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Ever feel like you just can't get ahead with the bills? You're not alone. More than half of Americans believe the American dream has become impossible for most people to achieve. And two-thirds think this goal will be even harder for the next generation. (One reason for the gloominess--average full-time income has fallen 15 percent since 1975.) All this has Benjamin Friedman worried. In his hefty, 549-page tome, The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, the acclaimed Harvard economist and advisor to the Federal Reserve Board says economic stagnation is bad for the moral health of a nation. Friedman, a former chair of Harvard's economics department, argues that economic growth is vital to social and political progress. Witness Hitler's Germany. Without growth, people look for answers in intolerance and fear. And that, Friedman warns, is where the U.S. is headed if the economic stagnation of the past three decades doesn't soon reverse. It's not enough for gross domestic product to rise, he says. Growth also has to be more evenly distributed. The rich shouldn't be the only ones getting richer.
Friedman's arguments are provocative but at times lack rigor. In his comparisons of various countries, he offers no objective data to measure their levels of social progress, relying instead on his own--sometimes selective--interpretation of historical events. He glosses over the fact that China, where the economy has grown sevenfold since 1978, has seen little political change in that time. He also acknowledges that the Great Depression--which brought Americans together to achieve great social and political progress--tends to disprove his theory. Friedman makes a good case that the economy sometimes influences social movements, but the jury is still out on exactly when and how that happens. --Alex Roslin
Book Description
From the author of Day of Reckoning, the acclaimed critique of Ronald Reagan’s economic policy (“Every citizen should read it,” said The New York Times): a persuasive, wide-ranging argument that economic growth provides far more than material benefits.
In clear-cut prose, Benjamin M. Friedman examines the political and social histories of the large Western democracies–particularly of the United States since the Civil War–to demonstrate the fact that incomes on the rise lead to more open and democratic societies. He explains that growth, rather than simply a high standard of living, is key to effecting political and social liberalization in the third world, and shows that even the wealthiest of nations puts its democratic values at risk when income levels stand still. Merely being rich is no protection against a turn toward rigidity and intolerance when a country’s citizens lose the sense that they are getting ahead.
With concrete policy suggestions for pursuing growth at home and promoting worldwide economic expansion, this volume is a major contribution to the ongoing debate about the effects of economic growth and globalization.
Customer Reviews:
The Chicken or the Egg?.......2007-02-06
Since the rise fascism and Bolshevism in the 1920s there has been the question of how political rights and civil liberties correspond to economic rights and growth. Amartya Sen has argued that the political rights and civil liberties should not be divorced from economic process (Development As Freedom). Sen's normative approach of equating economic rights to the freedoms one achieves with guaranteed civil liberties is one that many can respect.
Benjamin Freidman has taken a more positivist to the same issue. In doing so he asks, "Which came first the chicken or the egg?" Does economic growth in a capitalist setting require democracy and civil liberties or visa versa? Friedman's study looks back not only over all to this question in modern economic history. But, he also takes specific case studies from the United States, Germany, France and others to see the over all trends of the problem.
From this he develops a matrix on the issue. In times of growth political rights tend to expand. In times of stagnation they tend to contract. What is interesting his not how Friedman arrives at this basic framework, but his look into the exceptions of this common sense rule. Why in the 1930s was the political openness of the New Deal accepted, but the recent economic stagnation in France caused the rise of the right-wing Le Pen party?
Friedman is one of the foremost experts on the political economy. He has held a seat at Harvard since 1972. Yet, in this work for public consumption his writing is more along the lines of an historian. He does not delve too far into the economics or the political science of the issue, which many academics tend to - even for the lay reader. Instead, he sees to it that the main ideas are gotten across.
His prescriptions are simple. Maintain economic growth and we can maintain political and civil liberties. While Amartya Sen may find a problem with placing the chicken before the egg, after this work one must understand that economic stagnation helps noone.
