Download or read book Economics Gone Astray written by Bluford H Putnam and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2019-01-04 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'It is written in clear English, without equations, and with plenty of charts to ground one’s understanding in the real world … The authors make a compelling case that economists need to take their simplifying assumptions more seriously, to embrace statistical techniques that can track dynamic markets with time-varying parameters, and to always be aware of the importance of shifts in the underlying context.'Global Commodities Applied Research DigestEconomics Gone Astray is a collection of essays on critical topics in macroeconomics that frame the issues in terms of clearly stated assumptions, highlighting the errors often made by professional economists, and allowing readers to better analyze market behavior and the economic consequences of policy decisions.The book differs from textbook economics, as it tackles sophisticated topics without using mathematics or technical jargon. This makes the book highly accessible to all types of readers, from investors and investment professionals, to professors and their students.The book's style integrates a large quantity of clearly drawn charts which help anchor the readers' perceptions of the topics being examined, from inflation to taxes, to demographics.
Download or read book What Went Wrong with Economics written by Michael Reiss and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2011-07-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In April 2007, a report produced by the International Monetary Fund concluded that the world economy was in great shape only for the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression to hit just months later. How could economists have got it so wrong? When engineers try to understand complex systems, they are forced to make simplifying assumptions. Sadly if these are flawed, no amount of mathematical wizardry will repair the damage. This book examines the possibility that the problem with economics stems from flawed assumptions. It appears that mainstream economics set off on the wrong foot.This book uncovers many such flaws and shows how the resulting bad economic theories have devastating consequences.Dr Michael Reiss shows how, with more realistic assumptions, economics, and our economic system, can be rescued.
Download or read book Economics Rules written by Dani Rodrik and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading economist trains a lens on his own discipline to uncover when it fails and when it works.
Download or read book Economyths written by David Orrell and published by Icon Books Ltd. This book was released on 2010-05-06 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the inability of wealth to make us happier, to our catastrophic blindness to the credit crunch, "Economyths" reveals ten ways in which economics has failed us all. Forecasters predicted a prosperous year in 2008 for financial markets - in one influential survey the average prediction was for an eleven per cent gain. But by the end of the year, the Standard and Poor's 500 index - a key economic barometer - was down 38 per cent, and major economies were plunging into recession. Even the Queen asked - Why did no one see it coming? An even bigger casualty was the credibility of economics, which for decades has claimed that the economy is a rational, stable, efficient machine, governed by well-understood laws. Mathematician David Orrell traces the history of this idea from its roots in ancient Greece to the financial centres of London and New York, shows how it is mistaken, and proposes new alternatives. "Economyths" explains how the economy is the result of complex and unpredictable processes; how risk models go astray; why the economy is not rational or fair; why no woman (until 2009) had ever won the Nobel Prize for economics; why financial crashes are less Black Swans than part of the landscape; and, finally, how new ideas in mathematics, psychology, and environmentalism are helping to reinvent economics.
Download or read book Public Debt as a Form of Public Finance written by Richard E. Wagner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-30 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economists commit a category mistake when they treat democratic governments as indebted. Monarchs can be indebted, as can individuals. In contrast, democracies can't truly be indebted. They are financial intermediaries that form a bridge between what are often willing borrowers and forced lenders. The language of public debt is an ideological language that promotes politically expressed desires and is not a scientific language that clarifies the practice of public finance. Economists have gone astray by assuming that a government is just another person whose impulses toward prudent action will restrict recourse to public debt and induce rational political action.
