Book Description

In his Mattioli Lectures, Nobel Laureate Professor Herbert A. Simon directs attention to the kinds of empirical research that are necessary for progress in microeconomics. He traces the development of neoclassical economic theory and its gradual retreat from empiricism to abstraction. He next discusses the importance of business firms to the economic system, and the need for a thoroughly empirical understanding of how organisations work and reach their decisions. Finally, he examines recent innovative approaches to empirical research, including experimental economics, observational methods for studying economic behaviour, and the kinds of simulation models that are needed to interpret decision process. A round-table discussion of these issues follows; the participants, in addition to Professor Simon, are Professors Claudio Dematte, Massimo Egidi, Richard M. Goodwin, Robert Marris, Aldo Montesano, and Riccardo Viale. ... Read more

Book Description

The contributions in this volume reveal much about the institutional nature of central banks.They analyze the banks' growth and development as well as desired objectives and challenges in the future. The articles tackle the issues in a variety of ways, combining historical observation with economic theory and experimentation. ... Read more

Book Description

A dollar is a dollar--or so most of us believe. Indeed, it is part of the ideology of our time that money is a single, impersonal instrument that impoverishes social life by reducing social relations to cold, hard cash. Arguing against this conventional wisdom, Viviana Zelizer, a distinguished social scientist and prize-winning author, shows how people have invented their own forms of currency, earmarking money in ways that baffle market theorists, incorporating funds into webs of friendship and family relations, and otherwise varying the process by which spending and saving takes place. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Different Perspective on Money
Viviana Zelizer (VZ) provides an excellent alternative view to what the meaning and social significance of currency is and was in various sub-cultures in the United States. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't identify an application of VZ's analogy between the empty soup cans used by immigrants to the US to compartmentalize savings for different purchases of durable goods to that of our current mental compartmentalization of savings for different purchases. Essentially, people have there own unique utility graphs for different products - whether we realize it or not. VZ illustrates how these differing utility graphs overlap in the sub-cultures of the past, present, and future. I recommend this book for anybody interested in monetary history. ... Read more

Book Description

An economic history of Britain since 1700, in three volumes by thirty-nine eminent historians and economists, this book will succeed the first edition of "Floud and McCloskey" (published in 1981) as the leading textbook on its subject. The text has a firm economic basis, but emphasizes the historical context and chronology and is written in straightforward and jargon-free English. Volume 1 covers the period 1700-1860, that of Britain's rise to relative economic supremacy. Volume 2 discusses the period 1860-1939, that of the height of British economic power and of painful readjustment after 1914.Volume 3 considers the period since 1939, that of relative economic decline and of increasing involvement with the European Community. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a history of economic thought from Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes--but it is a history with a difference. Firstly, it is history of economic theory, not of economic doctrines. Secondly, it includes detailed Reader's Guides to nine of the major texts of economics in the effort to encourage students to become acquainted at first hand with the writings of all the great economists. This fifth edition adds new Reader's Guides to Walras' Elements of Pure Economics and Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money as well as major additions to the chapters on marginal productivity theory, general equilibrium theory and welfare economics. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Good synopsis but poor analysis
I have always felt uneasy with this book since I was an under graduated student, 30 years ago. This is undoubtedly a quiet useful book for anyone who needs a bird's-eye view of the classics in economics. If you don't have time to read Smith's Wealth of Nations or Marshall's Principles, here you have the book you need. However, it is not here that you can look for a good analysis of the meaning and implications of the main schools of economic thought, as well as the relevance of the work of its most distinguished authors and their social and intellectual environment. That is reason why I always preferred Schumpeter's History of Economic Analysis. Today, that I am lecturing this course my dissatisfaction has increased, among other reasons because you have more and better textbooks, such as Lionel Robbins' History of Economic Thought, Mark Skoussen's Making of Modern Economics, or Jürg Niehams' History of Economic Theory, which I really enjoyed reading because they try to make a portrayal of the intellectual and human stature of the most important economists of all times and their background.

good for econ dudes
as an econ major i found this book highly informative and interesting. however, if you are not mathematically inclined you might find some of the models and graphs difficult to follow, especially the ones involving differential equations.
but if you are an econ dude, this book is great. lots of insight about how commonly used theories and models came about. well written for the most part, but somewhat wordy at times.

Too much lopsided for my taste.
The problem with this book is that it offers an astounding bibliography, being therefore a mandatory list to further readings, but unfortunately it is entirely teleological, as it considers neoclessic economics of the most conservative kind to represent the acme of all economic thinking.