Better than church: Economics, the joyful science.......2006-12-01
Economics is often considered a values-free discipline (and economists - well, a sperm cell has a better chance of becoming human). Economists have promoted this view with their emphasis on "positive" (scientific) economics. Economic theory must generate testable hypotheses which stand on their ability to predict the future and withstand the test of data. This is actually very important if economic theory is going to serve as the basis for policy. Without a rigorous and dispassionate analysis of the problems we face and their potential solutions, policy is more likely to be destructive than useful. But taken to an academic extreme, this approach makes economics rather arid, an extremely formal social science that looks more like a branch of mathematics. Indeed, some economics journals publish articles so arcane they might as well be about string theory for all the relevance they have to actual human beings.
Friedman understands that economics is much more than mathematics, that it deals directly with human happiness. It's the most optimistic and joyful of sciences, not simply a ruler by which we can measure policy. Its uses and conclusions are fundamentally moral (or immoral). Economic growth isn't just about GDP and reams of statistics, but about the expansion of opportunity, the lifting up of the poor and the powerless to prosperity and self-determination. Markets aren't just about money, but about liberty. It may be the responsibility of economic advisors to be cold, impartial and rational in their analysis and advice, but policy makers and citizens must apply moral reasoning and moral sense to the products of that analysis.
Friedman's book is a solid introduction to the moral relevance of economics. Friedman shows us that economics matters, though it doesn't matter in quite the way that physics matters. Physical knowledge may be used for moral or immoral purposes, but physics is fundamentally without morality. It also need not deal with anything that really matters to you and me. Economic theory can explain human behavior in ways similar to thermodynamic explanations of molecular motion, but humans aren't molecules. You can't simply describe the impact of globalization or tax policy on humans without a moral framework; an attempt to objectify humans as you'd objectify hydrogen molecules contains its own grim morality. It's the strength of Friedman's book that it makes clear that economic decisions and economic analysis are firmly embedded in a moral framework, no matter how hard we might try to ignore it in our pursuit of scientific and mathematical rigor.
Friedman's book isn't just a moral tract; he attempts to make a case for his moral stand. Friedman is a skilled economist, and he marshals historical data and comparisons of different nations and different periods in our own history to make his case. He provides some information useful for evaluating his thesis that economic growth is moral, he doesn't simply assert it. But herein is a weakness in his book. He doesn't provide nearly as much hard information as he should, and he scatters his supporting numbers throughout the text. It would be very helpful to the reader if data were gathered into charts and tables. There's but a single Figure in the book, no tables of data. It should also be noted that his national comparisons leave out some states (China, Singapore, Vietnam) that might contradict his thesis regarding the linkage between economic growth and political liberty. He's chosen his examples far too carefully.
Another weakness of this book is a natural danger of the type of text Friedman has written. Because he is dealing with economics as a moral issue, he takes a moral stance, one that's clearly to the political left in many ways. I have no problem with this, even though I'm somewhat to the right of him, but we should be very clear on one point. While a trained economist like Friedman is in a much better position than the average person to analyze the effects of different policies, he's no more qualified than a pastry chef to comment on the relative desirability of those different policies once their effects have been laid out in terms the pastry chef understands. Friedman makes a number of policy suggestions in his book with which I disagree. He doesn't make it sufficiently clear that their potential effects aren't unambiguously better than those of alternative policies designed to create or enhance economic growth.
My final objection to this book is its length. Friedman is clearly a well-read man of wide interests, and he brings a great deal of his erudition to this book. It strengthens his case, but I'm not sure that the marginal benefits of the 400th page exceed the marginal costs. More than once I found myself wanting an executive summary of the chapter I was reading and wishing that he would just cut to the chase. But that's really a minor complaint. I benefited from reading this book. It's an interesting and thoughtful contribution to the issue of economic growth (and by extension to international trade and economic aid to developing countries), and I strongly recommend it.
Society and Economic Growth.......2006-11-05
Friedman explains how growth is good for promoting a freer, more tolerant and open society. The author gives good reasons for defending growth as the major objective of any government.