Download or read book Economyths written by David Orrell and published by Wiley. This book was released on 2010-07-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the inability of wealth to make us happier, to our catastrophic blindness to the credit crunch, Economyths reveals ten ways in which economics has failed us all. Forecasters predicted a prosperous year in 2008 for financial markets - in one influential survey the average prediction was for an eleven percent gain. But by the end of the year, the Standard and Poor's 500 index - a key economic barometer - was down 38 percent, and major economies were plunging into recession. Even the Queen asked - "Why did no one see it coming?" An even bigger casualty was the credibility of economics, which for decades has claimed that the economy is a rational, stable, efficient machine, governed by well-understood laws. Mathematician David Orrell traces the history of this idea from its roots in ancient Greece to the financial centres of London and New York, shows how it is mistaken, and proposes new alternatives. Economyths explains how the economy is the result of complex and unpredictable processes; how risk models go astray; why the economy is not rational or fair; why no woman has ever won the Nobel Prize for economics; why financial crashes are less Black Swans than part of the landscape; and finally, how new ideas in mathematics, psychology, and environmentalism are helping to reinvent economics.
Download or read book Thinking Like an Economist written by Elizabeth Popp Berman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2023-08-08 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of how economic reasoning came to dominate Washington between the 1960s and 1980s—and why it continues to constrain progressive ambitions today For decades, Democratic politicians have frustrated progressives by tinkering around the margins of policy while shying away from truly ambitious change. What happened to bold political vision on the left, and what shrunk the very horizons of possibility? In Thinking like an Economist, Elizabeth Popp Berman tells the story of how a distinctive way of thinking—an “economic style of reasoning”—became dominant in Washington between the 1960s and the 1980s and how it continues to dramatically narrow debates over public policy today. Introduced by liberal technocrats who hoped to improve government, this way of thinking was grounded in economics but also transformed law and policy. At its core was an economic understanding of efficiency, and its advocates often found themselves allied with Republicans and in conflict with liberal Democrats who argued for rights, equality, and limits on corporate power. By the Carter administration, economic reasoning had spread throughout government policy and laws affecting poverty, healthcare, antitrust, transportation, and the environment. Fearing waste and overspending, liberals reined in their ambitions for decades to come, even as Reagan and his Republican successors argued for economic efficiency only when it helped their own goals. A compelling account that illuminates what brought American politics to its current state, Thinking like an Economist also offers critical lessons for the future. With the political left resurgent today, Democrats seem poised to break with the past—but doing so will require abandoning the shibboleth of economic efficiency and successfully advocating new ways of thinking about policy.
Download or read book The Puzzle of Modern Economics written by Roger E. Backhouse and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-06-21 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does economics hold the key to everything or does the recent financial crisis show that it has failed? This book provides an assessment of modern economics that cuts through the confusion and controversy on this question. Case studies of the creation of new markets, the Russian transition to capitalism, globalization, and money and finance establish that economics has been very successful where problems have been well defined and where the world can be changed to fit the theory, but that it has been less successful in tackling bigger problems. The book then offers a historical perspective on how economists have, since the Second World War, tried to make their subject scientific. It explores the evolving relationship between science and ideology and investigates the place of heterodoxy and dissent within the discipline.
Download or read book Roads to Wisdom Conversations with Ten Nobel Laureates in Economics written by Karen Ilse Horn and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a beautifully written and engaging book. At its heart is a series of structured interviews with ten Nobel Memorial Laureates in Economics that provide fascinating insights into the main influences on their career paths and pioneering work. Karen Horn is to be applauded, not just for her wide-ranging scholarship and thought-provoking analysis but also for producing a non-technical yet rigorous book which is eminently accessible to non-specialists. In short this an excellent volume which comes highly recommended. Howard R. Vane, Liverpool John Moores University, UK Karen Horn s questions are insightful, her notes are accurate and informative, and her summing up of the central question of creativity that she poses in the book is cogent and to the point. All in all, this book is difficult to put down and I can t imagine any reader who will not fail to learn a great deal about economics along the way. Mark Blaug, University of London and University of Buckingham, UK Karen Horn s remarkable interviews with ten Nobel Laureates explore the conditions required for scientific progress by navigating the roads to wisdom in economic science. How does progress in economic theory come about? Where do path-breaking ideas come from? What is it that has enabled these outstanding scholars to make their substantial contributions? How deep are the footprints of a particular historical situation, how strong the political tide or the state-of-the-art in economics, and how influential is personal history on their individual roads to wisdom? Analytical answers to these fundamental questions are presented in this insightful collection of deep and highly inspiring conversations with Nobel Laureates Paul A. Samuelson, Kenneth J. Arrow, James M. Buchanan, Robert M. Solow, Gary S. Becker, Douglass C. North, Reinhard Selten, George A. Akerlof, Vernon L. Smith and Edmund S. Phelps. Superbly supplemented with concise overviews of the Nobel Laureates lives and works, these fascinating discussions culminate with a comprehensive inquiry into progress in economic theory. As such, this eloquent and highly accessible book will prove to be a compelling read for scholars and students of the discipline, and all those with an interest in economics and the history of economic thought.