Still the best of its type
The standard text for anyone who wishes to analyse economic theory. Blaug takes the approach that an economic theory can be criticised on two levels. It may have a mismatch with the environment and or it may be internally flawed as a theory. By concentrating on theory Blaug helps the reader acquire their own critical faculties for assessing economic theories without getting bogged down on endless details associated with, "but things were different then," or with defendants of marxist economic theory, "but things would be different." ... Read more

Book Description

Synthesizing new economic research of recent decades, the author offers new insights and some surprising conclusions about the Great Depression. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

new look at country's worst crisis
Based on new theories, Smiley has re-examined and re-assessed the forces that led to and prolonged the Great Depression. In clear non-technical prose, he shows what happened and why.

This short book (163 pages plus sources and index) is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 gives a brief overview of how the worldwide depression began and how it created a domino effect throughout Europe and the U.S. Nothing new here-- in fact, this is basic stuff any high schooler should know.

Chapter 2 is a more detailed examination of the economic crisis and the forces which led to it. Smiley explains the situation in basic terms that anyone can understand, allowing us to see the tragedy unfolding step by step.

Chapters 3 and 4 show how President Roosevelt (who had little knowledge or experience of economics) attempted to pull the country out of this deep economic slump. Though some programs were successful, some were not, and only serve to create a depression within a depression in the mid-30s.

Chapter 5 examines the legacy of the governmental response, and how economic policies initiated during this period has affected this country for decades afterward, and how certain government programs still exist long after their usefulness has passed. An examination of post-war analysis shows how Keynesian economic theory and government studies have misinterpreted the factors which brought this country back to recovery. He also examines the question of whether such an event can happen again, concluding that-- based on subsequent economic downturns-- it probably won't, though it can happen again should future leaders ignore the warning signs and lessons of the past.

A fascinating and rewarding book, even for those who have little or no knowledge of economics.

Eye opening
Smiley discusses the cause the the Great Depression, and the effects of the New Deal in prolonging it. He summarizes the findings of the latest academeic research, over the past few decades. He does this well and quite clearly, in a non-polemical way.

No math is involved.

Draws upon recent technical analysis
Gene Smiley's Rethinking The Great Depression blends history and economics in a survey which draws upon recent technical analysis to consider new ideas about the roots of the Depression. The efforts of the New Deal to combat the crisis, the underlying foundations of the Depression, and misguided monetary policies which prolonged it accompany refutes to popular beliefs - such as the positive view of World War II as a key to ending the crisis.

Concise, well orginized, and a fantastic read.
This book is only 175 pages, but dense in material. Smiley argues that FDR's New Deal, actually prolonged the Great Depression, and created a "depression within a depression." FDR, and his advisors, self nicknamed "the brains trust", put their New Deal emphasis in stiffling the free market forces, that were actually recovering the American economy from the world depression, of the early 1900's. Also, Smiley sheds light on the false notion that war is good for the economy. This book is written in such an understandable and concise style, that even the bibliography reads like a integrated chapter, where Smiley explains what he used within each reference.

I would recommend this book as a first read, or primer, for the Great Depression. I really enjoyed it.

The Great Depression Reassessed From a Free-Market Viewpoint
Gene Smiley, a protege of the free-market-oriented Austrian and Chicago schools of economics, has written a concise and readable book that challenges some long-held beliefs about the Great Depression.

Smiley presents a convincing case that the calamity was brought on, not, as is widely believed, by flaws in the free enterprise system, but by government policies, in particular, attempts to manipulate the gold standard. He then shows how the well-intentioned but wrongheaded interventionist policies pursued by the Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt administrations to combat the Depression actually prolonged and deepened it.

Smiley also presents evidence that the "boom" of the World War II years was actually a bust, and that true prosperity only returned when Washington turned away from New Dealism following the election of the Eightieth Congress in 1946. His insightful discussion as to whether or not another Great Depression could occur should be of particular interest to contemporary readers.

Although written for a general audience, Smiley's book is well researched and includes an extensive bibliography. It will make a useful addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in the Great Depression, American history, or macroeconomics. ... Read more

Book Description

David Hackett Fischer has gained a reputation for making History come alive--even stories as familiar as Paul Reveres ride or as complex as the transit of British culture to America.Now he has done it again in The Great Wave, a history of price movements and cultural change from the middle ages to the present.

Fischer examines price records in many nations, and finds our great waves of rising prices in the thirteenth, sixteenth, eighteenth, and twentieth centuries.All were marked by price swings of increasing volatility, falling real wages, a growing gap between rich and poor, and an increase in violent crime, family disintegration, and cultural despair.Each long wave reached its climax in a period of political revolution, demographic contraction, and economic collapse.Every crisis was followed by sharp deflation, and then by a long era of price equilibrium, rising real wages, falling returns to capital, growing equality, and accelerating population-growth.Aggregate demand increased, and another wave began.