Interesting Thesis, but overlooking some important points.......2006-06-13
Mr. Friedman's book begins with an interesting thesis, defining morality and its definition within a context of economic growth. The idea that economic growth or stagnation effects the mindsets of the people living in that time period is a logical argument that Friedman often well supports with historical facts. However, the exceptions to his argument make me wonder if he really believes in his own thesis, or if he just felt the need to write a book. Furthermore, for every chapter in the book, there seem to be at least one or more flawed arguments or points that, with a little thorough thought or research, don't make sense or can easily be disproven. With these things being the case, I find Friedman's argument a little hard to buy. The entire book seems to build up to the final chapter, which Friedman uses to make policy recommendations that would aid in economic growth; this final chapter could have stood alone from the book entirely, however, because the evidence in the book an his arguments elsewhere in the book (ie. the importance of education) do not add or support his final policy recommendations. His policy recommendations could have easily been listed by students in an economics class as responses to the question "What should the government do to promote economic growth?" They don't push the argument forward or indicate anything that hasn't already been suggested in the past, nor do they give suggestions as to how to go about implementing his policies.
Puzzling.......2006-06-02
Friedman begins with a few troubling statistics, particularly the fact that except for a brief period in the late 1900s, most of the fruits of the last three decades of economic growth in the U.S. have accrued to only a small slice of the population. Further, after allowing for higher prices, the average 2004 worker in an American business made 16% less each week than 30+ years earlier. With more and more two-earner households and more individuals holding two jobs, most families' income have more than held their own. But nearly all the gain in the last three decades came only in the late 1990s. Young men entering the American job force in the 1970s started off earning two-thirds more, on average, than the generation starting out in the 1950s; by the early 1990s it was one quarter less than their parents.
Economic growth positively affects the character of the society as a whole, and because neither tolerance nor democracy is a good that private markets value, there is a role for government measures to seek growth beyond what the market would provide on its own. Improved transportation, crime reduction, safety from external attack, savings, education, and patent protection are examples of valuable government contributions.
Friedman asserts that declining investment is a problem in the U.S., and blames it on increased current consumption and government borrowing. (But what about the fact that much cheaper labor is available in Asia?) He goes on to posit that chronically large deficits' depressing effect on America's investment probably received a greater spur from change in the tax structure than the positive aspect of the tax reductions.
Friedman suggests improvement that begins with undoing the Bush administration high-end tax changes that provided 60% of the benefits to the top 10% (earning over $120,000) to reduce the deficit and improve society.
Fireman, like many others, very much wants to improve American education. He begins by focusing on improving the high school graduation rate - stable at about 90% over the last several decades - through more spending. (Friedman, however, forgets that enormous increases in inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending also occurred during this period, and that dropout rates closely correlate with race - ergo, positive home influence is probably a much more potent lever.) More government support for college education is also highly recommended because their incomes average some 70% more than those without a college degree. As for class sizes, Friedman is aware that most quality research has found reductions do NOT improve pupil achievement; nonetheless he suggests reductions would improve graduation rates, though the sources he cites seem to confound race and socio-economic status with class size as influences. He also supports competition within education, citing several inner-city positive examples such as Harlem Community Schools.
Another significant recommendation is raising the Social Security retirement age.
What is puzzling about "The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth" is that Friedman does not address a major issue of today's economic growth - the impact of free trade and illegal immigration on American incomes. Also, his treatment of economic development and population growth on environmental impacts is overly optimistic. These issues seriously limit the book's contributions.
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- What America could become
- The pragmatic compassionate liberal's credo
- Progressive voice of economics
- Spreads itself too thin
- A practical advocate for a more humane economy
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The Good Society: The Humane Agenda
John Kenneth Galbraith
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
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Similar Items:
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The Affluent Society
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The Economics of Innocent Fraud: Truth For Our Time
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The Essential Galbraith
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John Kenneth Galbraith : His Life, His Politics, His Economics
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A Short History of Financial Euphoria (Whittle)
ASIN: 0395859980 |
Book Description
This compact, tightly argued, and eloquent book is the quintessential John Kenneth Galbraith, the manifesto of the "abiding liberal." In defining the characteristics of a good society and creating the blueprint for a workable agenda, Galbraith allows for human weakness without compromising a humane culture, and recognizes barriers that hinder but do not defeat a responsible, stable, and hopeful future.