Download or read book WRONG written by Richard S. Grossman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents an analysis of major economic crises over the past two hundred years.
Download or read book The Economics Companion written by Graham Mallard and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-09-16 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An invaluable resource for those considering and starting degree courses in Economics. It introduces readers to the core theories and techniques of economics and presents some of the most interesting controversies and wider themes. It is an essential guide for those wanting to study the subject successfully.
Download or read book Arguing with Zombies Economics Politics and the Fight for a Better Future written by Paul Krugman and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller An accessible, compelling introduction to today’s major policy issues from the New York Times columnist, best-selling author, and Nobel prize–winning economist Paul Krugman, now with a new preface. There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no stronger foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won’t die. In Arguing with Zombies, Krugman tackles many of these misunderstandings, taking stock of where the United States has come from and where it’s headed in a series of concise, digestible chapters. Drawn mainly from his popular New York Times column, they cover a wide range of issues, organized thematically and framed in the context of a wider debate. Explaining the complexities of health care, housing bubbles, tax reform, Social Security, and so much more with unrivaled clarity and precision, Arguing with Zombies is Krugman at the height of his powers. It is an indispensable guide to two decades’ worth of political and economic discourse in the United States and around the globe, and now includes a preface on "Zombies in the Age of COVID-19." With quick, vivid sketches, Krugman turns his readers into intelligent consumers of the daily news and hands them the keys to unlock the concepts behind the greatest economic policy issues of our time. In doing so, he delivers an instant classic that can serve as a reference point for this and future generations.
Download or read book The Undercover Economist Strikes Back written by Tim Harford and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-01-06 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative and lively exploration of the increasingly important world of macroeconomics, by the author of the bestselling The Undercover Economist. Thanks to the worldwide financial upheaval, economics is no longer a topic we can ignore. From politicians to hedge fund managers to middle-class IRA holders, everyone must pay attention to how and why the global economy works the way it does. Enter Financial Times columnist and bestselling author Tim Harford. In this new book that demystifies macroeconomics, Harford strips away the spin, the hype, and the jargon to reveal the truth about how the world’s economy actually works. With the wit of a raconteur and the clear grasp of an expert, Harford explains what’s really happening beyond today’s headlines, why all of us should care, and what we can do about it to understand it better.