Fischer concludes that we are living in the late stages of the twentieth century price revolution.He does not predict what will happen next.Rather, he ends with an analysis of where we might go from here, and what our choices are now. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Excellent, Highly Recommended
Fischer's book takes in a long view of basic economic history. It covers the period from roughly 1200 AD to present, using data from England, Europe and the United States. The book sizes up what has taken place economically, socially, etc. and it discusses some basic relationships. A great contribution of the book is that it becomes apparent to the reader that long term effects are frequently completely invisible to people coping with present economic situations. For example, many well-intended fiscal policies are counter-productive or produce neutral effects for this very reason. Another great supporting contribution of the book is that Fischer is well aware of the various schools of economic thought. At many places in the text, he points out weaknesses of certain theories; in his appendix he summarizes by showing that no existing single theory fully explains actual historical events. Another great contribution is the appendix itself. It comprises half the book, and contains a massive bibliography, with further elaborations on social issues, crime, disease, divorce, contrasts in economic theories, wealth distribution, and more. Most of the references are of high scholarly quality. There are a few shortcomings in presentation, but these are details. For example, Fischer occasionally makes asides which would be more effective if they were concise summaries. Also, some of his graphs have peculiar scaling. The reader must exercise care in interpreting them. Nevertheless, ... Fischer's work is an excellent overview of economic dynamics, and is highly recommended for obtaining a well-rounded perspective.

Riding the inflation wave
Utilizing a very long telescope, one that sees back into the Dark Ages, Brandise University professor David Hackett Fischer investigates the history of price changes to expound on a fascinating theory that can possibly foretell nothing less than the future of the United States, whether we're headed for an era of greater prosperity, or a catastrophe like that of the Great Depression. By examining the prices people paid for goods throughout history, four price-revolutions, were identified, where inflation grew in intensity strong enough to destabilize society. After each crash came a long period of comparative price-equilibrium, when countries experienced growth in culture, such as during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Fischer's book looks intimidating: its 536 pages is studded with charts showing the flucturation of prices throughout history. But Fishcher devotes only 258 pages to an analysis of prices waves; the rest of the book is taken up with appendices and essays on side issues. And the 258 pages contains 105 charts, further reducing the amount of reading needed to grasp the main points. Fischer retells history during the four waves, and there, except for the occasional burst of economic jargon, the text is compelling, and the theory well worth considering. -- Bill Peschel

a magazine article that shouldn't have grown into a book
A typical academic's expansion of an idea that might have made an interesting magazine article, but produced a dull book. It's virtue is a comprehensive picture of economic activity over most of recorded history. Even that suffers from the author's politically biased views of the last half century.
Sometimes, when it's "publish or perish", perishing seems an attractive alternative.

'Dismal science' makes for fascinating reading

Americans seem to have a blind spot when it comes to history. We can't see the value of learning about the past, and applying its lessons to the present. We're arrogant enough with our vast wealth and power to believe that we invented everything first. Or we simply don't see the value of history, as a resource, as object lesson, as holding some answers to today's dilemmas.

Brandeis University professor David Hackett Fischer acknowledges this blind spot and takes the long view in "The Great Wave." Utilizing a very long telescope, one that sees back as far as the Dark Ages, Fischer investigates the history of price changes to expound on a fascinating theory that can possibly foretell nothing less than the future of the United States, whether we're headed for an era of greater prosperity, or a catastrophe like that of the Great Depression.

Fischer's long-view theme is similar to more popular and populist works that spring up like daffodils and last about as long: Toffler's "Fourth Wave" and "Future Shock" easily come to mind, and politicians have their favorite advocates of either the "future's so bright we got to wear shades" school of eternal optimism, or the "hunker down, boys, the Japanese / Germans / Latinos / big business / lower classes are coming over the walls" school.

The theory behind "The Great Wave," in contrast, is the real thing, backed by solid research, not the author's political leanings. By examining the prices people paid for goods throughout history, four "price revolutions" were identified, each followed by a long period when prices were relatively stable. The intensity and length of each revolution was different, lasting as short as 80 years, to as long as 180 years.

What provides the kick behind this notion is how this series of rising and fallings have had on the growth of society. In general, rising prices placed severe stresses on society at large. During the first three upticks (during the Medieval, 16th century and 18th century periods), bad weather added to the troubles by destroying harvests, leading to widespread starvation. The lower classes, squeezed between prices for basic foods they could no longer pay, as well as laws passed by the wealthy classes who wished to protect their investments, lead to catastrophes such as social revolution or a population-reducing plague. That would restabilize prices and, in general, give everybody a chance to catch their breath.