Customer Reviews:
What America could become.......2006-10-10
Sometime in the 1970s, several trends started to take effect in the USA that have led to many of our troubles now. One of these was the growing divide of the America into haves and have-nots. Another one of these was the privatization of numerous parts of the US economy, and the transfer of many government functions from the public role to the private market. A third effect was the de-emphasis of public infrastructure for the public good, to public infrastructure for corporate wealth. John Kenneth Galbraith addresses all three of this trends, and shows what they have done to the American society and American communities. The result is a good wishlist of probably most political liberals. The one thing lacking from the book is a comparison of what America has become, to the economic and social transformations that have occurred in societies that have incorporated many of Galbraith's ideas, such as Scandinavia, Singapore, and Japan. Overall, an OK book and a good summary of the author's works and views.
The pragmatic compassionate liberal's credo .......2006-04-30
I am writing this review on the day after John Kenneth Galbraith passed away at the age of ninety- seven. He was a legendary figure in his lifetime, an economist with a world reputation. His book 'The Affluent Society" (1958) made the U.S. and the world think again about the meaning of a society primarily devoted to individual consumer consumption. He was a public servant of great ability and dedication from his days working for the Roosevelt Administration during the Second World in the Office of Price Administration through his service to the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations . He served as U.S. Ambassador to India and was a strong advocate for that country in the U.S. For over thirty years he taught at Harvard and was considered one of its most popular and brilliant teachers. He wrote over thirty books, and was involved in a tremendously wide variety of public activities and affairs.
This short book is an updating of 'The Affluent Society'. In it he tackles major economic and social questions >He speaks of a good society whose obligations are to provide for " personal liberty, basic wellbeing , racial and ethnic equality, the opportunity for a rewarding life".
In short chapters of around ten pages he tackles the problems of the deficit, the environment, migration, the proper distribution of wealth, the providing of aid to the world's poor.
Galbraith was a fighter in spirit , a person of great wit and fierce sense of social justice. His platform of a kind of social democracy as the ideal way to meet the modern world's problem certainly is questioned by many, not the least by predominant economic opinion today.
Perhaps his greatest importance was in pointing out performance problems in capitalist societies, and demanding a greater degree of concern for the commonweal.
He was one of those rare intellectual figures who could take a relatively dull subject and make it 'interesting' for the broader public.
He worked hard, long and well and his contribution will hopefully not be forgotten.
Progressive voice of economics.......2006-01-18
John Kenneth Galbraith sees the eternal struggles of economics as a battle between capital and labor and as things currently stand capital is delivering haymakers and body blows to labor. Labor has the numbers but capital has the advantage of... well, capital. Capital can afford the best representation and that has never been more true than today. Meanwhile Globalization has effectively destroyed labors bargaining power.
In `The Good Society' Mr. Galbraith attempts to map out an economic plan for creating a good society for all, wealthy and poor. What sets Mr. Galbraith apart from many economists is his belief in a pragmatic rather than dogmatic approach. He even compares the Republican parties 1994 `Contract with America' to the `Communist Manifesto' for its ideological inflexibility. The problems seem to occur when people start believing that economics falls under the hard sciences when in truth it's more like tracking the weather where small perturbation can cause dramatic changes. One thing that the author has maintained through the years is that Feds actual effect on inflation and recessions is negligible and more smoke and mirrors meant to give the appearance that something is being done. The other issue is that Globalization has made it increasingly difficult for the Federal Reserve to adjust the levels of our economy.
Occasionally the author comes off as a bit naive as when he talks about large scale modernization projects done in the third world saying, "The steel mills, hydroelectric plants and shiny airports, now sited among ignorant people, became sterile monuments to error - and failure." What Mr. Galbraith fails to recognize is that these projects are only failures from the perspective of the recipient countries who borrowed away their futures in order to acquire them. To the IMF and the construction companies involved it was a complete success. The author does recognize that the gift wealthy countries should have offered was the much less glamorous gift of education. In another section Mr. Galbraith says in reference to Imperialism and Colonialism, "We speak sometimes reflectively, of the end of history; here, indeed, history has come to an end." Writers who use the unfortunate term `end of history' have a bad tendency of being proven wrong in the end.
