which formal deportation, voluntary departure and self-deportation feed into each other and have profoundly shaped the way non-citizens are deported from the United States from the late 19th century to present day."---Laura Cleton, International Migration"Goodman’s analysis of the human costs of the business of deportation represents another critical contribution to our understanding of expulsion and of the role that profits play in keeping the deportation machine functioning. . . . [An] engaging and beautifully written book."---Maddalena Marinari, California History"A fine and comprehensive history of deportations from the United States."---Raymond L. Cohn, EH.net

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“This brief but powerful book is a much-needed—and timely—Guide for the Perplexed Citizen, and it is as wise as it is witty. Capitalism and Democracy is a masterful synthesis of disparate sources, and a highly intelligent assessment and critique of arguments advanced by various economists, political theorists, and politicians. Spragens’s prose is pithy, clear, and a delight to read.” —Terence Ball, co-author of Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal“Capitalism and Democracy is a remarkably evenhanded book, and especially so in these highly contentious days. Spragens joins a sophisticated understanding of political theory to economic analysis and provides a fuller account of what is at stake in debates about the extent to which the market should be ‘free’ and the government should ‘interfere’ with it than one usually finds in writings on these matters. I read it practically straight through and found it almost as enjoyable as reading a good novel.” —Richard Dagger, author of Playing Fair"The free-market process is ultimately based on the reality of who we are as human beings. The free economy is not an ‘instrument’ but a ‘process’ which allows the ‘flourishing’ of the human person. . . . Spragens’s study is a most worthwhile contribution in this ongoing discussion." —VoegelinViewTable of ContentsForeword Introduction 1. The Political Economy Debate: What Brings Prosperity? 2. The Moral Philosophy Debate: Are Market Outcomes Morally Acceptable? 3. Markets and the Good Society 4. Why No Slam Dunk Answers 5. Conclusion: Toward Reasonable Judgements

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Book SynopsisGDP is much more than a simple statistic. It has become the overarching benchmark of success and a powerful ordering principle at the heart of the global economy. But the convergence of major economic, social and environmental crises has exposed the flaws of our economic system which values GDP above all else as a measure of prosperity and growth. In this provocative and inspiring new book, political economist Lorenzo Fioramonti sets out his vision of a world after GDP. Focusing on pioneering research on alternative metrics of progress, governance innovation and institutional change, he makes a compelling case for the profound and positive transformations that could be achieved through a post-GDP system of development. From a new role for small business, households and civil society to a radical evolution of democracy and international relations, Fioramonti sets out a combination of top-down reforms and bottom-up pressures whose impact, he argues, would be unprecedented, making it possible to build a more equitable, sustainable and happy society.Trade Review "Fioramonti's critique of the limitations of GDP is extremely well constructed, highly appropriate and relevant."—Colin Crouch, University of Warwick, UK "What governments don't track today is often far more important than what they do because what we measure changes how we behave – and how we think. And changing what we think is essential if we are to build a more sustainable economic system. Read this fascinating and well-written book – and change the way you think!"—Graeme Maxton, Secretary General of the Club of Rome and bestselling author of The End of Progress "An original, comprehensive and compelling analysis of the problems with GDP and how to make the world better without it."—Robert Costanza, Australian National University and editor-in-chief of Solutions "A well-written and persuasive analysis of how to change the world by moving beyond the current narrow focus on GDP."—Herman Daly, founder of Ecological Economics and Emeritus Professor, University of Maryland "comprehensive, passionate and detailed overview" —Edoardo Campanella, International Affairs"Prof. Fioramonti’s The World After GDP is a very important study in helping us to understand the role of GDP in getting the world into its present condition, and what aspects of our understanding of GDP may help guide us through the coming era of great change. "—Defense & Foreign Affairs Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Figures and Tables Introduction Chapter 1 The making of a post-GDP world Chapter 2 The rise and fall of the GDP ideology Chapter 3 Post-GDP economy Chapter 4 Post-GDP politics Chapter 5 Post-GDP world Conclusion References