Once the shocks of the collapse have passed, the society finds that prices have stabilized, and the population at large begins to recover. When times are good, the population tends to increase. This places stresses on food and fuel, triggering inflation. Continued prosperity increases the cycle of growth and demand, and added to the troubles are the occasional wars, when ambitious people felt comfortable enough with the status quo to demand more of it.

This is a simplistic rendering in a review of what is actually a rather simple theory to understand in practice. Fischer tells the story of each wave, and the cause-and-effect patterns are so clear that it seems like one is reading the same story four times, with only the names of the players changed.

Fischer's book looks intimidating at first. Its 536 pages is studded with charts showing the fluctuation of prices throughout history. But Fischer devotes only 258 pages to an analysis of prices waves; the rest of the book is taken up with appendices and essays on side issues. And the 258 pages contains 105 charts, further reducing the amount of reading needed to grasp the main points.

Economics has been called the dismal science, but Fischer's work offers a cautionary story that is readily understandable and surprisingly compelling to the general reader. Where Fischer says we are on the next wave, I'll leave to those willing to make the effort. "The Great Wave" is well worth the journey.

For the mildly interested
If you are interested in economic history but aren't a specialist this book is an excellent fit. It does not assume a fluid knowledge of European hisotry. Nor does it assume you want make this your life's work.

The Great Wave covers 3 seperate instances of long term inflation compares and contrasts them. The basic thesis is that increased productivity and a healthy economy leads to ever increasing demands on resources which create a slow secular inflation. As people realize they are in a slow inflation, a hyper inflation starts this damages the financial system and causes an economic disaster. From there the whole thing starts over. ... Read more

Book Description

Are upstart competitors taking deadly aim at your company's products and markets? Richard A. D'Aveni, author of the famous attacker's handbook Hypercompetition, presents coun-terrevolutionary strategies and tactics that any industry leader or established company can use to defend itself against revolutionaries, disrupters, or hypercompetitors. The secret lies in making the rules, not breaking them, D'Aveni says, because rule makers still rule. Arguing that "profits and prosperity come not from revolution but stability and orderly change," D'Aveni presents a commanding framework that will enable any resource-rich or clever defender to gain Strategic Supremacy by being first to define the playing field.

D'Aveni demonstrates how global powerhouses such as Disney, Microsoft, and Procter & Gamble have achieved preeminence by reconceptualizing their product portfolios as powerful competitive arsenals he calls "spheres of influence." Essentially a new way to compete by restructuring portfolios around a core geographic/product market, spheres enable any company to influence the behavior and positioning of rivals. In immensely readable prose, D'Aveni describes how prevailing spheres of influence can be used to create legal business equivalents to a "concert of powers" and other industry structures that mix cooperation with competition. Just one of the potent functions of a corporate sphere, D'Aveni shows, is to contain competitors of equal size (as NBC contained ABC). Spheres can also be used to stabilize an entire industry's global power system.

A glance at the detailed table of contents will provide a sense of the wealth of new information contained in this essential handbook of global warfare, including "how-to" tools the reader will need to measure and map the pattern of competitive pressure in any industry and to interpret the meaning and strategic implications of these pressure patterns for his or her position within the industry's power hierarchy. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Gotta be smart to like this one!
This book take the "core philosophy" one step further. You gotta be a strategy geek though to really understand it.
If the wonderful book BUILT TO LAST taught you how to work from the core, then this book teaches you how to protect your core.

This book is revoultinary because the author really sees things in a new way.

This book has helpt me understand me and my competitors. I understand what the core of my business is, and my competitors, the diffrence comes how we interact and work from the core ........it proves how complex business strategy really is. This book helps you undertand it!

Strategic Supremacy
Both in style and content this is a heavily theoretical, academic work. The concept of spheres of influence does little to advance the discussion beyond what could be achieved using conventional portfolio models and competitive theory. The constant reliance on historical, non business related examples only increases the abstract nature of D'Aveni's argument.

D'Aveni is unable to provide examples of companies who have followed the approach he describes and thus his argument is weakened by a lack of coherent or consistent case studies. He is forced to rely on a series of vignettes that attempt to justify small parts of his argument.

As an academic exercise in reviewing similarities across social, military and business history, Strategic Supremacy offers some interesting insights. As a tool for understanding the competitive environment and developing strategies it does not, in my opinion, offer a great deal that current tools cannot provide.

Silly
I did not find this book useful, instructive, or even interesting. There is something about these high-brow academics that just seems to make them incapable of grasping the real world. I'm sorry but this book read like it was written by a junior in business school on the night before it was due.

I have read virtually every book there is on business strategy - this one rates as one of the worst.

