Book Description
How do economists decide what questions to address and how to choose their theories? How do they tackle the problems of the economic system and give advice on public policy? With these broad questions, Nobel laureate R. H. Coase, widely recognized for his seminal work on transaction costs, reflects on some of the most fundamental concerns of economists over the past two centuries.
In fifteen essays, Coase evaluates the contributions of a number of outstanding figures, including Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall, Arnold Plant, Duncan Black, and George Stigler, as well as economists at the London School of Economics in the 1930s.
Ronald H. Coase was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science in 1991.
Customer Reviews:
Coase's thoughts on the discipline and its disciples........2004-07-01
Ronald Coase, apart from his economic genius, is an excellent writer. In this series of essays Coase traverses a wide range of topics in the discipline from what part economists should play in public policy to who Alfred Marshall's Uncle was.
As the title of the book suggests, the first seven essays deal with economics, and Coase's views on it. The essays are short, witty (some of them) and never dull. What Coase has to say on "How should Economists choose" is a must read as he deals with `truth' in the discipline. Is economics the `King' of the social sciences? Coase has something to say on that as well in "Economics and Contiguous Disciplines" and there are 5 other essays in this section.
The next part deals with the lives of some economists, mostly those whom Coase knew personally from England: Marshall, Plant, Black, Pigou & Stigler. The first two essays in this section deal with Marshall's ancestry and are the least interesting essays in the whole book as Coase becomes Sherlock Holmes, seeking out Marshall's true origins. Not particularly interesting stuff. The other essays in this section dealing with economists and the LSE are far more interesting as they give you glimpses of the lives of these great thinkers.
A good short read, recommended.
More from this off-the-beaten-path economist!.......2001-03-02
If you liked "The Firm, the Market, and the Law" you will like this one even more. Coase gives away insider information about some of the best economists of this century. As always his style is much too literate for an economist, but so much fun to read. Although Coase himself does not use any formal arguments, his most challenging case for an economic theory build around the concept of transaction costs seems to have been to difficult to tackle for the so-called pure theorists...
A must read for anyone interested in economics.......1998-11-27
This book is a collection of eassys by Coase. Begin with his Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize lecture, the first five essays express Coase's view on the practice of economics and how economist should go about their business. The remaining 10 essays are about economist, from Adam Smith to Goerge Stigler. Few economists, dead or alive, know more about the economic system than Coase does. These essays give you an introduction to the great mind of this great economist as well as an unconventional, yet more sensible than conventional, view of the economic system. A must read.
Book Description
Booms and busts are not endemic to the free market, argues the Austrian theory of the business cycle, but come about through manipulation of money and credit by central banks. In this monograph, Austrian giants explain and defend the theory against alternatives. Includes essays by Mises, Rothbard, Haberler, and Hayek. In his later years, Professor Haberler distributed many of these monographs to friends and associates. New edition with an introduction by Roger Garrison and an index.
Customer Reviews:
Austrian macro-economics without any criticisms.......2001-10-29
A lovely succinct account from four towers in a tradition of economics that is widely represented in the financial markets. Roger Garrison - himself a leading light in modern times - leads off with a brief overview. The nice thing is that Garrison manages to get it all across without resorting to waffle - another Austrian tradition.
In fact, in my view, Garrison is the star of this review since his ability to keep it simple is a tremendous asset. Anyone familiar with the dark mutterings of academics in Austrian academic journals will know exactly what I'm talking about.
Aside from Garrison, the pieces by Rothbard and Harberler are the best since they tackle the central issue of Trade Cycle theory - that any system run by central bankers is inherently unstable since their tinkering with interest rates leads directly to the business cycle. Much better to have a competitive banking system without a central bank and a curency tied to gold. That way credit expansions will never be explosive. Of course, what they don't tell you is that their proposals are inherently deflationary and force deficit countries to do all adjustment when they experience balance of payments problems.
Rothbard's piece sets out the mechanics of the Trade Cycle especially well and everyone should be able to understand what he's getting at without too much difficulty. It's no more difficult than the average economics course on an MBA programme. That's hardly difficult, is it?
Readers wishing to understand the micro-economics of the Austrian school should also check out some of the recent publications of one Israel Kirzner.
The Austrian School in a Nutshell.......2001-09-25
At last! An anthology from one of the most important schools of libertarian economics in a portable form! This book can be easily incorporated into a course on economics or banking.