Download or read book Reassessing the Paradigm of Economics written by Valeria Mosini and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-07-28 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher adopted the neoliberal doctrine as the paradigm of economics, there was no evidence that the move would have been successful, but thirty years on, the recurrent crises that culminated in 2008 suggest a serious mis-match between expectations and outcomes: a re-examination of the paradigm is in order. This book focuses on Milton Friedman’s formulation of the neoliberal doctrine, and analyses two aspects that were essential to turning it into a fully-fledged paradigm: the attribution of scientific status to positive economics, which led to informing public policies on the requirements of the market; and the characterisation of economic freedom as capable of promoting political freedom, which led to identifying free market with democracy. The book exposes Friedman’s methodological argument for attributing positive economics scientific status as a failure, and his characterisation of economic freedom as a delusion; it identifies in the emergence as the mainstream in economics of the neoclassical synthesis, which borrowed from Walras’ the mathematical treatment of equilibrium but not the ethical and social framework in which it was inscribed, a development that facilitated the transition from the Keynesian to the neoliberal paradigm. Dr. Mosini shows that the gigantic bail-outs carried out courtesy of the public purse, which institutionalised the practice of collectivising losses while keeping profits private, were no accident, but the consequence of the rethinking of the function of lender of last resort according to Friedman’s conception of rationality in relation to risk, combined with his interpretation of the 1930s recession. The book concludes that the neoliberal paradigm has served the interests of the economically powerful social strata it was designed to benefit extremely well, but that the deep, and deepening, injustice it has brought about calls for a complete rethinking of the paradigm of economics according to ethical principles respectful of human values. This book should be of interest to students and researchers of Political Economy, Economic Methodology, History of Economic Thought and Philosophy.
Download or read book Where Economics Went Wrong written by David Colander and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How modern economics abandoned classical liberalism and lost its way Milton Friedman once predicted that advances in scientific economics would resolve debates about whether raising the minimum wage is good policy. Decades later, Friedman’s prediction has not come true. In Where Economics Went Wrong, David Colander and Craig Freedman argue that it never will. Why? Because economic policy, when done correctly, is an art and a craft. It is not, and cannot be, a science. The authors explain why classical liberal economists understood this essential difference, why modern economists abandoned it, and why now is the time for the profession to return to its classical liberal roots. Carefully distinguishing policy from science and theory, classical liberal economists emphasized values and context, treating economic policy analysis as a moral science where a dialogue of sensibilities and judgments allowed for the same scientific basis to arrive at a variety of policy recommendations. Using the University of Chicago—one of the last bastions of classical liberal economics—as a case study, Colander and Freedman examine how both the MIT and Chicago variants of modern economics eschewed classical liberalism in their attempt to make economic policy analysis a science. By examining the way in which the discipline managed to lose its bearings, the authors delve into such issues as the development of welfare economics in relation to economic science, alternative voices within the Chicago School, and exactly how Friedman got it wrong. Contending that the division between science and prescription needs to be restored, Where Economics Went Wrong makes the case for a more nuanced and self-aware policy analysis by economists.
Download or read book Economics Made Fun written by N. Emrah Aydinonat and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Best-selling books such as Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist have paved the way for the flourishing economics-made-fun genre. While books like these present economics as a strong and explanatory science, the ongoing economic crisis has exposed the shortcomings of economics to the general public. In the face of this crisis, many people, including well-known economists such as Paul Krugman, have started to express their doubts about whether economics is a success as a science. As well as academic papers, newspaper columns with a large audience have discussed the failure of economic to predict and explain ongoing trends. The emerging picture is somewhat confusing: economics-made-fun books present economics as a method of thinking that can successfully explain everyday and "freaky" phenomena. On the other hand, however, economics seems to fail in addressing and explaining the most pressing matters related to the field of economics itself. This book explores the confusion created by this contradictory picture of economics. Could a science that cannot answer its own core questions really be used to explain the logic of everyday life? This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Economic Methodology.
Download or read book Economics written by The Economist and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-09-15 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An updated edition of the authoritative resource on the realities of the modern economy People have always had an interest in how the economy works, and that interest has only been magnified as a result of the Great Recession. Economics, Third Edition: Making Sense of the Modern Economy takes complex concepts and makes them easy to understand, presenting the concepts in the context of today's economic environment. Details the sources of economic growth, and the role of central banks Explains both macro and microeconomics Analyzes why the recession of 2008 happened and how it was dealt with, as well as its short- and long-term effects Free of jargon and with few charts or tables to sort through and pore over, Economics, Third Edition helps everyone from students to statesmen quickly and easily grasp how the economy really works in the real world, and how it affects our daily lives.