Strategic Supremacy
Transcends the simplistic Chicken Little strategic approaches that recommend you blow yourself up to save yourself in the face of change and chaos. Rather than assuming the sky is falling, D'Aveni reveals, through wisely analyzed cross-industry and longitudinal studies, how the underlying character of firms can lead to startlingly successful and varied approaches for marketplace triumphs.

Dr. Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld,
Associate Dean, Yale School of Management,
& Founder and CEO, The Chief Executive Leadership Institute, "The CEO College"

For startups and small businesses
This book was incredibly readable. At times, even witty. It provides a big picture context but, at the same time, puts business trends and examples in a context so you can see whether they are really applicable to your company or situation. As someone who runs a startup, too much theory can bog me down so I liked that each chapter also included practical applications and checklists like, for example, ways to rethink your portfolio or to reduce your vulnerability. I guess my overall take is that Strategic Supremacy has an agenda that is bigger than just promoting a new, one-size-fits-all business strategy. It makes it very clear how defined and yet dynamic any company has to be right now - and it provides a very practical template for breaking away from traditional thinking and looking at my business and my industry in a new way. ... Read more

Book Description

A crucial challenge for economists is figuring out how people interpret the world and form expectations that will likely influence their economic activity. Inflation, asset prices, exchange rates, investment, and consumption are just some of the economic variables that are largely explained by expectations. Here George Evans and Seppo Honkapohja bring new explanatory power to a variety of expectation formation models by focusing on the learning factor. Whereas the rational expectations paradigm offers the prevailing method to determining expectations, it assumes very theoretical knowledge on the part of economic actors. Evans and Honkapohja contribute to a growing body of research positing that households and firms learn by making forecasts using observed data, updating their forecast rules over time in response to errors. This book is the first systematic development of the new statistical learning approach.

Depending on the particular economic structure, the economy may converge to a standard rational-expectations or a "rational bubble" solution, or exhibit persistent learning dynamics. The learning approach also provides tools to assess the importance of new models with expectational indeterminacy, in which expectations are an independent cause of macroeconomic fluctuations. Moreover, learning dynamics provide a theory for the evolution of expectations and selection between alternative equilibria, with implications for business cycles, asset price volatility, and policy. This book provides an authoritative treatment of this emerging field, developing the analytical techniques in detail and using them to synthesize and extend existing research. ... Read more

Book Description

This book defines what the industrial revolution was and is, how it developed in several major societies around the world, and how it varied in each case. Stearns stresses the massive impact of the industrial revolution on the course of world history since the early 19th century, examining both the larger power relationships and the very human experiences of work and family life. The second edition features fully revised sections on postindustrialization, causation, and non-Western societies, further strengthening Stearns' discussion of complex industrial and international trends. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Some do, some don't
Stearns has written here a very broad description of how the industrial revolution evolved, or failed to evolve, in many countries over the last two centuries.This is a very big task, and has no well defined beginning or end, nor even very many milestones.Moreover, there are, according to Stearns, nearly as many paths to development as there are countries that develop.No tipping points, no critical inventions and no heroic personalities either.While I suppose there is a certain truth to this point of view, and may even be historically accurate, it makes for a somewhat dull read.I prefer to have my history laced with a few gee-whizes accomplished by some impossibly heroic figures.But that's just me.

His recitation of the changes that took place is almost formless, without generalities, or even much definition. While it was certainly humbling to contemplate the breadth of his scholarship, I didn't get what I was looking for out of this work--some hypotheses or possible explanations for what happened.I appreciate the difficulty of the problem and the mystery of ultimate historical causation, but the author would have been better off, I think, if he had taken a little stab at it, at least.

The book has four maps and a dozen or so illustrations, but only five graphs--and most of those are ridiculously parsimonious in the amount of data shown.Surely in a subject of this scope, tables and better graphs would have helped to organize it.

Despite these shortcomings, I think the book is a worthwhile contribution to the history of a very important part of the human story, and I'm glad to have read it. ... 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

Reviews (4)

The Tao of Economics
This is one of the truly great books produced by the Western world. Although much has been written on economics since, it considerably broadened my perspective to read it in the original.

I can't help feeling that those who pan Wealth of Nations as an apology for exploitation simply haven't read it. That's simply not what the book is about. For if you really do care about the underpriveleged masses -- and it's imminently clear that he really does -- then you better consciously organize your state in such a manner that money will flow naturally where it's most needed.

I'd been told before I read it by several people that AS was, for example, apologizing for the East India Trading Company? Does his apology for EIT include the lengthy chapter which discuss in full detail how and why the East India Trading Company was responsible for an wide array of abuses in the Far East, and why no similar company would be legal if a society were fully moral and knew its own best interest?

