Reviews (4)

interesting but not practical
He presents well the case for locally-owned business being better for a community's economic well-being than are chain and franchise stores, and provides lots of different examples of ways that businesses can be community oriented. I found particularly interesting the part about the Green Bay Packers, who were saved out of bankruptcy by a group of fans who sold "stock" to the community to raise the cash. You can't sell the stock to a non-GB resident, you can't own more than 1 (I think) share, and you can only sell shares at the same price you bought them for: $25. Really, sounds a lot like the ICC's shares, and it guarantees that the Pack will never leave Green Bay.

On presenting options for ownership, though, Shuman seems to go a little overboard.

When trying to decide how to promote the kinds of business he wants, Shuman starts reasonably enough, but quickly moves into the implausible. Suggestions such as using zoning law to encourage local business (by discouraging development in the locations and of the scale that WalMart likes to build) and implementing local currencies to encourage patronage of locally-oriented business are useful, and have been successfully used in many places. However, when we get into suggestions about tearing down the WTO and replacing it with something that supports local business, we're getting unreasonable. While it may be possible that the WTO would become less multinational- and more local-friendly, I'm betting that it will only do so when its member states do so, and not as a first step which will encourage its members to do so. Shuman seems to realize this to some extent, as he proposes pro-local legislation in the United States Congress, but this too is unuseful.

Fun to read, but not practical at all.

All you need to know about community empowerment
EVERYONE should read this book. It is very well thought out and very convincing. Change is possible by sticking together and empowering ourselves as self-reliant communities. The appendix takes up no less than a third of the whole book and is a gold mine in and of itself.

A Highly Important Book for Any Concerned Citizen
This book cuts through all of the conventional public discussions on the economy and society to make a clear, convincing case for reviving local communities. Pundits, politicians, and intellectuals are always bemoaning the collapse of "community," but their analyses are usually coiled around morality, or the need for "better education," or some equally superficial issue. But as Shuman points out, all the civic involvement and moral uprightness in the world is useless if our towns and cities are being held hostage by globe-trotting corporations and ultra-mobile capital. "Community" is only possible if people control their own lives; and this is possible only when there are thriving, viable local economies. This is not a book that calls for a complete retreat from the global forces that are shaping our world -- that option is impossible with the current levels of technology. But what Shuman does outline is a way for communities to reestablish a balance between the local and the national/global, in the areas of production, finance, and government. And unlike many other books, which never get past the critique to make any positive prescriptions, this one is brimming with concrete proposals. It also has the most extensive list of groups, organizations, and resources that I have seen in the area of decentralized economics and community self-reliance. This is a must-read.

Food for thought for economic development folks
Every year on the anniversary of Walt Disney Worlds settling in Orlando, Fla., its a sure bet some newspaper will carry a story about my late uncle, Paul Pickett, and his opposition to the project. As a county commissioner when Disney first proposed bringing its giant entertainment complex to the city, he argued that the project would unleash a monster that would forever change the quality of life for residents. Tell the mouse to stay in California, he snapped.

As a person who embraces -- make that relishes -- change, Im not sure I fully agree with his assessment. But as a person who has lived for most of my adult life in an area that was decimated in the 1980s when the all-important steel industry fell on hard times and today struggles with the threat of losing still another industry on which we have become economically dependent -- car production at the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio -- I understand the point my uncle was trying to make.

So does Michael H. Shuman, attorney and author of Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age. In his book, he advocates that local communities must regain control over their own economies by a variety of means including investing not in outsiders, but in locally owned businesses like credit unions, municipally owned utilities and community development corporations and focusing on import-replacing rather than export-led development. Doing so, he maintains, will reduce or eliminate the need to offer excessive tax abatements and other incentives to entice huge corporations upon which the communities stand to become dependent. The growing power and will of corporations to move without notice or warning has presented many communities with a terrible dilemma: Either cut wages and benefits, gut environmental standards and offer tax breaks to attract and retain corporations or become a ghost town, Shuman writes. Almost every U.S. town or city has learned that capital flight is not just a hypothetical danger.

Urging cities to be just as friendly with rootless corporations as with its home-grown businesses, Shuman says, is like telling a loyal wife to accept the inevitability of philandering by her husband and to appease him by buying more sexy lingerie and cooking nicer dinners. If a community is reduced to a link in a global chain, it will be dragged wherever the corporation controlling the chain wants.

As long as corporations are free to move from place to place, the author argues, No jurisdictions efforts to target production toward basic needs, or protect its work force or environment, can succeed. Once regulations become onerous, a profit-maximizing firm will move on.