John Kenneth Galbraith is one of the few economists of late who addresses the immense danger of wealth inequality. In contrast to Milton Freidman, Mr. Galbraith believes that there are both financial and ethical sides to economics as relates to helping the poor, protecting the environment and supporting workers rights. He also supports transnational organizations and sees Globalization as the inevitable future. In most ways Mr. Galbraith is swimming upstream against the trends in the United States which is exactly why I find his views more important than ever before. The book seemed to lose some steam about half way through and many of his ideas such as the danger of the military industrial complex have been addressed in his other book, still I recommend Mr. Galbraith as a responsible voice for progressive economics.
Spreads itself too thin.......2005-06-05
John Kenneth Galbraith can be considered a pragmatic liberal, and what he has offered in The Good Society is a concise outline of how a country can - and should - both prosper and take care of its economically deprived citizens. Galbraith argues that the government should bear the responsibility for building an equitable society, and he discusses his view of the proper role of government in areas ranging from education to foreign policy.
The fundamental problem with the book is that it lacks the depth of treatment that his topics demand. Each of the chapters, which range from 8 to 10 pages in length, concentrates on a single, unique topic that would normally fill out an entire book. Accordingly, most of the points Galbraith makes are vague and general. For instance, he points out that America's foreign policy should emphasize maintaining peaceful relationships with other nations so as to encourage free trade, but he doesn't delve much further into the issue. Specific policy proposals are never mentioned.
The second problem with the book, which is a consequence of the first, is that the ideas Galbraith offers are neither novel nor particularly insightful. In the introduction, he challenges the reader by claiming that some of his proposals for society will ruffle a few feathers, but none of the views in the book fall outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party.
What makes The Good Society worthwhile is Galbraith's argument, which he carries throughout the book, that policy should never be subordinated to ideology. Policy decisions, our pragmatist demonstrates, should be examined on the particulars of the individual case and should not be based on any brand of economic dogma. Also, the topics and general proposals presented in the book remain relevant today though the book was written ten years ago.
On a stylistic level, the book is inconistsent. The writing ranges from concise and lucid to jarringly awkward. The frequent use of double-negatives, fragments, and inverted sentence structure make the reader go back over passages more than once.
Because of the somewhat facile traetment of complex issues, I recommend The Good Society primarily to those without much prior knowledge of liberal (i.e. Democratic) policy. Generally, it is a "not unpleasant" read.
A practical advocate for a more humane economy.......2004-06-13
Galbraith's main point has less to do with any specific policy than with his belief that rigid ideologues advocate for flawed and potentially dangerous political and economic systems. He argues that capitalism is by far the most responsive and effective economic system given our nature and needs, but that pure market capitalism comes up short in many significant respects. He does exhibit his own bias in some chapters when he ignores matters of degree in favor of more dramatic claims, but his proposals are not controversial by most standards?we need a safety net, environmental regulation is necessary, etc. I couldn?t relate to most of the negative reviews/remarks here. Among them: Galbraith, onetime speechwriter for presidents, editor of Fortune magazine, and prolific author, is inarticulate to the point of incoherence; Galbraith, a onetime Harvard economics professor and head of the American Economic Association, lacks any understanding of economics; Galbraith's ideas are silly; etc. This is a book arguing that capitalism must be tempered if it is to serve society well. Someone who believes that environmental regulations, zoning laws, a progressive income tax, and organizations like the SEC are unnecessary impediments to economic growth will have a hard time with Galbraith. Others will likely recognize that the criticisms of capitalism he levels here are, to some debatable extent, legitimate.
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- A thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis of pathology in American culture
- The best book ever about Harold Kassel!