Nor is it a blind apology for laissez faire economics, though it does recommend non-intervention by the government insofar as that is possible. Still he fully recognizes the need for social services, rightly understood and rightly executed.

In fact, I can't see how anyone who reads it could view it as an apology at all -- it's simply a statement of fact. Adam Smith is not the one carrying an ideology around on his shoulder. You may not like it that the world works this way -- that's another matter. But that IS the way it works... you are made to see that for yourself. It is not imposed on you as dogma.

And after reading AS, I'm left feeling very happy that that's the way the world works.

I think the most fundamental idea I am left with after reading all those pages, is that wealth is a verb, not a noun. Land and labor (i.e. food and farming) are the bottom line of economics. Treat your farmers well. Unjust practices in trading will ultimately backfire.

The dynamo which runs the machine that creates wealth lies within each individual - it is the individual's will to better his or her condition. To the degree that this aspect of human nature is given the power to express itself , the nation will be vitalized internally.

A Classic Misinterpreted by Those Who Revere it Most
This Book is a classic. I would not go so far as to add it to the western Canon, but it contains the foundations of modern Economics. Its explaination for how economies work is still unsurpassed. Division of Labour, the invisible hand of consumer demand and the uses and mis-uses of taxation are all here. It should be stressed however, that this edition does not include books IV and V which concern the proper role of govt. It is also the section most ideologues forget to read and contains all the rudiments for a minimal welfare state and and active role for govt. in planning FOR competition, NOT the planning OF competition --- a very important distinction and one lost on those who see no positive role for the state in the economy.

It is unfortunately most used as a classic for those seeking a rationale for exploitation. Smith did not intend it as such and to see it as that is indeed to read it very selectively. The invisible hand is a useful interpretation for demand economics, but it is, like all other things only a description of market forces as they operate. It is not always the best way to organise everything as modern day ideologues would presuppose. It is of course the basis of business --- and it should be --- but Smith also has lots to say about how other economic factors operate in society.

One thing to make clear is this: Smith is not anti-State, as some ideologues in the US would like to think. He is balanced in his view of the state --- it is best left out of economic planning --- but it does clearly have an important role to play. The role of the State is to

1) create the conditions for the smooth flow of capital and its allocation into its most efficient uses and not to erect barriers in the process.

2) It also must necessarily collect taxes since the smooth and efficient operation of the state and the benefits its provide is in the interest of the accumulation of Capital.

3) The State also directly participates in the economy when projects which are obvious to the public benefit, but "which to no one would accrue an economic profit" --- he offers such examples as lighthouses and some roads and defence --- areas where there is an obvious public good, but to which no one would make a profit. Lighthouses are good examples, but like everything else in today's economy an interpretation for this could be made for universal health care and, of course, education; the mere fact that people do not have to worry about providing for education or health allows them to carry on in amassing capital in other endevours. Of course there is a slippery logic here but such is the rationale for the limited, but much greater role, the state provides in most developed economies outside of the United States.

4) Taxation policy is here as well. In the last book, Book V (not included in this edition), Smith describes the foundation of taxation and where it works best. He starts with the idea that "those who benefit the most from the smooth functioning of the state, should also be the ones who pay more." While not a prescription for progressive taxation policies it is the right way to think about tax and certainly would never excuse preferential taxation policies for the rich (such as in the US) but could be used as a foundation for a universal flat tax.

Such a tax is perhaps the best, but as Smith points out, where and how to collect it is always the difficulty. He comes out more or less in favour of a consumption tax policy since it would approximate the wealth the people earn in the first place and would not, for example overburden companies or people with high income taxes when they may not have high earnings.

There is however little in here about social policy, but Smith does see it as the right of the State to, in his time, provide welfare in the guise of work houses (19th Century hell holes). But that was as good as public welfare got in those days so we can posit that Smith would have carried his logic somewhat forward and provided for some social programmes --- though the extent of them would be a subject of no doubt fierce debate.

Overall a book that every thinking person should have on their shelf. Like most things it has some warts over time, but it is still the logical Tome on which capitalism rests its bones. Not until Marx did someone really challenge its dictates --- Smith basically won the argument on most points. But willingness for those with an inability to think critically, to use this book as justification for the domination of the weak by the strong, has little to do with Smith --- it has everything to do with those who are looking for justification of Greed --- and Gordon Gecko and Adam Smith have little in common.

The apology for exploitation
Two hundred years ago capitalism was really beginning to take over as the dominant economic system. Capitalism was at the time a system allowing an economic and scientific growth, much faster than under the feudal systems, and played a progressive role. However capitalism led to a new kind of oppression of the working class. Adam Smith gave the bourgoise a theory stating that their oppression of the working class was for the common good of all mankind, thus serving as an apology for oppression.