This does not mean, however, that communities should circle the wagons and lock the gates. It means nurturing locally owned businesses which use local resources sustainably, employ local workers at decent wages and serve primarily local consumers, Shuman writes. It means becoming more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports. Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations and back to the community where it belongs.

All things considered, Shuman offers a point of view thats worth considering by government and economic development leaders throughout the country. ... Read more

Book Description

This book allows readers unfamiliar with the international political economy to go from 0 to 60 mph: it is a comprehensive yet reader-friendly exploration of the theoretical perspectives of IPE, an investigation of security, trade, finance, and knowledge, and a discussion of current global issues. Sound organization and a wealth of current and historical examples and case studies allow readers to develop an understanding and an appreciation of the relevance of IPE in their daily lives. With much broader coverage than any other book of its kind on the market, Introduction to International Political Economy discusses the historical aspects of the subject; international finance; the global security structure; knowledge and technology; state-market tensions; North and South; the human connection; transnational corporations; and global problems. An excellent read and reference resource for anyone interested or involved in politics, international relations, and economics.

Book Description

India's success in reducing endemic deprivation since Independence has been quite limited. Recent diagnoses of this failure of policy have concentrated on the counterproductive role of government regulation, and on the need for economic incentives to accelerate the growth of the economy. This book argues that an assessment of India's failure to eliminate basic deprivations has to go beyond this limited focus, and to take note of the role played in that failure by inadequate public involvement in the provision of basic education, health care, social security, and related fields, Even the fostering of fast and participatory economic growth requires some basic social change, which is not addressed by liberalization and economic incentives. The authors also discuss the historical antecedents of these political and social neglects, including the distortion of policy priorities arising from inequalities of political power. Following on from this, the book considers the scope for public action to address these earlier biases and achieve a transformation of policy priorities.

Beginning with an introductory chapter presenting the motivation, focus, and approach of the book, it discusses the respective roles of the market mechanism and government action in economic development and discusses the particular role of public involvement in the fields of health and education. International comparisons of development experiences are brought to bear on the diagnosis of India's successes and failures, and the work discusses the lessons to be learnt from the contrasting development experiences of different states within India, with particular attention to Kerala's outstanding success in social fields. The authors consider the role of public action and political organization in promoting social opportunities. Attention is drawn, in particular, to the part played by widespread illiteracy in suppressing that process and perpetuating social inequalities. The work also looks at the issue of basic education, including a critical assessment of public policy in this field. The issue of gender inequality is discussed, and the role of women's agency in the expansion of social opportunities for both women and men is explored. The work concludes by consolidating the argument and discussing the policy implication of the analyses presented. A statistical appendix presents a comparative picture of India and other developing countries, and also the comparative performance of different states within India.

This new work by two internationally renowned economists is an important and relevant argument for promoting human welfare. ... Read more

Book Description

Comprehensive yet detailed discussion of tax increment financing. ... Read more

Book Description

Since the appearance of the first edition in 1990, Planning Local Economic Development has become the foundation for an entire generation of planners and academics teaching planning. Building on the success of its predecessors, the Third Edition continues to explore the theories of local economic development and address the dilemmas communities face. Blakely and Bradshaw investigate planning processes, analytical techniques, business and human resource development, as well as high-technology economic development strategies. Written by academics with many years of regional and city planning experience, this book will prove invaluable to professors of economic development, urban studies, and public administration. Economic development specialists in local and municipal government, as well as nonprofit organizations, will also find this an essential reference.

New to this Edition:

• Case studies, illustrations, and exercises demonstrate how each theory can be employed in a real-world setting
• Sample resource materials facilitate the development and design of program plans
• New arguments for implementing local economic development initiatives
• Thoroughly updated to reflect the financial boom of the 1990s and subsequent collapse, the policies of the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, and the aftermath of September 11

Book Description

The creation of the European Community ranks among the most extraordinary achievements in modern world politics. Observers disagree, however, about the reasons why European governments have chosen to coordinate core economic policies and surrender sovereign prerogatives. In this eagerly awaited book, Andrew Moravcsik analyzes the history of the region's movement toward economic and political union.

Do these unifying steps demonstrate the preeminence of national security concerns, the power of federalist ideals, the skill of political entrepreneurs like Jean Monnet and Jacques Delors, or the triumph of technocratic planning? Moravcsik rejects such views. Economic interdependence has been, he maintains in his provocative argument, the primary force compelling these democracies to move in this surprising direction. Politicians rationally pursued national economic advantage through the exploitation of asymmetrical interdependence and the manipulation of institutional commitments.