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Book SynopsisElgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. This Advanced Introduction presents a focused narrative about political decision-making based on the work that has defined public choice as a discipline. Randall G. Holcombe emphasizes the theoretical foundations of Public Choice, examining the way that voter preferences are aggregated through democratic decision-making, the way that political exchange leads to the production of public policy, and the way that the constitutional framework within which political activity takes place is designed. He provides a concise discussion of the main models of Public Choice in an engaging manner, giving readers a foundation for understanding the theoretical and empirical work in the field. Each chapter ends with a Notes section that discusses the research on which the chapter is based, with an emphasis on the pioneering work that has shaped the development of Public Choice.Undergraduate and graduate level students in economics, political science and public administration will find this introduction an essential resource for understanding political decision making. Instructors in those fields will find this book a useful and affordable text and an indispensable resource for teaching Public Choice.Trade Review'In this slim volume, Randall Holcombe takes the reader masterfully on an informative journey through the main regions of public choice theory. Among the topics this fine volume covers are voting theory, presidential vs. parliamentary systems, interest groups, bureaucracy, political entrepreneurship, and constitutional political economy. Someone who works through this book will be solidly prepared to venture into the higher reaches of public choice theory.' --Richard E. Wagner, George Mason University'Robert Kennedy said that ''Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.'' This is a book for both kinds of people. Holcombe provides a hard-headed analysis of how government and politics actually works, and careful analysis of why the dreams for optimal outcomes, whether coming from the formal models of supposedly sophisticated economists, (based on ''as if'' assumptions that exclude politics), or those coming from idealist ''reformers'' (stemming from their utopian visions), end up shattered by harsh behavioral and institutional realities. Written in a completely non-technical fashion, and covering topics like rational ignorance, rent-seeking and regulatory capture, this book works beautifully either as a complement to traditional introductory economics courses, or to introductory courses in political science.' --Bernard Grofman, University of California, Irvine'The author has extensive personal connections to all the aspects of public choice, and has produced a masterful volume. The insights of public choice are varied, but its explanatory power is consistent. Holcombe manages to weave together an interesting and informed commentary on the many strands of public choice scholarship in a way that will be useful even to experts, while providing an overview that a determined newcomer will be able to pick up immediately.' --Michael Munger, Duke UniversityTable of ContentsContents: Part I: Introduction 1. Public Choice and Public Policy Part II: Aggregating Voter Preferences 2. The Politics of Left and Right 3. Institutions: Proportional vs. Plurality; Parliamentary vs. Presidential 4. Political Strategy: Turnout and the Distribution of Preferences 5. Multidimensional Issue Space 6. Why Do People Vote? Rational Ignorance, Expressive Voting, Rational Irrationality Part III: Designing Public Policy 7. Transaction Costs and Political Exchange 8. Political Markets: Interest Groups, Rent-Seeking, and Regulatory Capture 9. Bureaucracy 10. Political Organization: Districts, Committees, and Institutional Design 11. Political Entrepreneurship Part IV: Constitutional Design 12. Constitutional and Post-Constitutional Decision-Making 13. Interest Groups and Constitutional Evolution 14. Checks and Balances: Elites and Masses Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1876, Carl Menger, then a young professor at the University of Vienna, was asked to teach the principles of political economy to Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, the 17 year old only son of Emperor Francis Joseph, who was to die tragically before he could inherit the throne.Rudolf's recently discovered Notebooks of these lectures, corrected by Menger, are a fascinating record of what the founder of the Austrian marginalist school thought worth teaching to the heir presumptive of a great power. Without referring to his own theories, Menger delivered a course on the economics of Adam Smith - as presented in the mainstream German textbooks of the time - in such a way that the Notebooks can be viewed as a key document on classical economic liberalism, pure and unadulterated. They cast new light on Menger's own theoretical discoveries, his view of government and his interpretation of classical economics. In this important volume Rudolf's Notebooks are published for the first time both in German and an English translation. The editor's detailed introduction provides the historical and intellectual background to the Notebooks as well as a thorough analysis of classical economics and its treatment by Menger. The text is fully annotated in German and English with its surprising sources traced passage by passage.Trade Review'This book will be of interest on a number of different levels. Most simply, it is a fascinating historical record of a pedagogical experience. . . . the Notebooks present the historian of economic thought, and those interested in the Austrian school in particular, with a number of intriguing, even frustrating puzzles.' -- Peter Lewin, History of Economic Ideas'. . . in all this volume provides a useful addition to our understanding of Carl Menger. The translation is very readable and the index is good. The Streisslers are to be commended for performing a real service to the scholarly community in editing and publishing this book.' -- Karen I. Vaughn, Journal of the History of Economic Thought