And yet, "The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle" is a narrowly useful tool. It's like a tire gauge, that means everything when there's a problem with the tire, but tells nothing about gas or oil levels. I see few times when the average production supervisor, Sunday-school teacher or working mom would have occasion to read it.
In the introduction, Roger Garrison spells out the differences between the Austrian School and other movements in free-market economics. The Austrian School emphasizes the role of time in decision making. To think of an example, Joe wants to buy a car now that the interest rates are low. But if the interest rates are high, he'll put his money in the bank and wait a year until he replaces the family car.
Ludwig von Mises' essay, which lends its name to the book, reveals the international character of the Austrian School. The essay was translated out of the French, points back to the British Currency School, and alludes to the contribution of Knut Wicksell from Sweden. This theory was, nevertheless, developed by Austrians, beginning with Carl Menger. References to the University of Chicago and to the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, bring the movement to a home in America.
The key point is that a boom produced and prolonged by easy bank money with government support will sooner or later contract into a bust when the easy money turns hard. Just ask any farmer who bought machinery on credit years ago, when inflation was rampant.
Gottfried Haberler demonstrates that economics is, in fact, difficult to reduce to mathematics. He points to how money is needed at different times as a product moves out of the ground through its production phases to the end user.
In contrast, Murray Rothbard tells us with sparkling satire why we no longer have "panics" and "depressions." He also gives insight on how a change in time preference changes interest rates; interest rates fall if enough buyers become savers.
Friedrich Hayek points to an insidious effect of inflation. Not is it more fun to be a debtor on a fixed-rate loan when inflation is high, but taxable profits are much higher than the profits are worth in reality. Easy money gives rise to inflation.
Roger Garrison finally draws a couple of price/quantity graphs in his summary, savings/investment graphs to be specific. Money created by the government has the same short-term effect as a genuine increase in savings, but genuine savings are lower because savers are coolly greeted by lower interest rates for their hard-earned money. The bust after the boom is a real let-down.
With my MBA from Campbell, this material is clearer and livelier to me than it would be to the man on the street.
Real Economics.......2001-07-01
I ordered this book as a part of a course I am designing for myself on economics. It is a good introduction to the Austrian school but provides information that even those familiar with the subject will find useful. Rothbard addresses many fallacies regarding the free market and provides a clear explanation of the Austrian theory of the trade cycle and other theories, relating them to history and comparing them with classical and Keynesian theories. This is a helpful comparison, as it reveals some inherent flaws in the latter and outlines the eventual results of the acceptance of those theories. This book does not give an in-depth analysis of its subject, but provides a cohesive picture and points for further examination. It is also a helpful text for understanding capitalist theory and the history of the Austrian school.
Useful primer on Austrian Theory.......2001-05-15
With the economy on the brink of a major collapse, there would seem to be no better time than the present to become reacquainted with the Austrian theory of the trade cycle, since this theory is nearly the only one which can come close to explaining the present crisis. Whereas most academic economists, under the influence of Keynes, believe that the economy, if manipulated in the right ways by the central banking authorities, can be kept in a state of expansion indefinitely, the Austrians argued for what has been called, by one critic, the "hangover theory," according to which any attempt to artificially stimulate the economy through a policy of credit inflation and low interest rates is bound to fail in the long run, so that any attempt to prevent a recession by lowering the interest rate can only wind up making things worse. Now while the Austrian theory in all its manifold details may not provide us with an entirely adequate description of economic reality, it is difficult to argue with the premise that artificially lowering the interest rate through easy money policies must lead to serious economic dislocations down the road. The cluelessness in regard to this issue demonstrated by most academic economists and by investment analysts merely proves the inveterate irrationality of the majority of the human race and the tremendous influence of wishful thinking on those who do not have the guts to see things as they are. There is no better introduction to Austrian trade cycle theory than this modest book which includes essays by von Mises, Hayek, Halberler, and Rothbard. The theory is presented in a clear, succinct manner, so that even economic illiterates have a chance to understand it. Roger Garrison provides an excellent introduction and summary.