Focusing on Germany, France, and Britain, Moravcsik examines the five decisive agreements that propelled integration forward. He seeks to reintegrate the historical study of European unity with theoretical inquiry into the sources of international cooperation. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Absorbing study of the EU's development
In this deeply researched book, Andrew Moravcsik studies five key moves toward wider and deeper European integration: the Treaties of Rome, consolidating the Common Market, monetary integration, the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty. He argues that the member governments chose ever closer union in order to promote their countries' economic interests. He aims to prove that economic interests, not political ideas, drive EU integration. He focuses on how the governments of Germany, France and Britain made their decisions.

Moravcsik argues that the British government's policy in the 1950s of opposition to joining the Common Market "was the rational one for a government that traded little with the Continent, had high tariffs in place, and feared competition with German producers." So there was economic logic to staying out. It is less clear that there was good reason for the subsequent reversal of policy: trading with a bloc does not oblige us to join it!

He shows that De Gaulle vetoed Britain's application not out of chauvinism, but because we opposed generous financing for French farmers through the Common Agricultural Policy. In 1969, Pompidou lifted the veto, but only in exchange for the British government's huge concession of agreeing to a permanent financing arrangement for the CAP. This made it CAP reform impossible.

Similarly, member governments have pursued integration through creating the Single Market and EMU. Moravcsik shows how Europe's multinational companies and the national employers' organisations backed integration. The European Commission admitted, "The single market programme has done more for business than it has for workers", a judgment true also of Economic and Monetary Union. Economic interests may well have determined the drive to a single state, but paradoxically the closer the cooperation between EU members has become, the worse their economies have performed.

Capitalist states and multinational companies have taken the EU road to lost sovereignty and economic integration, but the peoples of Europe are increasingly choosing otherwise, as the Irish people showed in the 7 June referendum on the Nice Treaty. In particular, here in Britain the option of leaving the EU looks more and more inviting.

Renewing the Debate about the Causes of European Integration
Andrew Moravcsik boldly makes the case for the centrality of the three largest member states in the construction of Europe. In this volume, Moravcsik articulates his "liberal intergovernmentalist" (LI) framework of analysis and utilizes primary sources to strengthen his response to Paul Pierson's "historical institutionalist" (HI) account of European integration. As Moravcsik explains, in making the choice for Europe

"...it was the deliberate triumphs of European integration, not its unintended side-effects, that appear to have increased support for further integration. This is the key point of divergence between HI theory and the tri-partite "liberal intergovernmentalist" interpretation advanced here. For most governments, inducing economic modernization-even with unpleasant side-effects-was the major purpose of European integration." (p. 491)

One of the strongest contributions of Moravcsik's volume is to revisit the classic neo-functionalist-intergovernmentalist debate and to place it in a new theoretical context. To Moravcsik's credit, this tome offers a detailed, thorough and remarkably organized assessment of competing explanations in the European integration literature. Students and scholars of integration will grapple with the issues raised as a result of this work for years to come.

Moravcsik's volume challenges the "myths" of European integration and calls into question the relevance of actions taken by supranational entrepreneurs. National versus supranational debates notwithstanding, Monnet's (and later Delor's) talent was to seize a moment in history when Europe was at the brink of continuity or change. Monnet's use of crisis as opportunity sought to alter fundamentally the way in which France and Germany interacted within the European system. Is this not the essence of the Schuman Plan in 1950, namely, to use the opportunity to modernize France economically as part of an equation to make future wars with its neighbor across the Rhine impossible?

Although convergence was already apparent among European economies, did the initial political decision to pool the critical resources in the making of war, to integrate in the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), require individuals like Schuman, Monnet, Adenauer and Hallstein to work against the fact that European states mistrusted each other and were therefore disinclined to integrate? It is most unfortunate that volume length does not permit Moravcsik to cover this initial case. In the light of the ECSC experience, was the agreement to create the Common Market in 1958 intrinsically about making European countries richer? The archival research of Raymond Poidevin and Andreas Wilkens sheds light on the experience of the ECSC. Their writings may help us evaluate the extent to which the initial experiments in integration, including the aborted European Political Community (EPC) and European Defense Community (EDC), influenced the interests of the Six during the Treaty of Rome negotiations. References to Poidevin's work are scarce among the 1116 footnotes in The Choice for Europe. There are some citations of Wilken's writings, but not those that critically evaluate the impact of Monnet's role during the period 1950-57.