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Book SynopsisBorn out of crisis a century ago, the Federal Reserve has become the most powerful macroeconomic policymaker and financial regulator in the world. The Myth of Independence traces the Fed's transformation from a weak, secretive, and decentralized institution in 1913 to a remarkably transparent central bank a century later. Offering a unique accountTrade Review"Finalist for the 31st D.B. Hardeman Prize, LBJ Foundation""Winner of the 2018 Gladys M. Kammerer Award, American Political Science Association""Winner of the 2018 Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Prize, Legislative Studies Section of the American Political Science Association""One of Project Syndicate’s Best Reads in 2017 (chosen by Koichi Hamada)""Even for readers who get through the day without thinking about monetary policy, Ms. Binder and Mr. Spindel offer compelling insights. . . . [An] impressively researched and often riveting study."---Roger Lowenstein, Wall Street Journal"Binder and Spindel have written an extremely thorough study of the Federal Reserve that shows how the institution, while in theory insulated from politics, is in reality anything but. Binder and Spindel persuasively argue that Congress and the Federal Reserve are interdependent entities. . . . Throughout, fascinating graphics depict the interrelationship between the Fed and congressional politics: one chart links the number of bills introduced to govern Fed policy with the unemployment rate. Binder and Spindel convincingly dispel the ‘myth' of the Fed’s independence as one of the Capitol’s urban legends." * Publishers Weekly *"The Myth of Independence is a timely analysis of political and economic countervailing forces that render the Fed and Congress interdependent."---Joseph M. Santos, EH.net

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Book SynopsisNewsweek hailed Paul Krugman as "a superstar among economists" and went on to praise Peddling Prosperity as "the best primer around on recent U.S. economic history." Others joined the chorus.

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Book SynopsisIn One Economics, Many Recipes, leading economist Dani Rodrik argues that neither globalizers nor antiglobalizers have got it right. While economic globalization can be a boon for countries that are trying to dig out of poverty, success usually requires following policies that are tailored to local economic and political realities rather than obeying the dictates of the international globalization establishment. A definitive statement of Rodrik''s original and influential perspective on economic growth and globalization, One Economics, Many Recipes shows how successful countries craft their own unique strategies--and what other countries can learn from them. To most proglobalizers, globalization is a source of economic salvation for developing nations, and to fully benefit from it nations must follow a universal set of rules designed by organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization and enforced by iTrade Review"Rodrik packs a great deal into his 260 lucid, cogent pages. Orthodoxies always need serious criticism. Rodrik has supplied it. He has no simple, single recipe for remedying deficient growth--just the eminently sensible advice that there is none--there are many."--Peter Sinclair, Times Higher Education "Dani Rodrik, a Harvard academic usually associated with the active-government side, has written an intriguing book, One Economics, Many Recipes. He argues that economists who agree who agree in general about where countries should be going can conduct open and honest--and technical rather than ideological--debates about how to get there."--Alan Beattie, Financial Times "This book is certainly among the best of the many works on development economics recently published... One Economics, Many Recipes is also a model of how applied economics should be done."--John Kay, Prospect "The Harvard development economist Rodrik here collects a several of his recent papers into a coherent book... In short, [One Economics, Many Recipes] is a critical response to the international 'consensus' approach to economic policymaking, with its implicit assumption that one set of policies is suitable in all, or at least in most, countries. Rodrik has become known for emphasizing the importance of institutions, but he here makes clear that appropriate policies are also important and that effective institutions can take many forms."--Richard Cooper, Foreign Affairs "Rodrik's book hits many of the right buttons. He has put together a collection of essays of sufficient breadth to engage both the technical observer and the casual reader. His treatment of the subject will come as a bitter pill to both the anti-globalisation movement and the developmentariat, that international coterie of practitioners and commentators working on development issues."--Mario Pisani, New Statesman "Rodrik is known for rigorous analysis that challenges the conventional wisdom, and this book does not disappoint. Economic growth is a very important goal, Rodrik argues, but the evidence indicates that there is no single recipe for growth."--M. Veseth, Choice "Rodrik serves as an important, moderating voice in the globalization debate and this book proves no exception."--Sarah Cleeland Knight, Democracy and Society "In his recent book, One Economics, Many Recipes, Harvard professor of international political economy Dani Rodrik wisely reminds us that there exists no general theory of growth, though he offers pragmatic suggestions in individual cases."--Carl J. Schramm, Claremont Review of Books "[T]he thoughtful and scholarly elaboration of his pro-industrial policy views in this book should be essential reading for all interested in stimulating growth in these countries."--Robert E. Baldwin, World Trade Review "Rodrik wins all hearts and minds by a careful consideration of the facts and sheer breadth of coverage... Thus, market mavens, policy pros, global gurus and institutional irredentists can all savor what he says!"--Alice Amsden, EH.net "Rodrik lays out a broad critique of prevailing approaches to development policy, offers fresh ideas for countries seeking to improve their economic performance, and argues for important reforms in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to make room for those ideas. The book is actually a collection of Rodrik's recent papers on growth, institutions, and globalization, but they constitute a remarkably coherent view of the development problem... The book should have a deep and lasting effect on the way we think about economic development."--Andres Rodriguez-Clare, Journal of International Economics "I would highly recommend One Economics, Many Recipes to anyone interested in understanding how economics can help to improve the lives of the poor. Rodrick is innovative, challenging and extremely bright; and he has thought long and hard about this question. In addition to providing a good introduction to his own ideas, Rodrick has filtered, digested and provided his expert summary of the enormous literature on Globalization, Institutions and Economics Growth."--Emma Aisbett, Economic RecordTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 PART A: ECONOMIC GROWTH Chapter 1. Fifty Years of Growth (and Lack Thereof): An Interpretation 13 Chapter 2. Growth Diagnostics 56 Chapter 3. Synthesis: A Practical Approach to Growth Strategies 85 PART B: INSTITUTIONS Chapter 4. Industrial Policy for the Twenty-first Century 99 Chapter 5. Institutions for High-Quality Growth 153 Chapter 6. Getting Institutions Right 184 PART C: GLOBALIZATION Chapter 7. Governance of Economic Globalization 195 Chapter 8. The Global Governance of Trade As If Development Really Mattered 213 Chapter 9. Globalization for Whom? 237 References 243 Index 257

