Best of
Economics

1996

Everybody Loves a Good Drought


Palagummi Sainath - 1996
    In the dry language of development reports and economic projections, the true misery of the 312 million who live below the poverty line, or the 26 million displaced by various projects, or the 13 million who suffer from tuberculosis gets overlooked. In this thoroughly researched study of the poorest of the poor, we get to see how they manage, what sustains them, and the efforts, often ludicrous, to do something for them. The people who figure in this book typify the lives and aspirations of a large section of Indian society, and their stories present us with the true face of development.

The Ultimate Resource 2


Julian L. Simon - 1996
    The new volume is thoroughly updated and provides a concise theory for the observed trends: Population growth and increased income put pressure on supplies of resources. This increases prices, which provides opportunity and incentive for innovation. Eventually the innovative responses are so successful that prices end up below what they were before the shortages occurred. The book also tackles timely issues such as the supposed rate of species extinction, the "vanishing farmland crisis," and the wastefulness of coercive recycling.In Simon's view, the key factor in natural and world economic growth is our capacity for the creation of new ideas and contributions to knowledge. The more people alive who can be trained to help solve the problems that confront us, the faster we can remove obstacles, and the greater the economic inheritance we shall bequeath to our descendants. In conjunction with the size of the educated population, the key constraint on human progress is the nature of the economic-political system: talented people need economic freedom and security to bring their talents to fruition.

Capitalism


George Reisman - 1996
    It is state of the art in economic theory and political philosophy. The intelligent, open-minded reader who seeks to understand the economics and politics of the modern world (along with much of its closely related history and social and cultural phenomena), and what is required to improve mankind's lot in these two vital areas, need look no further than to this book.

Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development


Herman E. Daly - 1996
    . . a kind of reverse Copernican revolution in economics." --Utne Reader"Considered by most to be the dean of ecological economics, Herman E. Daly elegantly topples many shibboleths in Beyond Growth. Daly challenges the conventional notion that growth is always good, and he bucks environmentalist orthodoxy, arguing that the current focus on 'sustainable development' is misguided and that the phrase itself has become meaningless."--Mother Jones"In Beyond Growth, . . . [Daly] derides the concept of 'sustainable growth' as an oxymoron. . . . Calling Mr. Daly 'an unsung hero,' Robert Goodland, the World Bank's top environmental adviser, says, 'He has been a voice crying in the wilderness.'" --G. Pascal Zachary, The Wall Street Journal"A new book by that most far-seeing and heretical of economists, Herman Daly. For 25 years now, Daly has been thinking through a new economics that accounts for the wealth of nature, the value of community and the necessity for morality." --Donella H. Meadows, Los Angeles Times"For clarity of vision and ecological wisdom Herman Daly has no peer among contemporary economists. . . . Beyond Growth is essential reading."--David W. Orr, Oberlin College"There is no more basic ethical question than the one Herman Daly is asking." --Hal Kahn, The San Jose Mercury News"Daly's critiques of economic orthodoxy . . . deliver a powerful and much-needed jolt to conventional thinking." --Karen Pennar, Business WeekNamed one of a hundred "visionaries who could change your life" by the Utne Reader,Herman Daly is the recipient of many awards, including a Grawemeyer Award, the Heineken Prize for environmental science, and the "Alternative Nobel Prize," the Right Livelihood Award. He is professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs, and coauthor with John Cobb, Jr., of For the Common Good.

A First Course in Optimization Theory


Rangarajan K. Sundaram - 1996
    The first of its three parts examines the existence of solutions to optimization problems in Rn, and how these solutions may be identified. The second part explores how solutions to optimization problems change with changes in the underlying parameters, and the last part provides an extensive description of the fundamental principles of finite- and infinite-horizon dynamic programming. A preliminary chapter and three appendices are designed to keep the book mathematically self-contained.

The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History


David Hackett Fischer - 1996
    Now, in The Great Wave, Fischer has done it again, marshaling an astonishing array of historical facts in lucid and compelling prose to outline a history of prices--"the history of change," as Fischer puts it--covering the dazzling sweep of Western history from the medieval glory of Chartres to the modern day. Going far beyond the economic data, Fischer writes a powerful history of the people of the Western world: the economic patterns they lived in, and the politics, culture, and society that they created as a result. As he did in Albion's Seed and Paul Revere's Ride, two of the most talked-about history books in recent years, Fischer combines extensive research and meticulous scholarship with wonderfully evocative writing to create a book for scholars and general readers alike.Records of prices are more abundant than any other quantifiable data, and span the entire range of history, from tables of medieval grain prices to the overabundance of modern statistics. Fischer studies this wealth of data, creating a narrative that encompasses all of Western culture. He describes four waves of price revolutions, each beginning in a period of equilibrium: the High Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and finally the Victorian Age. Each revolution is marked by continuing inflation, a widening gap between rich and poor, increasing instability, and finally a crisis at the crest of the wave that is characterized by demographic contraction, social and political upheaval, and economic collapse. The most violent of these climaxes was the catastrophic fourteenth century, in which war, famine, and the Black Death devastated the continent--the only time in Europe's history that the population actually declined.Fischer also brilliantly illuminates how these long economic waves are closely intertwined with social and political events, affecting the very mindset of the people caught in them. The long periods of equilibrium are marked by cultural and intellectual movements--such as the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the Victorian Age-- based on a belief in order and harmony and in the triumph of progress and reason. By contrast, the years of price revolution created a melancholy culture of despair.Fischer suggests that we are living now in the last stages of a price revolution that has been building since the turn of the century. The destabilizing price surges and declines and the diminished expectations the United States has suffered in recent years--and the famines and wars of other areas of the globe--are typical of the crest of a price revolution. He does not attempt to predict what will happen, noting that "uncertainty about the future is an inexorable fact of our condition." Rather, he ends with a brilliant analysis of where we might go from here and what our choices are now. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned about the state of the world today.