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Economics As A Symptom Of Sadism: Pathology In American Culture And Education And The Legitimizing Myths That Support It
Harold Kassel
Manufacturer: Llumina Press
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ASIN: 1595261346 |
Customer Reviews:
A thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis of pathology in American culture .......2005-08-11
In Economics As A Symptom Of Sadism, licensed clinical psychologist and academician Harold Kassel presents a thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis of pathology in American culture and education with special attention to the questionable endorsements economists make to advocate and justify inequalities with respect to income. Economics As A Symptom Of Sadism forcefully questions why American culture celebrates achievements in sports or celebrity - which are ultimately nothing more than putting a ball through a hoop or a hole, looking and behaving good for a camera, or being able to sing - while devaluing the real building-block professions, such as educating young people. Why do some individuals make salaries in the multiples of millions, especially if their work does little to protect human lives or prepare human lives for future challenges? Why do economists imply that people "choose" pitiable wages when they go into a low-benefit career path such as teaching? A teacher has only "chosen" to be a teacher - not to live barely above subsistence level. Economics As A Symptom Of Sadism rages at the excesses of capitalism that trample over those who cannot meet constantly shifting demands, but neither is it a pro-communism or pro-socialism book; instead, the author lays out his own prospective remedies to the severe and seemingly unjust imbalances, such as capping maximum salaries at a very comfortable level, and giving professors at universities less than their current level of absolute power over students - power that ensures those pursuing higher education are much less likely to buck the status quo, for fear of being shot down from their dreams by an irate teacher. A provocative book, brimming with passion for those who suffer the worst shortfalls of an increasingly globalized world; definitely worth reading, even if not all of its solutions are fully viable (for example, capping salaries would just prompt those so capped to emigrate to a nation that doesn't cap salaries...)
The best book ever about Harold Kassel!.......2005-04-15
I found an autographed copy of this in my library's discard box, and it totally changed my life! After reading it, I feel that I know Harold Kassel. It's not just his dry sense of humor that won my heart ("Princess Dye," indeed!). It's the sage observations, dozens on every page, about a vital yet largely unknown topic. Economics, sadism, culture? No, something much more important! Let me quote just a few of my favorites:
"I have taken courses in several universities."
"I often eat breakfast out in the morning."
"I like teaching and speaking my own words. And I don't have an uncle in Hollywood."
"I always like to refer to the Serengeti."
"Suppose I were a vegetarian. Maybe I am."
Alas, as that last quote suggests, the book does leave a few loose ends. Let's hope for a sequel, and soon!
Book Description
What is global inequality? How can it be measured? What are the major trends and patterns? What are the implications of global inequality for the world economy and multilateral governance? What role does and should inequality play in national and international policy-making? In this comprehensive overview, the authors address these key questions. They examine all the major issues that need to be confronted in conceptualising, measuring and analysing contemporary patterns of global inequality. In addition, they explore the implications of these patterns for politics and public policy. In explaining the complex global patterns of social stratification, they highlight an intensive debate about whether and to what extent inequality matters. The book also addresses this debate, and seeks to set out the major alternative positions. The book's authors include many of the most distinguished figures in the field including David Dollar, Gosta Esping-Andersen, Nancy Fraser, James K. Galbraith, Ravi Kanbur, Branko Milanovic, Thomas W. Pogge, Bob Sutcliffe, Grahame F. Thompson, Anthony J. Venables, and Robert H. Wade. This book will be of great interest to students in politics, sociology and international relations as well as to all those interested in this key topic.
Customer Reviews:
thoughtful discussion of trends.......2007-02-08
The book is a thoughtful collection of essays by various authors bewailing the perils of inequality across the world. This is suggested to be caused or exacerbated by globalisation. While the latter has certainly raised many hundreds of millions up from poverty, much still remains to be done. The chapters remind the reader that well over a billion people exist in grinding deprivation.
The consequences are speculated about, as a warning to the better off in the world. Perhaps failed states, that become breeding grounds of instability and incubators of terrorism.