In Moravcsik's analysis, economic interests, asymmetrical interdependence and more credible commitments, respectively, drive states to negotiate, cooperate and integrate in Europe. Moravcsik candidly (and correctly) acknowledges that his primacy of economics explanation is less helpful to our understanding of German motivations to cooperate in Europe. In the French case, does Moravcsik's revisionist account successfully convince us that de Gaulle emphasized national economic interests over geopolitical priorities or an ideology of grandeur? By asserting that ideas motivate only when no strong interest is involved, does Moravcsik's account draw an unnecessary dividing line between the General's socio-economic and geo-political goals? It may be argued that the General's priorities were inextricably intertwined as President to assure the country's place as the first among states in Europe. My own volume on the Maastricht process demonstrates the relevance of two-level analysis. Other writings about Britain's role in the Maastricht negotiations likewise stress the importance of simultaneous domestic-international interactions in intergovernmental conference diplomacy. Given that Moravcsik's own prior writings strikingly illustrate the contributions of Putnam's model, it is puzzling why he does not emphasize two-level games in The Choice for Europe. Moreover, the potential for interactions among the three analytical stages Moravcsik defines in his book, namely, preference formation, interstate bargaining and implementation, also warrants more attention in future editions.

The phenomenal number of sources cited in Moravcsik's tome is a compelling reason to include a bibliography, including the names, places and dates of all interviews conducted. This would help the reader locate cited materials more efficiently. Moreover, it would underline Moravcsik's attention to primary sources which brings us to a methodological point. Moravcsik does not cite magazine or newspaper articles and relies a good deal on confidential interviews. It may be argued that journalistic writings are helpful when "hard" primary sources, namely, internal government documents, are systematically cross checked with these accounts. Accurate journalistic reporting, when referenced consistently, can also confirm or deny explanations given in confidential interviews. These techniques allow for a greater degree of transparency in source materials.

The preceding points are evidence that, given the numerous questions this volume raises, Moravcsik has admirably achieved his most important objective: to renew the intellectual-practitioners' debate about the fundamental causes of European integration. The Choice for Europe is recommended to a wide audience as an unprecedented work that incorporates elements of comparative politics, international relations and political economy in a historical narrative that challenges us to think critically about the reasons why states choose to cooperate.

excellent revisionist overview of European integration
I found this book one of the best I have read on European integration history. It is a good example of revisionist history at its best. Compared to other books i have studied on the same subject this one makes a number of novel points and gives a completely different emphasis on driving factors & driving actors of the process of EU integration, putting the role of the Member States at centre stage all the way, and their economic interests as primary driving elements. To me, as an economist, this sounded convincing and certainly puts a novel slant on the traditional 'high politics' integration story. At the same time, I also found it a somewhat depressing account of the ineffectiveness of the Commission at crucial times of decision making. The book certainly puts into question some cherished notions about the role and functioning of the Commission, and since I am proud to work there it was not easy to take this in.

I found the first chapter hard going and somewhat obtruse, although i can appreciate the methodological points he makes, which are all to often ingnored. Once one is through that, though, the real story begins and a fascinating account it is, especially since it certainly does not follow the analysis i have read previously on this subject.

An excellent reference work, and certain to stimulate many a (heated) debate.

Political science for European integration historians
For once, here is a general text purporting to analyse the history of European integration that actually lives up to its billing. It is quite rightly considered a tour de force. Indeed, Andrew Moravcsik's "The choice for Europe" has already established itself as one of the most important publications to date on this subject. While it is obvious that the continued evolution of the European Union has been one of the most 'extraordinary political achievements' to have taken place during the 20th century, the reasons why this community of states was created in the first place and the ways in which it has since developed have not always been so convincingly explained or succinctly outlined, that is until now. What Robert Keohane describes on the fly-cover as the 'most compelling and significant analysis yet of the European Community' is just that.

Moravcsik is not a historian, but in this text he tries to integrate political science theory into a historical study of European unity; this is in order to discover why there has been such a high-level of cooperation between Western European states during the last half-century. His book fills an important gap in our knowledge by tracing the somewhat erratic developments that have led to a greater degree of economic and political union gradually being instituted throughout this region and by placing these in a theoretical perspective.

In this most accessible work, he persuasively argues that economic interdependence has been the prime motivator in successive governments making these rational choices. One of the weak (and strong) points however regarding Moravcsik's investigation is that it only focuses on the big European powers - Germany, Great Britain and France, as well as the European Commission - and does not really delve into small-power politics. Questions such as how these smaller nations tried to operate within, or negotiate entry into, the EEC as they became more aware and realistic about their world positions, how they operated in relation to the big powers, et cetera, must wait until their specific histories have been chronicled before they can be answered. At least historians now have a tool to do so.