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Book SynopsisFinancial regulation has dramatically evolved and strengthened since the crisis on both sides of the Atlantic, with enhanced international coordination through the G-20 and the Financial Stability Board and, at the regional level, a definite contribution from the European Union. However the new regulatory environment has its critics, with many divergent voices arguing that over-regulation has become a root cause of our current economic stagnation.This book provides a bigger picture view of the impact and future of financial regulation in the EU, exploring the relationship between microeconomic incentives and macroeconomic growth, regulation and financial integration, and the changes required in economic policy to further European integration. Bringing together contributions from law, economics and management science, it offers readers an accessible but rigorous understanding of the current state of play of the regulatory environment, and on the future challenges.Coverage will include:• A review of the recent regulatory changes from a legal and economic perspective• Analysis of how the economic model of financial institutions and entities is impacted by the new frameworks• How to improve securitization and new instruments under MIFID II• Issues in the enhanced supervision under delegated acts for AIFMD, CRR-CRD IV and Solvency II• How long term funding can be supplied in lieu of the non-conventional monetary policies• A new architecture for a safer and more efficient European financial system Financial Regulation in the EU provides much needed clarity on the impact of new financial regulation and the future of the economy, and will prove a must have reference for all those working in, researching and affected by these changes.Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisThe atlas of contemporary capitalism is curious indeed. A desperately poor and civil-war-wracked nation, Liberia, is the world's shipping superpower; the Cayman Islands the fifth-largest financial center in the world; land-locked Zurich a venerable...Trade Review"What is the offshore world? When and why did it develop? Who supported its development? Where and how does it operate? How important is it in international commerce and finance today? To find answers to those questions, Palan (International relations and politics, Univ. of Sussex, UK) examines the offshore phenomenon in a broad sense of social and economic change. . . . Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate and Research Collections."—Choice, Dec. 2003."This practice of sovereign bifurcation, by which states divide their sovereign space into heavily and lightly regulated realms, suggests a radical redrawing of state boundaries and an important transformation in the nature of sovereignty and the relationship between state and capitalism. Offshore may be at the very heart of the transformation of modern politics: is it the beginning of 'postglobalization?'"—Future Survey 26:1, January 2004"Ronen Palan asks bold, provocative questions regarding the relationship between sovereignty and the offshore economy and its relevance to state formation, globalization, and the fate of the nation-state. The 'commercialization of sovereignty' is a very effective underlying theme."—Peter Andreas, Brown University"The Offshore World explores the important concept of 'offshore' with a high level of detail and theoretical sophistication. Ronen Palan illuminates aspects of state sovereignty that have not been fully described elsewhere. This book will extend our understanding of how contemporary international society emerged over the last century, while providing insight into how concepts like 'offshore' reshape our thinking about economic phenomena."—Peter Dombrowski, The Naval War College"The Offshore World is a subtle and intriguing look at one of the global economy's most prominent features."—Debora Spar, Harvard Business School