Customer Reviews:
Important Voice but Naive Faith.......1999-10-22
This book is a more political version of Ben Barber's Jihad vs. McWorld. It is thorough and broad on the Political/Economic front, and rather weak on the cultural front. The authors have a good understanding of the unchecked and immorally wielded power of the IMF, and see a margin of hope in strategic cooperation of NGOs. I believe their faith in the potential of these groups to effectively challenge the powers is naive, and could be refined with a deeper understanding of the totalitanian participation of mass culture in the designs of the IMF. Culture is a powerful shaper of worldview, and is inherently conservative (In the sense of resistant to evolution). A holistic approach is needed. Global Pillage is an important book, and is fairly readable, but would be hard for a newcomer to the movement to understand. It is well researched and thoughtful, and successfully avoids any taste of Ivory Tower irrelevance. I recommend this book, with the warning that real change will require a holistic cooperation to engage the society beyond the political realm.
Countering the race to the bottom.......1998-07-10
This book combines perfectly the thorough criticism of academic literature and the accessibility of popular writing to clearly communicate how multinational corporations have played different population bases against one another and what those groups are doing to build a common set of standards to counter the race to the bottom. Written in plain language with hundreds of citations, Global Village is a book that unites scholar and layperson in an exploration of the spreading marketplace while avoiding both dogma and tediousness.
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The Political Economy of Inequality (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought)
Manufacturer: Island Press
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ASIN: 1559637986 |
Book Description
The disparity in wealth both within and between nations has grown rapidly in recent years, and is becoming an increasingly significant issue in attempts to deal with environmental problems - from international negotiations over climate change to local concerns about environmental justice.
The Political Economy of Inequality offers an in-depth examination of the economic theory behind the causes, consequences, and cures for inequality. The volume brings together disparate analyses of inequality in economic and related fields, identifies areas where more work is most needed, and lays the groundwork for an integrated understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality in the United States and the world.
Sections cover:
- the distribution of earnings
- the distribution of wealth
- celebrity and CEO incomes
- the effects of corporate power
- poverty, inequality, and power
- household roles and family structure
- skills, technology, and education
- categorical inequalities, such as those based on race, gender, or ethnicity
- inequality on a global scale
- the welfare state
The book is the fifth in the six-volume Frontier Issues in Economic Thought series. Each volume offers two- to three-page summaries of the most notable articles and chapters in a "frontier" area where important new work is being done but has not yet been incorporated into the standard definition of economics. Introductory essays by the editors review the field, cite other literature that was not summarized, and situate the summarized articles within an overview of the subject.
As with the other volumes in the series, The Political Economy of Inequality offers an invaluable overview of an emerging field of economics and is a unique reference for students and scholars concerned with economic policy, social economics, work and labor issues, international and sustainable development, or related topics.
Book Description
At a time when disillusion with neo-liberal development nostrums is mounting, alternative models of development are being revisited. Kerala's 30 million people may not have experienced rapid growth in GDP per capita, but they have for the past several decades achieved a remarkable social record in terms of adult literacy, infant mortality, life expectancy, stabilizing population growth, and narrowing gender and spatial gaps. What are the political, social and cultural factors responsible for Kerala's success? Does its human development record necessarily relate to sustainability in environmental terms? What realistic view can be taken of its replicability elsewhere in India or further afield in the South? These are among the most important questions explored in this timely reassessment.
Book Description
Sheds new light on the injustice arising from the widening gap between rich and poor in the United States.
Economics and theology are about as far apart as two disciplines can get, but Richard Gilbert has mastered them both. Focusing on the ever-widening gap between rich and poor in the United States, HOW MUCH DO WE DESERVE? translates the esoteric languages of both the economists and the theologians into a practical guideline for citizen debate and action in a free society. As Robert Kuttner writes, "economic distribution is far too important to leave to economists."
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Economic Justice (Penguin modern economics readings)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Theory
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0140808760 |
Books:
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- The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- This Land: The Battle over Sprawl and the Future of America
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- Transnational Adoption: A Cultural Economy of Race, Gender, and Kinship (Nation of Newcomers)
- Twentieth-Century Russian and East European Painting: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
- Understanding Business
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