Co-Opetition


Adam M. Brandenburger - 1996
    With over 40,000 copies sold and now in its 9th printing, Co-opetition is a business strategy that goes beyond the old rules of competition and cooperation to combine the advantages of both. Co-opetition is a pioneering, high profit means of leveraging business relationships.Intel, Nintendo, American Express, NutraSweet, American Airlines, and dozens of other companies have been using the strategies of co-opetition to change the game of business to their benefit. Formulating strategies based on game theory, authors Brandenburger and Nalebuff created a book that's insightful and instructive for managers eager to move their companies into a new mind set.

Industrial Organization: Theory and Applications


Oz Shy - 1996
    Using the modern approach but without emphasizing the mathematical generality inherent in many of the arguments, it bridges the gap between existing nontheoretical texts written for undergraduates and highly technical texts written for graduate students. The book can also be used in masters' programs, and advanced graduate students will find it a convenient guide to modern industrial organization.The treatment is rigorous and comprehensive. A wide range of models of all widely used market structures, strategic marketing devices, compatibility and standards, advertising, R&D, as well as more traditional topics are considered in versions much simplified from the originals but that retain the basic intuition.Shy first defines the issues that industrial organization addresses and then develops the tools needed to attack the basic questions. He begins with perfect competition and then considers imperfectly competitive market structures including a wide variety of monopolies, and all forms of quantity and price competitions. The last chapter provides a helpful feature for students by showing how various theories may be related to particular industries but not to others.Topics include: the basics needed to understand modern industrial organization; market structure (monopoly, homogenous products, differentiated products); mergers and entry; research and development; economics of compatibility and standards; advertising; quality and durability; pricing tactics; marketing tactics; management, compensation, and information; price dispersion and search theory; and special industries.

License to Steal: How Fraud Bleeds America's Health Care System


Malcolm K. Sparrow - 1996
    In License to Steal, Malcolm K. Sparrow shows how the industry's defenses, which focus mostly on finding and correcting billing errors, are no match for such well orchestrated attacks. The maxim for thieves simply becomes "bill your lies correctly." Provided they do that, fraud perpetrators with any degree of sophistication can steal millions of dollars with impunity, testing payment systems carefully, and then spreading fraudulent billings widely enough across patient and provider accounts to escape detection. The kinds of highly automated, quality controlled claims processing systems that pervade the industry present fraud perpetrators with their favorite kind of target: rich, fast paying, transparent, utterly predictable check printing systems, with little threat of human intervention, and with the U.S. Treasury on the end of the electronic line. Sparrow picks apart the industry's response to the government's efforts to control this problem. The provider associations (well heeled and politically influential) have vociferously opposed almost every recent enforcement initiative, creating the unfortunate public impression that the entire health care industry is against effective fraud control. A significant segment of the industry, it seems, regards fraud and abuse not as a problem, but as a lucrative enterprise worth defending. Meanwhile, it remains a perfectly commonplace experience for patients or their relatives to examine a medical bill and discover that half of it never happened, or that; likewise, if patients then complain, they discover that no one seems to care, or that no one has the resources to do anything about it.Sparrow's research suggests that the growth of capitated managed care systems does not solve the problem, as many in the industry had assumed, but merely changes its form. The managed care environment produces scams involving underutilization, and the withholding of medical care schemes that are harder to uncover and investigate, and much more dangerous to human health. Having worked extensively with federal and state officials since the appearance of his first book on this subject, Sparrow is in a unique position to evaluate recent law enforcement initiatives. He admits the "war on fraud" is at least now engaged, but it is far from won.

Central and Eastern Europe, 1944-1993: Detour from the Periphery to the Periphery


Iván T. Berend - 1996
    His comparative approach stretches beyond the confines of economic history to produce a work of political economy, encompassing the cultural and personal forces that have influenced the development of the Eastern Bloc countries over the past fifty years. The book is distinguished by its unique combination of time, region and topic, and is a major contribution to the economic history of the twentieth century.

Inequality by Design: Cracking the Bell Curve Myth


Claude S. Fischer - 1996
    They challenge arguments that expanding inequality is the natural, perhaps necessary, accompaniment of economic growth. They refute the claims of the incendiary bestseller The Bell Curve (1994) through a clear, rigorous re-analysis of the very data its authors, Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, used to contend that inherited differences in intelligence explain inequality. Inequality by Design offers a powerful alternative explanation, stressing that economic fortune depends more on social circumstances than on IQ, which is itself a product of society. More critical yet, patterns of inequality must be explained by looking beyond the attributes of individuals to the structure of society. Social policies set the rules of the game within which individual abilities and efforts matter. And recent policies have, on the whole, widened the gap between the rich and the rest of Americans since the 1970s.Not only does the wealth of individuals' parents shape their chances for a good life, so do national policies ranging from labor laws to investments in education to tax deductions. The authors explore the ways that America--the most economically unequal society in the industrialized world--unevenly distributes rewards through regulation of the market, taxes, and government spending. It attacks the myth that inequality fosters economic growth, that reducing economic inequality requires enormous welfare expenditures, and that there is little we can do to alter the extent of inequality. It also attacks the injurious myth of innate racial inequality, presenting powerful evidence that racial differences in achievement are the consequences, not the causes, of social inequality. By refusing to blame inequality on an unchangeable human nature and an inexorable market--an excuse that leads to resignation and passivity--Inequality by Design shows how we can advance policies that widen opportunity for all.