In taking the case studies that he does, Moravcsik examines them in the context of what he sees as the five decisive agreements that have driven European integration all the way from Messina to Maastricht: via the Treaties of Rome in 1957, the EC Merger Treaty and other consolidatory and expansionary agreements enacted during the 1960s, the various examples of European monetary integration during the 1970s and early 1980s, and the Single European Act of 1986, all the way to Economic and Monetary Union in 1991. In so doing, he develops his thesis on integration history to fit the facts rather than the other way round, while providing a critique of existing theories and presenting us with one of the best existing analyses on this topic. This volume by Moravcsik is clearly a strong basis for future historiographical debate. ... Read more

Book Description

This book introduces students to new ways of thinking about culture and development. The book integrates the recent scholarship in the area of cultural studies within the existing frameworks of development studies, which have primarily focused on issues of political economy and structural transformation. Rather than viewing culture as simply an attribute of the societies undergoing development, this text critically examines how "development" itself operates as a cultural process. The authors draw on theories of modernity, poststructuralism and post-colonial studies to show how development institutions, processes and practices are inevitably caught up in a web of cultural presuppositions, values and meanings.

The authors use the themes of gender, tradition and identity, human rights and new communication technologies to explore the challenges that processes of cultural change pose to conventional understandings of development. The book concludes by considering the move beyond "development" to a "post-development" paradigm.

The book is made up of thematic chapters which include outlines and overviews of the specific topics, as well as case studies to illustrate the issues. The authors have designed the book specifically for students and teachers and the material included has been class-tested during their own teaching. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Good for "Beginners"
This book was chosen as a required reading for a course I took about Globalization and Development. Having no prior knowledge about this topic, I felt that the Rist book provided a good introduction to the topic for "beginners". However, the tone tends to offer a pessimistic view of the situations presented. ... Read more

Book Description

What did the Latin American economies achieve in the course of a hundred years? Per capita income increased fivefold, yet today it is lower in proportion to the industrial countries than it was a century ago. Modern infrastructure was built and industry grew to 20 percent of GDP, but the region's share of world trade was halved. Social indicators such as life expectancy and literacy improved dramatically, but inequity and poverty worsened.

This comprehensive economic history examines the political, institutional and economic forces that shaped Latin America's complex and often paradoxical development process over the twentieth century. By examining quantitative data alongside the region's political economies, the book provides historical context for the development strategies, choices, successes, and failures of the Latin American countries.

Commissioned by IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias, the book draws on studies and consultancies prepared by a number of specialists on Latin America. A comprehensive Statistical Appendix provides regionwide and country-by-country data in such areas as GDP, manufacturing, sector productivity, prices, trade, income distribution, and living standards.

Moving chronologically through the century, the book focuses on two dramatic waves of expansion that shaped regional growth: first, an export boom as the century began, and second, import-substitution industrialization corresponding to renewed expansion of the international economy following the Depression and the two World Wars. Following the debt crisis of the 1980s, Latin America at century's end has returned to where it began, with reliance on the free market and export-led growth. However, the book outlines the changes in economic structures and approaches that make today's economic scenario radically different from the old.

Reviews (1)

A Fascinating Way to Study History!!!
"Progress, Poverty and Exclusion. An Economic History of Latin America in the 20th Century" is a fascinating book from the cover to the annexes.The contrast between a XX th century modern city and a shanty town showed in the cover gives the reader an initial idea of the position of the writer regarding Latin American economic development.Poverty, exclusion and income concentration are problems that are inherent to the vast majority of Latin American economies and Rosemary Thorp makes sure that the reader remembers that throughout the book. Her social focus is perfectly compatible with a serious economic analysis based on well-documented facts and statistical data.Every student of Latin American history, politics and economics should have this book in his or her shelves.Furthermore, any scholar dealing with Latin American issues should not forget to read Thorp's work "every morning" to remember what is that the Latin American economies achieved in the course of a hundred years. Finally, I highly recommend accompanying the reading of this book with another masterpiece, "The Economic History of Latin America" by Victor Bulmer-Thomas ... Read more

Book Description

Is local economic development a "zero-sum game"? How do we know that "but for the incentives" the development would not have occurred? How important is "quality of life" in location decisions and local economic development? Is industry targeting a viable economic development strategy? This book tackles these and many other significant questionsùfrom more than one perspective. Dilemmas of Urban Economic Development assesses the "state of the art" of the field of urban economic development. Each chapter addresses a particularly pertinent issue in economic development. Following each chapter are commentariesùone written by an academic addressing research methodology and the other by a practitioner addressing both the question and the evidence. The chapters are concluded with the author of each chapter responding directly to the issues raised by the commentators. The result is a productive dialogue between academics, practitioners, and citizens concerned with economic development. ... Read more

Book Description

How do the public policies of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom stack up against one another? Comparing Public Policies combines a conceptual discussion of policy-making with an examination of seven specific policy areas using a cross-national perspective. Adolino and Blake strike a balance between policy analysis and description as they provide students with a helpful mix of analytical tools and background information.