Although I regard the Austrian theory as the best so far promulgated, this should not be construed as a full-hearted endorsement of the theory. In many important respects, the theory is flawed. Specifically, the theory suffers from two major shortcomings: (1) it is derived entirely from rationalistic speculation based on oversimplified generalizations of economic reality; and (2) it tacitly assumes that human behavior and motivation is far more rational than the facts would suggest. Given these weaknesses, it's not surprising that only the extreme rationalists within the Austrian movement except the theory in toto, and that many who once accepted (including even Haberler, one of the contributors to this volume) later rejected it. Perhaps the main reason for this rejection is the view that what causes the recession (or depression) is misallocation of resources within the capital structure. When interest rates are artificially lowered, this leads (according to the Austrian theory) to over-investment in more durable over less durable capital industries and for temporally more remote rather than less remote stages of production. This part of the theory has not sit well even with those economists who might otherwise be sympathetic to it. This is a pity, because this portion of the theory is not even necessary for explaining the phenomenon of economic recessions. In fact, they can be explained in virtue of credit expansion alone. The key is to merely understand that credit expansion through fractional reserve banking (or the equivalent thereof) is equivalent to debt expansion, since debt is merely the obverse side of credit. But it should be obvious to those whose common sense has not been debauched by too much Keynsianism that expansion of debt through fractional reserves cannot be carried on indefinitely, since debt of this kind is tantamount to leveraged debt and becomes more and more like a ponzi scheme the longer the banking and treasury authorities allow it to go on.
An excellent and important little book. Highly recommended.
Book Description
Applied Microeconomic Theory presents a seminal collection of the author's influential papers in a number of areas of applied microeconomic theory. This invaluable volume contains a selection of both published and unpublished papers written over a period of thirty years and reveals Curtis Eaton's profound economic insight and ability.
Topics covered include:
• strategic market structure. Beginning with Eaton's pioneering 1975 paper on preemption by product proliferation in a differentiated oligopoly and ending with his paper - in collaboration with Nicholas Schmitt - on the implications for market structure of flexible manufacturing published in 1995
• efficiency wages, including two of the very earliest papers on the subject written in collaboration with William White
• theory of price in both labor and output markets
• collusive behavior, including a number of important papers written in collaboration with Mukesh Eswaran.
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On the Other Hand: Essays on Economics, Economists, and Politics
Herbert Stein
Manufacturer: AEI Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Policy & Current Events
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General
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ASIN: 0844738778 |
Book Description
This book examines growth, poverty, employment, taxes, and deficits; and discusses the role of presidents, their advisers, and economists in the formation of economic policy.
Book Description
For over half a century, Canadian-born John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908) has been among the most visible of public intellectuals. His articulate and controversial best-selling books---including The Affluent Society, Economics and the Public Purpose, and The New Industrial State---and his very partisan liberal Democrat political and public service activities secured a place for him among the rich and famous of his time.
He worked as an adviser to President John F. Kennedy, served as U.S. ambassador to India (1961?1963), and edited Fortune magazine during the mid-1940s. Among American economists of any era, he is rivaled only by Thorstein Veblen for the introduction of phrases that take on a life of their own in the literate idiom. Such Galbraithian phrases as "the conventional wisdom" and the "affluent society" have become familiar even beyond Galbraith's remarkably wide readership. No other economist of the twentieth century, excepting perhaps John Maynard Keynes, can claim so secure a place in the belles-lettres of the English-speaking world.
This collection of interviews documents the long career of an influential economist and political philosopher who has spent much of his professional life in the public eye. Many of the interviews are occasioned by publication of his books and contain their key themes such as the importance of Keynes, the need to include power in economic thinking, and the neglected priorities of aesthetics, poverty, and the environment in affluent America. The interviews also indicate Galbraith's wide-ranging public service and his frequent hobnobbing with the political and intellectual elite. Through the collection, which spans over four decades, Galbraith's erudition, wit, and impassioned liberalism shine through, making this volume an essential companion to his works.
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Applying the Dismal Science: When Economists Give Advice to Governments
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Economic Conditions
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Government
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Federal Government
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ASIN: 1403994595
Release Date: 2006-03-02 |
Book Description
This collection shows what went wrong in UK economic policy-making in the 1960s and 1970s, what goes better now, and what still goes wrong. The editors explain how recent developments in economic theory have improved economic policy making.
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Better than Plowing and Other Personal Essays
James M. Buchanan
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Economic History
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ASIN: 0226078167 |
Book Description
"The simple exchange of apples and oranges between two traders—this institutional model is the starting point for all that I have done," writes Buchanan. "Contrast this with the choice between apples and oranges in the utility-maximizing calculus of Robinson Crusoe. [This is] what most economists do."
James M. Buchanan has always seemed an outsider—to establishment America, to the political values of modern academia, and to the orthodoxies of his parent discipline. Yet in addition to earning the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1986, he is recognized as the theoretical inspiration for much of the Reagan era's economic philosophy, the father of public choice theory, and a powerful exponent of libertarian ideals.