The Analysis of Household Surveys: A Microeconometric Approach to Development Policy


Angus Deaton - 1996
    Simultaneously, analysts have become more interested in exploring ways in which such data may be used to inform and improve the steps involved in policymaking. This book reviews the analysis of household survey data, including the construction of household surveys, the econometric tools that are the most useful for such analysis, and a range of problems in development policy for which the econometric analysis of household surveys is useful and informative. The author's approach remains close to the data, relying on transparent econometric and graphical techniques to present the data so that policy and academic debates are clearly informed.

Shell Game: A True Account of Beads and Money in North America


Jerry Martien - 1996
    A unique and extraordinary investigation into the nature of money and the origins of our present indebtedness, Shell Game is the account of a tragic misunderstanding between colonists and native Americans and the monumental repercussions that followed.

America: Who Stole The Dream?


Donald L. Barlett - 1996
    Barlett and Steele, co-authors of America: What Went Wrong? show why most of the American middle-class faces a bleak future.

The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture


Gary S. Becker - 1996
    Becker, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and University Professor of Economics and Sociology at the University of Chicago. In announcing the award, Gary was cited for Extending "the domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behavior and interaction, including nonmarket behavior." In the lecture he delivered as part of the 1992 Nobel Prize award ceremony, Gary discussed four topics--discrimination against minorities, crime and punishment, the development and accumulation of human capital, and the structure of families--that are emblematic of his innovative approach to the economic analysis of social issues.

Against the Tide: An Intellectual History of Free Trade


Douglas A. Irwin - 1996
    What accounts for the success of free trade against then prevailing mercantilist doctrines? And how well has free trade withstood various theoretical attacks that have challenged it since Adam Smith's time? In this readable intellectual history, Douglas Irwin explains how the idea of free trade has endured against the tide of the abundant criticisms that have been leveled against it from the ancient world and Adam Smith's day to the present. An accessible, nontechnical look at one of the most important concepts in the field of economics, Against the Tide will allow the reader to put the ever new guises of protectionist thinking into the context of the past and discover why the idea of free trade has so successfully prevailed over time.Irwin traces the origins of the free trade doctrine from premercantilist times up to Adam Smith and the classical economists. In lucid and careful terms he shows how Smith's compelling arguments in favor of free trade overthrew mercantilist views that domestic industries should be protected from import competition. Once a presumption about the economic benefits of free trade was established, various objections to free trade arose in the form of major arguments for protectionism, such as those relating to the terms of trade, infant industries, increasing returns, wage distortions, income distribution, unemployment, and strategic trade policy. Discussing the contentious historical controversies surrounding each of these arguments, Irwin reveals the serious analytical and practical weaknesses of each, and in the process shows why free trade remains among the most durable and robust propositions that economics has to offer for the conduct of economic policy.

Payback: Conspiracy to Destroy Michael Milken and His Financial Revolution, The


Daniel Fischel - 1996
    Language:English.Payback

Comparative Economics in a Transforming World Economy


J. Barkley Rosser Jr. - 1996
    The traditional way of teaching comparative economics, with its reliance on relatively simple dichotomies (private vs. state, planning vs. market) does not take into consideration the many variants and mixtures of economic systems that exist in the real world. The Rossers' introduction in the first edition of the concept of the "new traditional economy"--the effort by a developing country to embed a modern economic system into a traditional culture, usually religious--presented a new way to look at developing economies. Their innovative examination of Iran and its effort to develop a "revolutionary Islamic economy" as an alternative to market capitalism illustrates the use of this new tool in comparative economics.After a four-chapter theoretical and historical overview, the book focuses on fifteen country studies, organized by economic system. The chapters on advanced market capitalism examine the economies of the United States (a chapter new to this edition) Japan, France, Sweden, and Germany. The chapters examining transition in former socialist economies discuss Russia, the former Soviet Republics, Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia (including expanded treatment of the most successful transition economy, that of Slovenia), and China. The chapters in the final section of the book discuss "alternative paths" taken by the developing economies of Iran, India (its complex mix of socialism, capitalism, and tradition is examined in a chapter new to this edition), Mexico, and South and North Korea. The book concludes with a look at future trends that will continue to transform the world economy.

The Weight of the Yen


R. Taggart Murphy - 1996
    This happened because the United States spent and Japan saved. In the early 1980s, Reagan's Washington discovered that Japan would cheerfully lend their vast savings to the United States by buying U.S. government bonds.How the Japanese money accumulated, the system that created it, and American fumbling that led to crippling debt service, a loss of much of our manufacturing base, and our economy's diminishing good jobs. The Weight of the Yen explains it all, in an intriguing, jargon-free analysis of the past fifteen years and the problems between America and Japan that are yet to come.

Foundations of International Macroeconomics


Maurice Obstfeld - 1996
    They are the perfect people to write the book we badly need -- a comprehensive, lucid treatment of the field that is neither sloppy nor doctrinaire, equipping its readers to understand both the broad areas of agreement among researchers and their important disputes. This book is ideal as a textbook, but it will also be a must-read for everyone in the field, no matter how senior. The chapters on sticky-price models, in particular, will, I predict, revolutionize the terms of the debate. A great achievement." -- Paul Krugman, Ford International Professor of Economics, MIT, and author of "The Age of Diminished Expectations" "This amazingly comprehensive book provides a lucid explanation of modern macroeconomic theory and applies the theory to a wide range of international issues. For reference and classroom use, it sets a new standard in open economy macroeconomics. The use of boxes and applications in an advanced graduate text such as this is unorthodox, but extremely effective." -- John Campbell, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, Harvard University"This is a landmark treatment of dynamic, open-economy macroeconomics -- the only kind of macroeconomics that matters any more." -- Paul Romer, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University "Foundations of International Macroeconomics" is an innovative text that offers the first integrative modern treatment of the core issues in open economy macroeconomics and finance. With its clear and accessible style, it is suitable for first-year graduate macroeconomics courses aswell as graduate courses in international macroeconomics and finance. Each chapter incorporates an extensive and eclectic array of empirical evidence. For the beginning student, these examples provide motivation and aid in understanding the practical value of the economic models developed. For advanced researchers, they highlight key insights and conundrums in the field.