The book begins with a concise overview of the policy process and then considers the role of cultural, economic, political, and institutional influences on policy-making. A brief chapter describes the political system of the six countries and provides necessary context. The core of the book is devoted to seven policy areas: immigration, fiscal policy, taxation, health care, social policy, education, and the environment. Each chapter shares a common framework that begins with an introduction to a policy topic, follows with its examination in each country, and concludes with an analysis of cross-national trends-past and present-in policy choices, outcomes, and dynamics. A final chapter re-examines the internationalization of public policy in industrialized countries. Adolino and Blake also consider how policymakers use this comparative perspective to guide them in their policy choices and help them pursue those choices within the political process.

Useful pedagogical features have been incorporated throughout the text. "In Depth" boxes offer students a more detailed discussion of a policy issue, political process, or analytical technique while "Country At-a-Glance" boxes provide quick reference to the political institutions of each country. A wealth of recent data is displayed in numerous tables and a glossary gives students a practical guide to terminology. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (6)

The Politics of Writing
The Writers of books like Unholy Trnity make very little money for their hard work (usually a few hundred dollars a year for 3-4 years). They write books like this out of political commitment. And then people like "Not Right" (though he or she probably is, Right Wing) criticize the author for responding to an obviously political critique! This book, as the Publishers Weekly review says, provides a scholarly grounding for the anti-WTO, IMF and World Bank protests. The group of students and faculty who worked on it did a splendid job. Read it and you will see.

Not Right
I think that it is pathetic for one of the authors to actually review and rate his own book. It seems as if this person is obsessed with selling as many copies of his book as possible. This type of greed is exactly what he pretends to be writing against. It is also wrong for someone (perhaps also one of the authors), to attack another reviewer, just because he/she did not like the book. These things say a lot about the author/s of this volume.

Florida again
The Florida reviewer criticizes the book's discussion of Foucault, but doesnt know how to spell his (Foucault's) name! Specify the criticisms so they can be replied to. Dont leave them as empty words. So the concept of hegemony used in the book, or which data are not backed up with sources? I dont find any. What we have here is a political attack disguised as a factual review.

Horrible
Please do not buy this book; the author (...) lacks any knowledge of the topic he discusses. The whole discussion about Focault and the so-called "hegemony" is irrational and wrong. The authour is (...) prone to endorsing irrational ideas. The whole discussion of certain countries' roles (Argentina-Brazil) is simply wrong; the account given of those countries' recent history is false. The economic figures provided in the book are also false; no source of them is provided. Please do not buy this book(...).

Posing new questions, not answering ready-made ones
I am a contributing author to this book. This book was written over a period of two years, during which the authors carried an extensive and detailed research on how the global institutions came to be central actors in the contemporary global political economy, and why do they operate the way they do. We looked into the internal structure of these institutions, the broad political and economic context in which they emerged, and their historical transformations in the face of a changing world, in order to deconstruct their seeming inevitability and neutrality, and to situate them in real historical-geographical circumstances. We sought to explain and criticize the instrumental role these institutions play in producing economic and geographical inequality, and massive human misery all over the world in the name of development. The authors were not "obliged to give a negative view" because of the title of the book, as our 'critic' suggests, rather, because of what we found in researching the history and geography of these institutions. (And, for the authors, an unholy trinity sounds as "negative" as a holy one!)

We do not pretend to approach the subject with a neutral, apolitical attitude-our ultimate aim in writing this book is to explore different possibilities, and different worlds. Like our critic, we wonder what kind of world it would be without the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO; but we wonder for the future, not to justify and apologize for the past and present (mis)deeds of these institutions. We deliberately did not present "the other side"-by which is meant the global institutions' view of themselves; the reader can find such views in the many publications of the institutions and their apologists. They're literally all over the place, and this is one reason that motivated us to work on an alternative view, a different history. For not presenting arguments in favor of these institutions (although we always present them at length where we criticize them!), and although he finds the text "sometimes hard to understand" (quoting sentences out of context to demonstrate), our critic describes our analyses as superficial, and the discussion shallow. Maybe our critic was expecting to read another kind of book; better, maybe our critic would like to read the book again, and give another thought to what is truly "the other side". ... Read more

