Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
Economists and economics have been harshly criticised recently. This book accepts many of the criticisms of conventional theory but argues that the fundamental insights of economics are capable of reinterpretation and reinvention to deal with a host of contemporary concerns – social networks, globalisation, pay inequality, climate change, automation and the growth of ‘nudge’ policy amongst many others. The author uses his weekly column in the London business newspaper City A.M. to explain new developments in economic thinking and empirical research to a general audience. This book reproduces many of his most provocative columns with accompanying commentary and full references. The author’s witty and informed analysis of events provides an ideal introduction to important ideas for anybody interested in how the modern economy works.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| _Hlk489962505 | 77 | ||
| _Hlk505371102 | 146 | ||
| _Hlk505347516 | 79 | ||
| The author | xi | ||
| Foreword | xii | ||
| 1\tIntroduction | 1 | ||
| This book | 3 | ||
| Microeconomics and macroeconomics | 5 | ||
| Sources | 14 | ||
| References | 15 | ||
| 2\tMarket structures and incentives | 16 | ||
| Meat and potato pies and the Nobel Prize in economics | 20 | ||
| Incentives, scarce resources and the refugee crisis | 22 | ||
| The market for speeding points | 24 | ||
| Bacon sandwich with sugar, anyone? | 27 | ||
| Don’t send bankers to jail. Just don’t give them knighthoods | 29 | ||
| Would harsher punishments deter the likes of Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes? | 31 | ||
| Why can’t students learn? University is not worthwhile for most | 34 | ||
| Can Nanny make you stop drinking? | 37 | ||
| Paying for performance can be bad. It’s (almost) official | 39 | ||
| Why teachers are just like bankers | 42 | ||
| CEO compensation and Jamaican demands for reparations: two sides of the same coin | 44 | ||
| Corporation tax: fostering the illusions of the electorate that someone else will pay | 47 | ||
| Our Friends in the North are trapped in a monetary union | 49 | ||
| Can game theory help the Greeks? | 52 | ||
| With hurricanes raging, why can’t politicians confront climate change? | 55 | ||
| Ticket prices, fairness and behavioural economics | 57 | ||
| Are the markets telling the truth? | 60 | ||
| The value of experiments, both controlled and natural | 62 | ||
| Rude Yorkshiremen, Milton Friedman and economic theory | 65 | ||
| Banks and steel: thorny problems in economic theory | 67 | ||
| Expert opinions are often built on sand | 70 | ||
| References | 73 | ||
| 3\tUncertainty and the limits to knowledge | 76 | ||
| The World Chess Championship tells us how we really make decisions | 81 | ||
| The ‘gentleman in Whitehall’ does not know best | 83 | ||
| How expert are experts? Time to end the independence of the Bank | 86 | ||
| Beer, evolution and failure | 88 | ||
| Ninja Turtles, Nick Clegg and market failure | 91 | ||
| Black Friday, games and the Stock Market | 93 | ||
| Can England win the World Cup? | 96 | ||
| References | 99 | ||
| 4\tInnovation | 100 | ||
| Whatever happened to all those miners? Shocks and economic resilience | 105 | ||
| Economics isn’t always the dismal science | 107 | ||
| Could Ernie replace Andy? The Bank’s take on automation | 110 | ||
| Neo-Luddites won’t like it, but the UK must keep on (driverless) truckin’ | 112 | ||
| Always look on the bright side | 114 | ||
| All we are saying: give capitalism a chance | 116 | ||
| Artificial Intelligence and the future | 119 | ||
| Biotech contradicts accusation of City short-termism | 121 | ||
| Stranded assets and innovation | 124 | ||
| Britain’s New Industrial Policy: can we learn from the mistakes of the past? | 126 | ||
| Why cricket is like spam | 129 | ||
| References | 132 | ||
| 5\tNetworks | 134 | ||
| Thomas Schelling, polymath of genius | 139 | ||
| A stitch in time. We need smarter government, but less of it | 142 | ||
| Echo chamber of garbage | 145 | ||
| Alas, poor Cecil! Economic theory and the death of a lion | 148 | ||
| If it can happen to Google, who can feel safe? | 150 | ||
| Um Bongo: a spotlight on modern social and economic behaviour | 153 | ||
| Popular culture is the driving force of inequality | 155 | ||
| What the Emily Thornberry saga tells us about macroeconomic policy | 157 | ||
| References | 161 | ||
| 6\tMacroeconomics | 162 | ||
| Want an economic forecast guv? Pick one, any one will do | 168 | ||
| What a good job Keynes didn’t believe in forecasting | 170 | ||
| Inflation and the limits to knowledge | 173 | ||
| A tale of two crises | 176 | ||
| The private sector, not the state, drives America’s recovery | 178 | ||
| Cutting spending can be expansionary | 181 | ||
| Is this a pleb I see before me? Reality and perception in the markets | 183 | ||
| How big is my multiplier? | 185 | ||
| The ‘output gap’: another piece of economic mumbo-jumbo | 188 | ||
| We are much better off than the official statistics say | 191 | ||
| Economists are not impressed by Piketty’s views on inequality | 193 | ||
| Capitalism is stable and resilient | 196 | ||
| References | 199 | ||
| A few suggestions for further reading | 201 | ||
| About the IEA | 206 | ||
| Blank Page | ii |