The Wealthy 100


Michael Klepper - 1996
    The Vanderbilts, the Astors, Howard Hughes, John D. Rockefeller, Warren Buffett--their fascainting stories are all here, great reading for anyone, regardless of financial stature. Photos.

Accounting for Tastes


Gary S. Becker - 1996
    Nobel Laureate Gary Becker disagrees, and in this lively new collection he confronts the problem of preferences and values: how they are formed and how they affect our behavior. He argues that past experiences and social influences form two basic capital stocks: personal and social. He then applies these concepts to assessing the effects of advertising, the power of peer pressure, the nature of addiction, and the function of habits. This framework promises to illuminate many other realms of social life previously considered off-limits by economists.

The Case Against the Global Economy and for a Turn Toward the Local


Jerry Mander - 1996
    The world’s political and corporate leaders are restructuring the planet’s economy and political arrangements in ways that are affecting humans and the environment more than anything since the Industrial Revolution. Global institutions such as GATT, the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, and the World Bank—created with scant public debate or scrutiny—have moved real power away from citizens and nation-states to global bureaucracies, with grave results.The Case Against the Global Economy is the first comprehensive, point-by-point analysis of the global economy, its premises, and its social and environmental implications. Represented here are forty-three leading economic, agricultural, and environmental experts who charge that free trade and economic globalization are producing exactly the opposite results from what has been promised. Contributors include William Greider, Jeremy Rifkin, Ralph Nader, Vandana Shiva, David Korten, Wendell Berry, Kirkpatrick Sale, Herman E. Daly, Richard Barnet, Helena Norberg-Hodge, and more than thirty other analysts of the global economy.

The End of the Past: Ancient Rome and the Modern West


Aldo Schiavone - 1996
    Why did ancient culture, once so strong and rich, come to an end? Was it destroyed by weaknesses inherent in its nature? Or were mistakes made that could have been avoided--was there a point at which Greco-Roman society took a wrong turn? And in what ways is modern society different? Western history is split into two discontinuous eras, Aldo Schiavone tells us: the ancient world was fundamentally different from the modern one. He locates the essential difference in a series of economic factors: a slave-based economy, relative lack of mechanization and technology, the dominance of agriculture over urban industry. Also crucial are aspects of the ancient mentality: disdain for manual work, a preference for transcending (rather than transforming) nature, a basic belief in the permanence of limits. Schiavone's lively and provocative examination of the ancient world, "the eternal theater of history and power," offers a stimulating opportunity to view modern society in light of the experience of antiquity.

Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis


Erik Olin Wright - 1996
    The research in the book covers a wide range of topics, including the class character of friendship patterns, class mobility, the sexual division of labor in housework, gender differences in managerial authority, and class consciousness. What unites the topics is not a preoccupation with a common object of explanation, but rather a common explanatory factor: class.

Getting It Right: Markets and Choices in a Free Society


Robert J. Barro - 1996
    Getting It Right brings together, updates, and expands upon these writings that showcase Barro's agility in applying economic understanding to a wide array of social issues. Barro, a conservative who takes no prisoners, and a self-described libertarian, believes that most governments have gone much too far in their spending, taxation, and regulation. The dominant theme in these wide-ranging essays is the importance of institutions that ensure property rights and free markets. The discussion deals especially with the appropriate range of government: which areas represent useful public policy and which are unnecessary interference. The first section of the book considers these questions in the context of the determinants of long-run economic growth. In addition to basic economics, Barro assesses related political topics, such as the role of public institutions, the optimal size of countries, and the consequences of default on foreign debt. The second section deals with the proper role and form of monetary policy. Barro argues that government should provide markets with a stable nominal framework and then stay out of the way to best allow for price stability. Writings in the third section cover fiscal and other macroeconomic policies. Topics include the distorting influences of taxation, especially taxes on capital income; infrastructure investment and other government spending; and the consequences of public debt and budget deficits. In a final section, Barro looks at more micro issues such as cartels, tax amnesties, school choice, privatization, cigarette-smoking regulation, endangered species regulation, the market for baseball players, and term limits for politicians.

Dealing in Virtue: International Commercial Arbitration and the Construction of a Transnational Legal Order


Yves Dezalay - 1996
    The first book of its kind, Dealing in Virtue details how an elite group of transnational lawyers constructed an autonomous legal field that has given them a central and powerful role in the global marketplace.Building on Pierre Bourdieu's structural approach, the authors show how an informal, settlement-oriented system became formalized and litigious. Integral to this new legal field is the intense personal competition among arbitrators to gain a reputation for virtue, hoping to be selected for arbitration panels. Since arbitration fees have skyrocketed, this is a high-stakes game. Using multiple examples, Dezalay and Garth explore how international developments can transform domestic methods for handling disputes and analyze the changing prospects for international business dispute resolution given the growing presence of such international market and regulatory institutions as the EEC, the WTO, and NAFTA."A fascinating book, which I strongly recommend to all those active in international commercial arbitration, as they will see the arbitral world from new and unthought of perspectives."—Jacques Werner, Journal of International Arbitration

Computational Economics and Finance: Modeling and Analysis with Mathematica(r)


Hal R. Varian - 1996
    It provides a high quality and practical selection of contributed articles that impart the expertise of an international contingent of Mathematica users from the economic, financial, investments, quantitative business and operations research communities.