This book is a lousy apology. Capitalism is an old-fashioned economic system, ready to become buried on the scrapyard of history. Workers of all countries, Unite!

Read it, if you want to understand how the world works.
Two centuries ago, Adam Smith explained the modern free-market economy. More than that, he discusses the need for, advantages of, and limitations of a free markets.

The introduction in this printing is especially good. Almost a book in itself, it extend for 50 pages and connects the book to other philosophers and economists. Almost, you don't need to read the book after you've read the introduction -- but do it anyway, just to be amazed at Smith's prescience. ... Read more

Book Description

This is a wide-ranging survey of the theory and evidence on public goods. Its four parts present the main literature on public goods, both theoretical and empirical, in a systematic manner. Moreover, the authors extend the existing literature in numerous ways. Each section of the book includes a discussion of the main results, emphasizing the innovations and new outcomes. The main strength of the book is the breadth and depth of its coverage. The organization of topics covered by the book follows the recent literature and the presentation is written for a broad audience. Where technical material is presented, it is done in a way that is generally well explained and easy to follow. The book is thus suitable as a textbook for graduate and upper level undergraduate public finance courses as well as for researchers interested in the field. ... Read more

Book Description

Few economic events have had the impact of German hyperinflation in 1923, still remembered as a root cause of Hitler's rise to power; yet in recent years historians have defended the inflationary policies adopted after 1918. Niall Ferguson takes a different view. He argues that inflation was an economic and political disaster, and that alternative economic policies could have stabilized the German currency in 1920. To explain why these were not adopted, he points to long-term defects in the political institutions of the Reich from the 1890s. The book therefore not only reveals the Wilhelmine origins of Weimar's failure: it also casts new light on the origins of the Third Reich. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Flamboyant first book
Neil Ferguson's first book is a provocative, erudite treatise that challenges much of the more recent writing on Germany's great inflation. Following Carl-Ludwig Holtferich's pathbreaking work, a consensus had begunto emerge that sees the mark's fall as part of a successful strategy thatmaintained employment and helped in the recovery of the German economy fromWWI, thus giving a crucial boost to the stabilization of the youngrepublic. The rewards of moderate inflation during the immediate post-warperiod were, according to this view, not confined to the Reich alone -German demand for American manufactures, for example, provided asignificant countercyclical stimulus to the U.S. economy during thedownturn of the early 1920s. Ferguson's strongest point is that thissideeffect of Germany's inflation undermined one of the main policy aimsafter 1919 - the revision of the Versailles treaty. According to thearchitects of 'fulfillment', the inflation would lead to an export boom asthe mark's value on the foreign exchanges collapsed faster than in Germanyitself. Hence, the Allies would realize that they would ultimately have topay for German reparations through unemployment at home. Instead, becauseloose monetary policy caused a boom in the Reich at the very time whenother industrialized countries went into recession, the trade balancedegenerated as imports surged and exports languished in depressed foreignmarkets. Ferguson thus exposes an important inconsistency in theinflationary strategy - but it is one that only the benefit of hindsightreveals. The historical accident of the postwar boom in the UK and Americaturning to bust at exactly the time when the Germans attempted to 'exportthe cost of reparations' undermined a strategy that was based on accurateeconomic analysis. And even if the export surge never materialized, themonetary chaos within the Reich arguably did help in reducing inflateddemands for reparations - from the 28 billion gold marks demanded byCunliffe in 1919 to the approximately 4 billion of the London Ultimatum. Ferguson also presents a fresh argument that the 1920/21 easing ofinflationary pressures could have been used for a more permanentstabilization - at perhaps 50-60 marks/ $. Three factors contributed tothis change in fortunes: the fall in import prices due to postwardepression, foreign speculators expecting a recovery of the mark, and therecovery of output. Yet here, as in other parts of the book, Ferguson payslittle attention to the considerable time-lag that operated betweenindividual economic variables. The rise in output during 1920/21 was partlycaused by the policies of easy money in the years before. The strength ofthe mark on the foreign exchanges, underpinned by 'hot money', could onlylast if Germany embarked on a deflation on the Anglo-Saxon model - something that not even Ferguson thinks was politically or economicallypossible. The argument is also not helped by simple arithmetic errors thatlead Ferguson to overstate the size of the Reich's deficit in 1920 and 1922(p. 278, p. 477) - revenue of 3.2 billion gold marks in 1920 minusexpenditure of 7.1 billion simply does not yield a deficit of 6.1 billion. This book's main contribution therefore lies in the wider questions itraises, and not in the ones it answers. That is no mean achievement in awork that combines a monograph on the inflation in Hamburg with morewide-ranging chapters on the Reich's economic fortunes. For this is a studyso rich in its observations about the inflation's effects on Hamburg'sshipbuilding, banking, and overseas trade, and about the role of Hanseaticpoliticians in the policymaking in Berlin, that it could easily be mistakenfor a regional study. Nothing could be further from the truth: Paper andIron will at least partly define the research agenda for future scholars ofGermany's great inflation. ... Read more

