Description
Book SynopsisA revolution in economics, politics, and international affairs has been shaped by the new economics of information. For the first time, we are able to look at our world through a lens illuminated by a much more precise understanding of how economies work and how individuals, groups, and corporations react to them. All of the disciplines of the social sciences are affected by this development but the greatest impact we can expect will be upon public policy-making. Joseph E. Stiglitz and his fellow Nobel Prize-winners have demonstrated, with the precision and force of logic, reason, and mathematics, that the folklore of what has been regarded as ''political economy'' for the past two hundred and thirty years has misled us with ideological and mystical but useless ideas such as ''free enterprise'' and the immutability of market ''givens.'' Houseman describes and demonstrates the new resonance, liveliness, and optimism which characterize the economics of information, calling upon his own
Trade ReviewThis is an important book. Anyone who notices a significant disconnect between the overblown rhetoric of big business and government and the reality that we face—like skyrocketing gasoline prices, the loss of middle class America, and increasing burdens on the poor—should read this book. Gerald Houseman clearly and concisely makes the case that Joseph Stiglitz is an important and prescient economist who champions the economics of information and exposed the term "Free Enterprise" as the fraud that justifies the great inequalities that exist in the world. If George Orwell's classic, 1984, troubled you, this book is for you. Houseman discusses the disturbing, Orwellian reality before us and leaves us asking ourselves: Will the great fraud of big business prevail or will truth and justice triumph? -- James Headley, Eastern Washington University
Houseman breaks new ground, showing us that Nobel Prize-winner Joseph E. Stiglitz’s ideas reach beyond economics. Using Stiglitz’s insights, he explains why privatization and deregulation have failed and why free trade has impoverished developing nations. Lucky are we to have Houseman as our guide, as he leads us to the conclusion that the same asymmetry of information that makes markets fail also undermines democracy. Since Reagan, successive U.S. administrations have distorted the truth or kept it hidden from the public. Houseman reminds us that democracy cannot survive on spin. -- Keith Quincy, Eastern Washington University
Explores the work of Joseph E. Stiglitz and how he and his colleagues heave helped create a breakthrough in economic theory and the study of globalization. * Journal of Economic Literature, June 2009 *
Professor Joseph Stiglitz is well-respected in the world's less-developed nations, where we know him to be a friend. His insights and contributions need to be well-publicized because he has indeed revolutionized economics and our understanding of it. And Gerald Houseman has done us a great service not only by explaining the work of Stiglitz but by showing us its implications for the world. -- Notrida G. B. Mandica, director, Indonesian Research and Development Institute, Jakarta, Indonesia
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Table of Contents Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 Introduction Chapter 4 1. A Notable Nobel Chapter 5 2. The Economics of Information: A Model of Scientific Performance and Promise Chapter 6 3. The Death of "Free Enterprise" and the Power of Information Economics Chapter 7 4. Globalization: The Pressing Economic Issue Chapter 8 5. Challenging the International Economic Order and the Panaceas of Privatization and Deregulation Chapter 9 6. Multinational Corporations: The Major Movers in the International Economy Chapter 10 Conclusion: Thinking and Working Within the New Universe of Economics Chapter 11 Notes Chapter 12 Appendix A: Landmarks in the Evolution of the Economics of Information Chapter 13 Appendix B: Research Contributions of George Akerlof, Michael Spence, and Bruce C. N. Greenwald Chapter 14 Appendix C: Organizations Now Without Purpose as a Result of the Findings of the Economics of Information Chapter 15 Appendix D: The Altered Literature of Economics Within the Changed Universe Chapter 16 Bibliography Chapter 17 Index Chapter 18 About the Author