Rulers & Ruled


Irving M. Zeitlin - 1996
    Among these principles are the following: that a good society is based on law; that a good constitution balances social classes against each other; that a mixed constitution is best for this purpose; that popular sovereignty is the best foundation for a just and stable constitution; and that representative government is best for a large, complex society.In this valuable and accessibly written guide to the fundamentals of political thought, Irving Zeitlin shows that certain thinkers have given us insights that rise above historical context - 'trans-historical principles' that can provide the political scientist with an element of foresight, an ability not to predict events but to anticipate a certain range of possibilities. While the historian studies unique and unrepeatable circumstances such as those, for example, that gave rise to Julius Caesar, the political theorist, using these trans-historical principles, recognizes the conditions that can lead to Caesarism.Zeitlin draws on an unusual depth of knowledge, offering a lucid, interesting, and memorable summation of his chosen classic texts, in a work that will appeal strongly to his intended audience at the undergraduate level.

Science, Technology and the British Industrial 'Decline', 1870-1970


David Edgerton - 1996
    Using a wealth of previously unknown statistical data, David Edgerton draws new and controversial conclusions about British innovation and technical training since 1870, and provides a unique guide to the debates around the subject. This book will be of interest to economic historians and political scientists, as well as scientists and engineers, and will be invaluable to students approaching the subject for the first time.

The Political Economy of the World Trading System: From GATT to WTO


Bernard M. Hoekman - 1996
    This volume, the first full-length study of the WTO and GATT from the viewpoint of public choice and political economy, details the mechanics of the multilateral trading system that emerged from the Uruguay Round of GATT. The authors, who were involved in the negotiations of the Uruguay Round, explain why WTO rules are phrased the way they are, the successes and failures of WTO and GATT, and how business, industrial associations and political lobbies influence the multilateral trading system.

Rudolf Steiner, Economist


Rudolf Steiner - 1996
    This book throws light on many of the problems that face us today, problems that we cannot solve unless we take hold of the economic life in a conscious, human way and resist the temptation to defer to market forces alone.Though well-known as a seer, the idea of Rudolf Steiner as an economist may seem surprising. Seers do not usually have much concrete to say about economic life, beyond laments about its evils and injunctions that it be guided by some moral dimension. Rudolf Steiner, however, gave many lectures and wrote many articles about modern economic life, which he saw as the arena in which humanity has to find a new relationship to the spirituality that formerly came from above or outside -- from churches and external principles. Today the human being has to find morality within, which one cannot fully do unless one takes hold of the economic realm in a conscious, human way. Whether through concrete references to the meaning and working of money, or in attempting to give a fuller understanding of work or of the significance of market economics in our time, Steiner shows himself to be well versed in the subject. This publication presents a selection of his articles in a context of essays by Christopher Houghton Budd.

Austrian Economics: An Anthology


Bettina Bien Greaves - 1996
    This collection also explains what makes the Austrian approach unique. Topics include the history of Austrian Economics, the Theory of Subjective Value, and the epistemology of Austrian Economics.

Fountain of Fortune: Money and Monetary Policy in China, 1000-1700


Richard von Glahn - 1996
    Wutong was perceived not as a heroic figure or paragon but rather as an embodiment of greed and lust, a maleficent demon who preyed on the weak and vulnerable. In The Sinister Way, Richard von Glahn examines the emergence and evolution of the Wutong cult within the larger framework of the historical development of Chinese popular or vernacular religion—as opposed to institutional religions such as Buddhism or Daoism. Von Glahn’s study, spanning three millennia, gives due recognition to the morally ambivalent and demonic aspects of divine power within the common Chinese religious culture.Surveying Chinese religion from 1000 BCE to the beginning of the twentieth century, The Sinister Way views the Wutong cult as by no means an aberration. In Von Glahn’s work we see how, from earliest times, the Chinese imagined an enchanted world populated by fiendish fairies and goblins, ancient stones and trees that spring suddenly to life, ghosts of the unshriven dead, and the blood-eating spirits of the mountains and forests. From earliest times, too, we find in Chinese religious culture an abiding tension between two fundamental orientations: on one hand, belief in the power of sacrifice and exorcism to win blessings and avert calamity through direct appeal to a multitude of gods; on the other, faith in an all-encompassing moral equilibrium inhering in the cosmos.

Agricultural Revolution in England: The Transformation of the Agrarian Economy 1500-1850


Mark Overton - 1996
    Written specifically for students, it combines new material with an analysis of the existing literature. It describes farming in the sixteenth century, analyzes the reasons for improvements in agricultural output and productivity, and examines changes in the agrarian economy and society. Professor Overton argues that the impact of these related changes in productivity and social and economic structure in the century after 1750 amount to an agricultural revolution.

The Vampire State: And Other Myths and Fallacies about the U.S. Economy


Fred L. Block - 1996
    In engaging prose, Fred L. Block argues that many familiar metaphors, such as the image of the government as a vampire sucking the lifeblood from our economy, are patently false and based on bad economics. He explains why balancing the federal budget will not solve our economic problems, shows the flaws in the arguments for a global free trade regime, and uses a series of counter-metaphors to suggest reforms we desperately need.

Sylvia Pankhurst: Sexual Politics and Political Activism


Barbara Winslow - 1996
    It is intended for undergraduate courses in women's studies

Building a Win-Win World


Hazel Henderson - 1996
    Markets are now spreading worldwide - a spread which is often equated with the hope of democracy spreading along with it. But markets still run on old textbook models that ignore social and environmental costs - leading to a new kind of warfare: global economic warfare. Building a Win-Win World demonstrates how the global economy is unsustainable because of its negative effects on employees, families, communities, and the ecosystem. Henderson shows how win-win strategies can become the norm at every level when people see the true current and future costs of short-sighted, narrow economic policies.