Book Description

This book looks beyond politics to show how the ability of the U.S. government to implement policies is strongly affected by various economic constraints. These include the credibility of the policies, the ability of government to commit to them, the extent to which firms and consumers rationally anticipate their effects, whether the success of a policy further encourages firms and individuals to behave in intended ways, and whether the behavior of such actors can be sustained without continued government intervention. The authors apply these concepts to four areas of policy: macroeconomic policies to promote employment and economic growth, redistributive policies to benefit the poor and the elderly, production policies to provide goods and services, and regulatory policies to guide the behavior of firms and individuals. In doing so they provide plausible explanations of many puzzling phenomena�for example, why government has been successful in reducing cigarette smoking, but has failed to get people to install and maintain emission-control devices in their cars.This book recasts debates about public policy, avoiding conventional �pro-government� or �anti-government� positions; rather, it helps to predict when public policy will succeed. ... Read more

Book Description

Providing the first theoretical analysis of regulation of public services for less developed countries (LDCs), Jean-Jacques Laffont demonstrates how the debate between price-cap regulation and cost of service regulation is affected by the characteristics of LDCs. Laffont develops a new theory of regulation with limited enforcement capabilities, and discusses the delicate issue of access pricing in view of LDCs' specificities. His evaluation of the different ways to organize the regulatory institutions makes a significant contribution to the field. ... Read more

Book Description

Makes Japanese sources accessible in English
Although much of the work on Japanese economic history is inaccessible to Westerners, many of Japan's leading economic historians have published widely in English. Combined with the work of Western economists who can utilize Japanese-language sources, this series assembles a wide range of English-language articles on the key issues in Japanese economic development. Individual volumes cover the interwar period, postwar reconstruction and growth, the textile industry, demographics, agriculture, trade, and the rise of commerce and "protoindustry" in the Tokugawa era.

An information-packed classroom and research resource
An introductory essay in each volume discusses the significance of the articles, compares various economic development in Japan with those in other countries, and puts studies in the context of similar studies in Europe. A versatile research resource, this 7-volume set is a veritable gold mine of hard-to-find information and data from diverse sources and a godsend to everyone interested in comparative economic and social history. Professors will appreciate the collection because it gives them instant access to less familiar English-language sources and is an easy way to introduce students to doing their own research. Students will appreciate the many articles as a mother lode of information for reports and papers. Researchers will be pleased by the coverage of more than three centuries of Japanese history and life. ... Read more

Book Description

Macroeconomic Policy is an applications oriented textdesigned for individuals who desire a hands-on approach to analyzingthe effects of fiscal and monetary policies. The book demystifies thelinkages between monetary and fiscal policies and key macroeconomicvariables such as income, unemployment, inflation and interest rates.MBA and Executive MBA students who appreciate the importance ofmonetary and fiscal analysis will find this text to be right ontarget. Financial analysts and individual investors who need to stripaway economic myths and jargon and systematically examine andunderstand the effects of macro policies will also find the bookextremely useful. A unique feature of this book is the extensive use of speciallywritten "newspaper" articles designed to simulate currentmacroeconomic news. Topics such as unemployment, soft landings,overheated economies, asset-price bubbles, liquidity traps,hyperinflations, and exchange rate meltdowns are incorporated in thesearticles. Each chapter contains exercises that enable the reader torelate specific underlined passages in these articles to the theorypresented in preceding chapters. This distinctive approach ensuresreal-world applicability, and supporting diagrams further enable thereader to relate current economic news to the theoretical materialdiscussed. Macroeconomic Policy is designed for a global audience. A keyfeature of this book is its emphasis on the role of expectations and"paradigm shifts" in implementing fiscal and monetary policies, bothin developed as well as in emerging economies. This approach explainswhy once-successful macroeconomic models suddenly cease to beeffective, and why Keynesian as well as Supply-Side models canlegitimately coexist in several developed economies. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Excellent Preparation for CFA Level 1
I am an employee at Merrill Lynch (I have my series 7,63,65,24,4), and currently studying for the CFA Level 1 Exam, however, my background is in Biochemistry and Biology so it is pretty obvious that I was behind my peers relative to our formal academic background.So, I felt that I needed a book that that could clearly communicate the macroeconomic policies that govern this country. However, because the CFA level 1 is a difficult exam, I could not afford to have the author dilute the information, or overly simplify the information. Fortunately, the literature provided in this book not only conveyed the information better, and clearer than, the actual CFA preparatory classes that I had been taken, but it was such a fun book to read.The beauty of this book is that it provides actual contemporay, and historic global examples to supplement the literature.Prior to reading this book, I had read other books on macroeconomic policy that were so dry that I could not even finish the chapters (and I had read some pretty dry books during my days as an undergrade pursuing my double major in Biotechnology and Biology), but this book was the type of book that I did not want to put down from the moment I started reading it.Furthermore, this book also assisted me in getting a better understanding of the markets (equities and real estate) for future investments as well.After reading this book, I am such a sharper investor, I can now dissect the nonsense from the valid information that is being promoted on TV and in magazines.I highly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in getting a deeper understanding of how our government works, and how our economy works relative to the rest of the world.