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Book SynopsisMany on the Left see the European Union as a fundamentally benign project with the potential to underpin ever greater cooperation and progress. If it has drifted rightward, the answer is to fight for reform from within. In this iconoclastic polemic, economist Costas Lapavitsas demolishes this view. He contends that the EU’s response to the Eurozone crisis represents the ultimate transformation of the union into a neoliberal citadel that institutionally embeds austerity, privatization, and wage cuts. Concurrently, the rise of German hegemony has divided the EU into an unstable core and dependent peripheries. These related developments make the EU impervious to meaningful reform. The solution is therefore a direct challenge to the EU project that stresses popular and national sovereignty as preconditions for true internationalist socialism. Lapavitsas’s powerful manifesto for a left opposition to the EU upends the wishful thinking that often characterizes the debate and will be a challenging read for all on the Left interested in the future of Europe.Trade Review"For those wanting a clear and concise summary of the left case against the euro and of the misrepresentation of German European hegemony as the consummation of the 'European idea', there is no way around this book. Nowhere has the political economy of the common currency and of German ascendancy in Europe been more clearly exposed."—Wolfgang Streeck, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies "Costas Lapavitsas is the most important commentator on the EU and its current crises, including Brexit. This is one of the most significant books on modern politics to appear in the last decade, and virtually the only one fully to grasp the nature of our present situation."—Richard Tuck, Harvard University "Important and timely"—E-International Relations "In 2015, a left-wing government in Athens was wrestling with Berlin and Brussels. Two prominent economists took part in the scuffle: one, Yanis Varoufakis, became Minister of Finance; the other, Costas Lapavitsas, was a member of the ruling party, Syriza. The first was a Europhile who viewed the capitulation of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as an invitation to struggle for 'another Europe'. The second, always the sceptic, saw his views confirmed by the debacle."—Le Monde Diplomatique "Expedient, informed and lucid."—LSE Review of BooksTable of ContentsCh. 1. The European Union and the Left 1.1 Fragmentation and retreat of democracy 1.2 The challenge for the Left Ch. 2. The evolution of the EU since Maastricht 2.1. Neoliberalism and hegemony in the EU – drawing on Hayek 2.2. Neoliberalism and state monopoly over money 2.3. Creating the euro: A lever of neoliberalism and conditional German hegemony 2.4. The “architectural flaws” of the euro 2.5. The broader context of conditional German hegemony Ch. 3. The ascendancy of Germany and the division of Europe 3.1. A distinctive financialised economy 3.2. The defeat of German labour in the 1990s 3.3. The competitive advantage of Germany and the creation of the Southern periphery 3.4. The unstable core of the EMU and the Central European periphery Ch. 4. The Eurozone crisis: Class interests and hegemonic power 4.1. Crisis erupts 4.2. Imposing a neoliberal agenda 4.3. An unstable and fraught equilibrium Ch. 5. Greece in the iron trap of the euro 5.1 The proximate causes of the Greek crisis 5.2 Long-term weaknesses of the Greek economy 5.3. The lenders impose bail-outs and bring disaster 5.4. Class and national interests in the Greek disaster 5.5 The political debacle of SYRIZA Ch. 6. Seeking democracy, sovereignty, and socialism 6.1. Democracy and sovereignty in the EU, once again 6.2 The impossibility of radical reform 6.3. A class-based stance for the Left 6.4. What to do?