Singapore's authoritarian capitalism: Asian values, free market illusions, and political dependency


Christopher Lingle - 1996
    Yet despite their grip on all organs of political power, the record clearly shows a continual decline in the margins of victory at the polls. These results suggest that Singaporeans are suffering from PAP fatigue. Apparently, an increasing number of people believe that the material gains do not constitute adequate compensation for the nanny-state nagging of an arrogant political leadership. Some of the regime's most prominent spokespersons have gone on the offensive by promoting a contrived set of Asian values to legitimize their exercise of unchallenged authority. Simultaneously, they also identify certain values as a threat to stability, usually equated with one-party rule. The PAP's position on these issues remains unchallenged at home due to an obsessive control over the media and the vigorous suppression of dissent. From a perspective gained from his service as a former Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore, Dr. Lingle identifies Singapore's authoritarian capitalism as combining a selective degree of economic freedom and private property rights with strong-armed control over political life. According to him, political loyalty is the ultimate determinant of success rather than the efficient utilization of resources, and sycophantic business relations replace the growth-inducing actions of true entrepreneurs. Singapore's Authoritarian Capitalism questions the long-term survival of the PAP and its capacity to sustain Singapore's miracle growth record due to internal contradictions arising from the imposed institutional arrangements.

The Fire of Invention, The Fuel of Interest: On Intellectual Property (Pfizer Lecture)


Michael Novak - 1996
    This book discusses the moral and practical foundations of the corporation and corporate governance.

Modern Banking in Theory and Practice


Shelagh Heffernan - 1996
    The strategic priority has shifted away from growth and size alone towards a greater emphasis on profitability, performance and ?value creation? within the banking firm. Bank professionals now require a thorough grounding in the micro foundations of banking if they are to make important managerial decisions, or implement banking policies. Containing up-to-date case studies, this book is concerned with the theory and practice of banking now, and the prospects for the future. Unlike many other books in this area, this text is devoted to the micro issues of banking, including competition, structure, performance, risks and regulation. "?rigorous, topical and it provides a good insight into some of the major empirical and policy research fields of modern banking ? an important and stimulating contribution to the micro banking literature. It should be required reading for banking students, researchers, banking professionals, and all who are interested in modern banks and banking." Edward Gardener, Institute of European Finance, University of Wales, Bangor, UK "? it takes an international approach to the subject of banking and combines that perspective with the more conventional aspects of the subject treated in a modern textbook. ? the writing is clear and concise ? I think you have a winner in this book." Ingo Walter, New York University Salomon Center, USA

Growth in a Traditional Society: The French Countryside, 1450-1815


Philip T. Hoffman - 1996
    Through a richly detailed historical investigation of the peasant agriculture of ancien-r�gime France, the author uncovers evidence that requires a new understanding of what constituted economic growth in such societies. His arguments rest on a measurement of long-term growth that enables him to analyze the economic, institutional, and political factors that explain its forms and rhythms. In comparing France with England and Germany, Hoffman arrives at fresh answers to some classic questions: Did French agriculture lag behind farming in other countries? If so, did the obstacles in French agriculture lurk within peasant society itself, in the peasants' culture, in their communal property rights, or in the small scale of their farms? Or did the obstacles hide elsewhere, in politics, in the tax system, or in meager opportunities for trade? The author discovers that growth cannot be explained by culture, property rights, or farm size, and argues that the real causes of growth derived from politics and gains from trade. By challenging other widely held beliefs, such as the nature of the commons and the workings of the rural economy, Hoffman offers a new analysis of peasant society and culture, one based on microeconomics and game theory and intended for a wide range of social scientists.

Facts, Not Fear: Teaching Children About the Environment


Michael Sanera - 1996
    In simple, non-technical language, authors Michael Sanera and Jane Shaw explain the myths and facts concerning many major environmental topics, and show you how to set the record straight.Each of the 20 topical chapters was reviewed by acknowledged experts, and include answers to questions about the environment commonly asked by children and suggestions for easy-to-do activities.

Ownership of Enterprise (Revised)


Henry Hansmann - 1996
    But it is not the only one. Even in the United States, noncapitalist firms play a vital role in many sectors. Employee-owned firms have long been prominent in the service professions--law, accounting, investment banking, medicine--and are becoming increasingly important in other industries. The buyout of United Airlines by its employees is the most conspicuous recent instance. Farmer-owned produce cooperatives dominate the market for most basic agricultural commodities. Consumer-owned utilities provide electricity to one out of eight households. Key firms such as MasterCard, Associated Press, and Ace Hardware are service and supply cooperatives owned by local businesses. Occupant-owned condominiums and cooperatives are rapidly displacing investor-owned rental housing. Mutual companies owned by their policyholders sell half of all life insurance and one-quarter of all property and liability insurance. And nonprofit firms, which have no owners at all, account for 90 percent of all nongovernmental schools and colleges, two-thirds of all hospitals, half of all day-care centers, and one-quarter of all nursing homes.Henry Hansmann explores the reasons for this diverse pattern of ownership. He explains why different industries and different national economies exhibit different distributions of ownership forms. The key to the success of a particular form, he shows, depends on the balance between the costs of contracting in the market and the costs of ownership. And he examines how this balance is affected by history and by the legal and regulatory framework within which firms are organized.With noncapitalist firms now playing an expanding role in the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia as well as in the developed market economies of the West, The Ownership of Enterprise will be an important book for business people, policymakers, and scholars.