Excellent Preparation for CFA Level 1
I am an employee at Merrill Lynch (I have my series 7,63,65,24,4) and currently studying for the CFA Level 1 Exam, however, my background is in Biochemistry and Biology so it is pretty obvious that I was behind relative to my peers with regards to our formal academic background. So I felt that I needed a book that that could clearly communicate the macroeconomic policies that govern this country. However, because the CFA level 1 is a difficult exam, I could not afford to have the author dilute the information or overly simplify the information. Fortunately, the literature provided in this book not only conveyed the information better, and clearer than the actual CFA preparatory classes that I had been taken, but it was such a fun book to read. The beauty of this book is that it provides actual contemporay and historic global examples to supplement the literature. Prior to reading this book I had read other books on macroeconomic policy that were so dry that I could not even finish the chapters (and I had read some pretty dry books during my days as an undergrade pursuing my double major in Biotechnology and Biology)but this book was the type of book that I did not want to put down from the moment I started reading it. Furthermore, this book also assisted me in getting a better understanding of the markets (equities and real estate) for future investments as well. After reading this book, I am such a sharper investor, I can now dissect the nonsense from the valid information that is being promoted on TV and in magazines. I highly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in getting a deeper understanding of how our government works, and how our economy works relative to the rest of the world.

Outstanding!
This book truly does demystify macroeconomics.Professor Langdana makes it accessible and easy to see the results of monetary and fiscal policy.I've never studied economics and I know I have a much better understanding of the subject thanks to him and his book!

Review of Langdana's Macroeconomic Policy
This book truly "demystifies" domestic and global monetary and fiscal policy.The strength of the book lies in the author's ability to not hide behind equations and math but to explain and analyze macropolicy clearly and intuitively.This should be required reading for all members of Congress!I wish I had a book like this while I was in graduate school!Superb!

Not recommended at all as a graduate level textbook
The book is not at all suited for a grad level course because none of the graphs or equations have any mathematicalderivations. The content of the book undermines the intellectual capabilities of a grad student. In short, there isn't much that a student can learn from this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Civil war usually has devastating consequences – it is development in reverse. As civil wars have accumulated and persisted, they have generated or intensified a significant part of the global poverty problem that is the World Bank’s core mission to confront.

Part of the purpose of this Report is to alert the international community to the adverse consequences of civil war for development. These consequences are suffered mostly by civilians, often by children and by those in neighboring countries. Those who take the decisions to start or to sustain wars are often relatively immune to their adverse effects. The international community therefore has a legitimate role as an advocate for those who are victims. The second reason why the World Bank should focus on civil war is that development can be an effective instrument for conflict prevention. The risk of civil war is much higher in low-income countries than in middle-income countries. Civil war thus reflects not just a problem for development, but a failure of development.

The research yields three main findings. First, civil wars have highly adverse ripple effects that are obviously not taken into account by those who determine whether they start or end. Second, the risks of civil war differ massively according to a country’s characteristics, including its economic characteristics. As a result, there is a conflict trap, and civil war is becoming increasingly concentrated in relatively few developing countries. The third finding is that feasible international actions could substantially reduce the global incidence of civil war. ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for the first edition ". . . a valuable reference for anyone interested in Japan's economy. . . provides essential background information as to how Japan's bureaucracy functions, how its trade relationships have developed, and why some policies are as firmly entrenched as they are." -- Far Eastern Economic Review

The MIT Encyclopedia of the Japanese Economy was the first English-language encyclopedia to cover all major aspects of Japan's postwar economy. The second edition has been fully revised and expanded, and includes previously unpublished data as well as coverage of recent developments in the economy. The definitional entries concisely explain major economic concepts and include translations of Japanese economic terms and cross references to the longer topical essays. The 180 topical essays cover banks, financial systems, major industries, corporate groups, management practices, labor unions, international trade and investments, government economic policies, and more. They also include comprehensive statistics, American and Japanese views on economic relations between the two countries, and suggestions for further reading. A new index contains names of major companies. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Invaluable reference source
As an international equity portfolio manager specializing in Japanese equities, this book is a very valuable reference source. The book describes many of the key institutions and their interlocking nature. Full of cross references, addresses & phone numbers (for institutions) and mini bibliographies for most major concepts, this book is a great hub for studying the Japanese economy. I look forward to the next edition. ... Read more