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The book synthesizes research on innovation and sustainability in a way that I've not seen. The authors work through systemic issues that we must consider in order to reach a more sustainable economy."—Glen W. S. Dowell, Cornell University"Lenox and Chatterji make a major contribution by explaining the systematic dynamics of "going green." Their sophisticated analysis of complex challenges will enable the private sector to successfully adopt and implement sustainable innovations."—David Vogel, University of California, Berkeley, and author of The Market for Virtue"This marvelous book unites rigorous research with in-depth examples to show how business really might be able to save the earth. It's the perfect answer to the question my students ask me all the time: How can I make a difference?"—Rebecca M. Henderson, Harvard Business School"Lennox (UVA) and Chatterji (Duke) developed a model that businesses can consider when addressing climate change and environmental sustainability.The authors provide many examples of environmentally friendly efforts from businesses such as Uber, Apple, Apex Clean Energy, TerraCycle, and Home Depot."—G.E. Kaupins, Choice"There is bad news and good news about the state of the earth, and business school professors Michael Lenox and Aaron Chatterji address both with eye-opening accuracy in this compelling, provocative treatise....The authors make an impassioned plea, particularly to businesses, to bring to market the innovative products and services necessary to create value while reducing environmental impacts. While the tenor of Can Business Save the Earth? is generally positive, one cannot miss the real sense of urgency it conveys."—Barry Silverstein, Foreword MagazineTable of Contents1. Business as Savior 2. Innovator as Genius 3. Manager as Hero 4. Investor as Visionary 5. Customer as King 6. System as Catalyst

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Book SynopsisModern political culture features a deep-seated faith in the power of numbers. But quantitative evidence has not always been revered, as William Deringer shows. After the 1688 Revolution, as Britons learned to fight by the numbers, their enthusiasm for figures arose not from efforts to find objective truths but from the turmoil of politics itself.Trade Review[Statistics] are center stage again now for reasons of both political conflict and epistemological uncertainty. Once again, some politicians wield numbers without any great concern about their accuracy or meaningfulness; the victory in debate is all that matters. Once again, given the profound changes in the structure of the economy, we can’t be sure what categories and methods will give us the understanding we would like. This is a terrific book for reflecting on contested and uncertain statistical terrain. -- Diane Coyle * Enlightened Economist *[Deringer] focuses on the early 18th century, with its increasingly vitriolic debates over government expenditure, taxation, and debt as well as the trade balance… Deringer tells these vivid stories with a richness of research that brings to life not only the events surrounding them but also the many famous characters involved. We can learn from the 18th century debate, he says, by promoting new and diverse computational approaches to stimulate public debate and offset what he fears is growing anti-quantitative sentiment. -- Robert Heath * Finance & Development *A thoroughly impressive work…[Deringer] recontextualizes the skepticism about numbers and suspicion of ‘experts’ in our time as something that has existed from the beginning rather than a recent disillusionment… A book this insightful about the past and with such a trenchant analysis of the present is a rare pleasure indeed. -- Chris Dudley * Journal of British Studies *Tells the coming-of-age story of (early) modern public fascination with numbers…A great book that should be on the shelves of everyone who takes history of economic thought seriously. -- Gábor Bíró * History of European Ideas *Highly original in its research, highly intelligent in its analysis, and highly sophisticated in its argumentation, there is much to impress in this book. Calculated Values resonates with our own financial obsessions. -- Theodore Porter, University of California, Los AngelesEngaging, learned, and beautifully written, Calculated Values is a major scholarly work. Deringer builds on his own experiences as a financial calculator to imbue material that otherwise might be a tad dry with a sense of wonder and adventure, not to mention an adroit sentiment of happy-go-lucky deceitfulness. It is a must-read for a wide variety of scholars and interested general readers—truly impressive and timely in the extreme. -- Sophus A. Reinert, Harvard Business SchoolDeringer’s inspired and insightful book shows how mathematics and accounting mixed with politics to create modern finance. The story is so important, and yet, until now, has not been told. There is no way to understand the birth of economics without reading it. -- Jacob Soll, University of Southern CaliforniaShows how numerical calculation has both worked and failed in political life and what we can learn from it to help us use numbers more effectively in the future…A tour de force of intellectual and social history to explain how numerical thinking became the way to understand the world. Original in its approach and sophisticated in its argument. -- Lee Trepanier * VoegelinView *

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