Strategic Pragmatism: The Culture of Singapore's Economics Development Board


Edgar C. Schein - 1996
    Edgar Schein, a social psychologist with a long and celebrated research interest in organizational studies, examines the cultural history of the key intstitution that spawned this economic miracle. Through interviews and full access to Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB), Schein shows how economic development was successfully promoted. He delves into the individual relationships and the overall structure that contributed to the EDB's effectiveness in propelling Singapore, one of Asia's "little dragons" into the modern era. In his foreword, Lester Thurrow locates Schein's organizational and case-specific account within a larger economic and comparative framework.Over a period of two years, Schein studied how the EDB was created, the kind of leadership it provided, the management structure it used, the human resource policies it pursued, and how it influenced other organizations within the Singapore government. Schein sat in on EDB meetings and extensively interviewed current and former members of the board, Singapore's leaders who created the board, and businesspeople who have dealt with the board. His book intertwines the perspective of the board's members and its investor clients in an analysis that uses both organization and cross-cultural theory.Although there are currently studies of comparable Japanese and Korean organizations, this is the first detailed analysis of the internal structure and functioning of the economic development body of Singapore, a key player in the Asian and world markets.

Beyond Left and Right: Insurgency and the Establishment


David A. Horowitz - 1996
    It is at once a stunning synthesis, drawing on a large number of scholarly works, and an ambitious and original piece of research. The book ranges over diverse individuals and groups that have attacked the established order, from the left and the right, from the Populists of the 1890s to Ross Perot and the religious right of our times, dealing along the way with noninterventionists, the Klan, monetary radicals, McCarthyites, Birchers, and Reaganites, among many others.

Rethinking Our Centralized Monetary System: The Case For A System Of Local Currencies


Lewis D. Solomon - 1996
    In questioning the passive acceptance of a federal monopoly in producing money, the author challenges prevailing notions of progress and economic life. Advancing the idea of local currencies to promote a political economy based on empowerment, self-reliance, and ecological permanence, the book discusses three viable systems, all of which are possible under federal and state laws: barter, customer discounts, and local scrip not pegged to the U.S. dollar. The business and practical aspects of each of these systems is considered. This original work will be of interest to scholars, students, and policy-makers in political economy, money and banking, public finance, and public policy.

After the Revolution


Diego Abad de Santillán - 1996
    In the midst of the Spanish Civil War, de Santillan wrote this book on the economic mechanisms and the anarcho-syndicalist program of reconstruction in a post-revolutionary society, drawing on that already achieved and that which could be.

Making Room: The Economics of Homelessness


Brendan O'Flaherty - 1996
    The first full-scale economic analysis of homelessness, Making Room provides answers quite unlike those offered so far by sociologists and pundits. It is a story about markets, not about the bad habits or pathology of individuals.One perplexing fact is that, though homelessness in the past occurred during economic depressions, the current wave started in the 1980s, a time of relative prosperity. As Brendan O'Flaherty points out, this trend has been accompanied by others just as unexpected: rising rents for poor people and continued housing abandonment. These are among the many disconcerting facts that O'Flaherty collected and analyzed in order to account for the new homelessness. Focused on six cities (New York, Newark, Chicago, Toronto, London, and Hamburg), his studies also document the differing rates of homelessness in North America and Europe, and from one city to the next, as well as interesting changes in the composition of homeless populations. For the first time, too, a scholarly observer makes a useful distinction between the homeless people we encounter on the streets every day and those "officially" counted as homeless.O'Flaherty shows that the conflicting observations begin to make sense when we see the new homelessness as a response to changes in the housing market, linked to a widening gap in the incomes of rich and poor. The resulting shrinkage in the size of the middle class has meant fewer hand-me-downs for the poor and higher rents for the low-quality housing that is available. O'Flaherty's tightly argued theory, along with the wealth of new data he introduces, will put the study of homelessness on an entirely new plane. No future student or policymaker will be able to ignore the economic factors presented so convincingly in this plainspoken book.

Freer Markets, More Rules


Steven Kent Vogel - 1996
    The changes are complex and the terms used to describe them often obscure the reality. In Freer Markets, More Rules, Steven K. Vogel dispenses with euphemisms and makes sense of this recent transformation. In defiance of conventional wisdom, Vogel contends that the deregulation revolution of the 1980s and 1990s never happened. The advanced industrial countries moved toward liberalization or freer markets at the same time that they imposed reregulation or more rules. Moreover, the countries involved did not converge in regulatory practice but combined liberalization and reregulation in markedly different ways. The state itself, far more than private interest groups, drove the process of regulatory reform. Thus, the story of deregulation is one rich in paradox: a movement aimed at reducing regulation increased it; a movement propelled by global forces reinforced national differences; and a movement that purported to reduce state power was led by the state itself. Vogel's astute and far-reaching analysis compares deregulation in Britain and Japan, with special attention to the telecommunication and financial services industries. He also considers such important sectors as broadcasting, transportation, and utilities in the United States, France, and Germany.

The World of Muslim Women in Colonial Bengal, 1876-1939


Sonia Amin - 1996
    Its frames of reference are the Bengal 'Awakening', the Reform Movements -- Brahmo/Hindi and Muslim -- and the Women's Question as articulated in material and ideological terms throughout the period. Tracing the emergence of the modern Muslim gentlewomen, the bhadramahil , starting in 1876 when Nawab Faizunnesa Chaudhurani published her first book and ending with the foundation in 1939 of The Lady Brabourne College, the book gives an excellent analysis of the rise of a Muslim woman's public sphere and broadens our knowledge of Bengali social history in the colonial period."

Bank Deregulation & Monetary Order


George Selgin - 1996
    The volume is divided into three sections: * Part I refutes conventional wisdom holding that any monetary system lacking government regulation is 'inherently unstable', and looks at the workings of market forces in an otherwise unregulated banking system. * Part II draws on both theory and historical experience to show how various kinds of government interference undermine the inherent efficiency, safety, and stability of a free monetary system. * Part III completes the argument by addressing the popular misconception that a monetary system is unsound unless it delivers a stable output price-level

The Cambridge Economic History of the United States, Volume 1: The Colonial Era


Stanley L. Engerman - 1996
    The book includes chapters on the economic history of Native Americans (to 1860), and also on the European and African backgrounds to colonization. Subsequent chapters cover the settlement and growth of the colonies; British mercantilist policies and the American colonies; and the American Revolution, the constitution, and economic developments through 1800.