Book Description

In the years between the Great Famine of the 1840s and the First World War, Ireland experienced a drastic drop in population: the percentage of adults who never married soared from 10 percent to 25 percent, while the overall population decreased by one third. What accounted for this? For many social analysts, the history of post-Famine Irish depopulation was a Malthusian morality tale where declining living standards led young people to postpone marriage out of concern for their ability to support a family. The problem here, argues Timothy Guinnane, is that living standards in post-Famine Ireland did not decline. Rather, other, more subtle economic changes influenced the decision to delay marriage or not marry at all. In this engaging inquiry into the "vanishing Irish," Guinnane explores the options that presented themselves to Ireland's younger generations, taking into account household structure, inheritance, religion, cultural influences on marriage and family life, and especially emigration.

Guinnane focuses on rural Ireland, where the population changes were most profound, and explores the way the demographic patterns reflect the rural Irish economy, Ireland's place as a small part in a much larger English-speaking world, and the influence of earlier Irish history and culture. Particular effort is made to compare Irish demographic behavior to similar patterns elsewhere in Europe, revealing an Ireland anchored in European tradition and yet a distinctive society in its own right.

Reviews (3)

Do not buy this book!
Based on the two reviews I bought this book and was highly disappointed. The author confuses the reader by providing way too much irrelevant information. Moreover, the style is quite poor. There are much better books about Ireland, e.g. by Connolly.

This the best book on Irish population history around.
What is so new about Guinnane's book is how he places Irish population history in a broader context.The book is by a high-flying academic who knows how to write appraochable readable prose.Great book! Wow!

Announcement of prize awarded to The Vanishing Irish
THE VANISHING IRISH by Timothy Guinnane has been awarded the Donald Murphy Prize of the American Conference for Irish Studies, given annually to a bestfirst book in any field of Irish Studies. Lucy McDiarmid, President,American Conference for Irish Studies ... Read more

Reviews (1)

superbly written and factual
The author describes the development of mountain sources of water and thetunnels and ditches that brought it to the sugar plantations. Then sheweaves in the history of the sugar industry which changed the subsistenceeconomy of the Hawaiians forever and brought Hawaii into the modern world. While doing this skillfully in a clear style she also weaves in much of thehistory of the islands. If you have any interest in Hawaii the book willfascinate you. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Ottoman thalassocracy
I had to read Brummetts book for my History Honors class and loved it. The book is well written and documented, and I recommend it to all serious students of History. Read this book and see that the "sick man of Europe" was not so sick after all. ... Read more

Book Description

What were the economic roots of modern industrialism? Were labor unions ever effective in raising workers' living standards? Did high levels of taxation in the past normally lead to economic decline? These and similar questions profoundly inform a wide range of intertwined social issues whose complexity, scope, and depth become fully evident in the Encyclopedia. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the field, the Encyclopedia is divided not only by chronological and geographic boundaries, but also by related subfields such as agricultural history, demographic history, business history, and the histories of technology, migration, and transportation. The articles, all written and signed by international contributors, include scholars from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Covering economic history in all areas of the world and segments of ecnomies from prehistoric times to the present, the Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History is the ideal resource for students, economists, and general readers, offering a unique glimpse into this integral part of world history. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Easy informative reading covering a very technical company
I approached the Generations of Corning with the same trepidation I approach most "business" books, only to be pleasantly surprised by the attention to detail, the historical perspective and the technical accuracy the book offers.A great history of the Houghton family and their beginnings in and around the Chemung Valley (Corning, NY) area and their strengths in the glassmaking / R&D community coupled with detailed business / labor / process information makes this an excellent corporate biography.Particularly the detailed explanation of partnerships that led to Owens-Corning, Dow-Corning, Ciba-Corning and Siecor will be of interest to business builders.Additionally the very detailed technical info on the evolution of manufacturing and marketing of dark fiber (my personal interest when purchasing the book) proves to be just enough without being so technical as to alienate the average reader.

I would recommend this book for those reasons, great business evolution info, just enough history to validate it and enough detail in current technical areas to make it timely to the fiberoptic community. ... Read more

Book Description