Bluntly honest and always engaging, these twelve autobiographical essays recount and clarify the major influences on the unusual intellectual career of one of our most gifted and insightful thinkers. And his career has been unusual, for there have been few Nobel Laureates who have emerged from the genteel poverty of the rural South and fewer still who hoe their own cabbages. Equally down-to-earth, Buchanan's personal essays provide a unique perspective on how tradition, family, chance, and scholarship came together to shape his career.
Book Description
Herbert Simon (1916-2001), in the course of a long and distinguished career in the social and behavioral sciences, made lasting contributions to many disciplines, including economics, psychology, computer science, and artificial intelligence. In 1978 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for his research into the decision-making process within economic organizations. His well-known book The Sciences of the Artificial addresses the implications of the decision-making and problem-solving processes for the social sciences.
This book (the title is a variation on the title of Simon's autobiography, Models of My Life) is a collection of short essays, all original, by colleagues from many fields who felt Simon's influence and mourn his loss. Mixing reminiscence and analysis, the book represents "a small acknowledgment of a large debt."
Each of the more than forty contributors was asked to write about the one work by Simon that he or she had found most influential. The editors then grouped the essays into four sections: "Modeling Man," "Organizations and Administration," "Modeling Systems," and "Minds and Machines." The contributors include such prominent figures as Kenneth Arrow, William Baumol, William Cooper, Gerd Gigerenzer, Daniel Kahneman, David Klahr, Franco Modigliani, Paul Samuelson, and Vernon Smith. Although they consider topics as disparate as "Is Bounded Rationality Unboundedly Rational?" and "Personal Recollections from 15 Years of Monthly Meetings," each essay is a testament to the legacy of Herbert Simon -- to see the unity rather than the divergences among disciplines.
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Economic Theory and Market Socialism: Selected Essays of Oskar Lange (Economists of the Twentieth Century)
Oskar Lange
Manufacturer: Edward Elgar Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1852787074 |
Book Description
Large Scale Organizational Change provides the principles by which large scale organizations reinvent themselves not once, but on an ongoing basis. Continual reinvention allows leading companies to learn, adapt, and innovate faster than competitors in complex and fast changing environments. These action principles are based on first-hand experience at the world's leading Fortune 500 companies using emergent models of living systems.
The context for large scale organizations is one of information overload, complexity and constant change. This book reduces the sense of vulnerability felt by managers. It provides a guide to piloting change in ways that lead to constant renewal and a capacity to survive frequent and often brutal changes in the operating environment. It describes a leadership concerned with the capacity to learn, inflection points, emergent strategies, knowledge management, the ability to anticipate, and tapping into the distributed intelligence resident in the organization.
Large Scale Organizational Change provides managers with a framework for making their organizations highly adaptive in the complex market systems in which they operate, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for periodic episodes of traumatic restructuring and sometimes fatal reengineering processes.
Ten action principles that provide business managers with a guide to large scale organizational change
Based on the authors' extensive experience as executives of Fortune 500 companies and as successful consultants to global leaders in the fields of strategy and organizational change
Deeply grounded in the new sciences of complexity, chaos and evolution
Customer Reviews:
Excellent read.......1999-12-20
An excellent read! Finally someone is taking the new sciences and providing intelligent principles for business. It's a fun book that I jumped around in from principle to principle and among the various illustrations of successful company reinventions. I also appreciated the tie-in to environmental responsibility. The authors show how it can be a natural extension of "open boundaries" change management. I also liked that they use a number of global examples in the book.
A practical framework with principles & actions.......1999-12-15
I found this book to be a refreshing departure from similar business books on organizational change. The many action-principles at the end of each chapter, combined with useful business examples, provide a framework and can be a source of concrete, practical guidelines to implement change in large organizations.
As a professional practitioner of change management, I recommend this book as a rigorous and experience-based approach to transformation inside global companies."
Books:
- Excellence in Practice Volume III: Innovation & Excellence in Workflow Process and Knowledge Management
- Fortress America: The American Military and the Consequences of Peace
- Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics
- Funding Your Ministry: Whether You're Gifted or Not
- Generalized Method of Moments (Advanced Texts in Econometrics)
- Global Formation: Structures of the World-Economy
- Global Trends And Global Governance
- Growth Fetish
- H-Infinity Optimal Control and Related Minimax Design Problems: A Dynamic Game Approach (Systems & Control: Foundations & Applications)
- Handbook of Computational Economics, Volume 2: Agent-Based Computational Economics (Handbook of Computational Economics)
Books Index
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