Marx And Non Equilibrium Economics


Alan Freeman - 1996
    A equilibrium-free political economy based on the labour theory of value is developed in this volume which brings together authors who have worked in this framework for the last ten years.

Insider Lending: Banks, Personal Connections, and Economic Development in Industrial New England


Naomi R. Lamoreaux - 1996
    In early nineteenth century New England, however, insider lending was an integral aspect of the banking system. Not only was the practice an accepted fact of economic life, but, as Naomi R. Lamoreaux argues, it enabled banks (at least in this particular historical context) to play an important role in financing economic development. As the banking system evolved over the course of the century, however, lending practices became more impersonal and professional.

International Political Economy: State-Market Relations in the Changing Global Order


C. Roe Goddard - 1996
    

Causes of Growth and Stagnation in the World Economy


Nicholas Kaldor - 1996
    They provide a very clear account of his theoretical structures on regional differences, primary producers and manufacturers, and on differing market structures and the likely course of prices and quantities in different markets over time. The first four lectures are concerned with theory, history and explanation; the fifth consists of a detailed set of integrated policy proposals.

Neither Capitalism Nor Socialism: Theories of Bureaucratic Collectivism


Ernest E. HaberkernHal Draper - 1996
    The analysis was extended to include the new states that arose in the post WWII era, particularly Mao's China and Tito's Yugoslavia. Perhaps of more contemporary importance is the attempt to understand what was happening to modern capitalism. Of particular interest is the discussion of the "Permanent Arms Economy" and its effect on capitalism.

Industry Structure, Strategy, and Public Policy


F.M. Scherer - 1996
    Designed to serve either as a core text or as a supplementary case book, this work examines issues in industrial organization.

The Making of Silicon Valley: A One Hundred Year Renaissance


Ward Winslow - 1996
    Chronicles the stages of development from the establishment of Stanford University to the present technological powerhouse. Over 70 technology company histories run chronologically throughout. Used as a primary reference text by most of the international news organizations, as a high school and college textbook and as a coffee table book.

Beating Plowshares Into Swords: The Political Economy of American Warfare, 1606-1865


Paul A.C. Koistinen - 1996
    When completed, this multi-volume project will stand as the definitive work on a complex subject that until now has been superficially treated or completely ignored.Koistinen focuses not upon battlefields and battles but upon the means used to make and sustain the armies and navies that have fought in such horrific arenas. Drawing upon a vast array of sources in a number of diverse fields, he analyzes how America has mobilized itself for the conduct of war. He argues that to fully understand that process we must closely examine the complex interrelations among economic, political, and military institutions within the context of relentless modernization and technological innovation.In this first volume, Koistinen describes how an undeveloped preindustrial economy forced Americans to fight defensive wars of attrition like the Revolution and the War of 1812. By the time of the Mexican War, however, a gradually maturing economy allowed the U.S. to use a much more offensive-minded strategy to achieve its goals. The book concludes with an exhaustive examination of the Civil War, a conflict that both anticipated and differed from the total wars of the industrialized era. Koistinen demonstrates that the North relied upon its enormous economic might to overwhelm the Confederacy through a strategy of annihilation, while the South bungled its own strategy of attrition by failing to mobilize effectively a much less-developed economy.With this and subsequent volumes, Koistinen's sweeping synthesis provides a panoramic view that enlarges and in significant ways alters our vision of the turbulent relationship between war and society in America.

Principles Of Pharmacoeconomics


J. Lyle Bootman - 1996
    

The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior: The Nobel Lecture (Essays in Public Policy)


Gary Stanley Becker - 1996
    Becker, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and University Professor of Economics and Sociology at the University of Chicago. In announcing the award, Gary was cited for Extending "the domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behavior and interaction, including nonmarket behavior." In the lecture he delivered as part of the 1992 Nobel Prize award ceremony, Gary discussed four topics--discrimination against minorities, crime and punishment, the development and accumulation of human capital, and the structure of families--that are emblematic of his innovative approach to the economic analysis of social issues.

Poor Policy: How Government Harms The Poor


D. Eric Schansberg - 1996
    The author also provides an analysis of US welfare policies.

Client Centered Consulting: Getting Your Expertise Used When You're Not in Charge


Bill Evans - 1996
    Taking you through every stage of the consulting process - from contracting and collecting data to implementing the solution and evaluating the results - the book provides you with checklists, exercises, group activities, and feedback instruments guaranteed to make your relationships with clients smoother, less stressful, more cooperative, and far more productive.

The End of Economics


Michael Perelman - 1996
    Even when it is recognised that this does not exist, many politicians and captains of industry pay a great deal of lip service to the idea of the market. This text goes beyond the rhetoric to explore how, even in America, the market has always been subjected to numerous constraints.

Rethinking Youth


Johanna Wyn - 1996
    Rethinking Youth challenges the conventional wisdoms surrounding the position and opportunities of young people today and provides a systematic overview of the major perspectives in youth studies.

Debt Games: Strategic Interaction in International Debt Rescheduling


Vinod K. Grrarwal - 1996
    Based on a novel situational theory of bargaining, Professor Aggarwal's study provides a method to deduce actors' payoffs in different bargaining situations to develop debt games, which are then used to predict negotiating outcomes. This integrated political-economic approach to analyze bargaining episodes goes beyond simple economic models or purely descriptive studies. In doing so, it contributes to international political and economic theory, game theory, and historical research on debt negotiations.