How the Internet Became Commercial
Reviewer: Mark Cleary, Kinetic Economics
In less than a decade, the Internet went from being a series of loosely connected networks used by universities and the military to the powerful commercial engine it is today. This book describes how many of the key innovations that made this possible came from entrepreneurs and iconoclasts who were outside the mainstream–and how the commercialization of the Internet was by no means a foregone conclusion at its outset.
Guide to Country Risk
Reviewer: Mary Davies, Director, EEconomic Policy Associates
Country risk explains the things that can go wrong when business is conducted across borders.
Government Paternalism: Nanny State or Helpful Friend?
Reviewer: Neil Reeder, Head and Heart Economics
Should governments save people from themselves? Do governments have the right to influence citizens' behavior related to smoking tobacco, eating too much, not saving enough, drinking alcohol, or taking marijuana–or does this create a nanny state, leading to infantilization, demotivation, and breaches in individual autonomy? Looking at examples from both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, Government Paternalism examines the justifications for, and the prevalence of, government involvement and considers when intervention might or might not be acceptable.
Post‑Capitalism: A guide to our future
Reviewer: Dr Rebecca Harding, Independent Consultant
From Paul Mason, the award-winning Channel 4 presenter, Postcapitalism is a guide to our era of seismic economic change, and how we can build a more equal society.
Classical Liberalism: A primer
Reviewer: Diane Coyle, Enlightenment Economics & University of Manchester
Classical liberalism is one of the most important political and social philosophies. Indeed, this set of ideas was crucial in bringing the modern world into existence.Yet despite its huge contribution, today classical liberalism is poorly understood and often misrepresented, its insights neglected in an era of pervasive state intervention. Eamonn Butler's primer is therefore extremely welcome.
Something Will Turn Up: Britain’s Economy, Past, Present and Future
Reviewer: Andrew Sentance, Senior Economic Adviser, PwC
Overcoming economic decline, inflation and mass unemployment have challenged successive Chancellors of the Exchequer. Britain's leading economic journalists explains why some of them have made a better fist of it than others.
The Lion Wakes – a Modern History of HSBC
Reviewer: Bill Allen, Economic Consultant
The Lion Wakes tells the modern story of HSBC, starting in the late 1970s, when the bank first broke out of the Asia-Pacific region with its purchase of Marine Midland Bank in the US. It follows HSBC's battle to purchase Midland Bank in1992, the subsequent move of head office from Hong Kong to London, and the string of acquisitions that brought the bank to its pre-eminent place in global finance today. Acclaimed historians Richard Roberts and David Kynaston chronicle the bank's struggles as well as its successes: the last part of the book deals with the ill-fated move into consumer finance in the US, as well as the financial crisis of 2008 and its effect on HSBC. Impeccably researched and generously illustrated from the HSBC archives, this is a valuable addition to global financial history.
Urban Economics and Urban Policy: Challenging Conventional Policy Wisdom
Reviewer: Neil Reeder, Director, Head and Heart Economics
In this bold, exciting and readable volume, Paul Cheshire, Max Nathan and Henry Overman illustrate the insights that recent economic research brings to our understanding of cities, and the lessons for urban policy-making. The authors present new evidence on the fundamental importance of cities to economic wellbeing and to the enrichment of our lives. They also argue that many policies have been trying to push water uphill and have done little to achieve their stated aims; or, worse, have had unintended and counterproductive consequences.
Hubris
Why Economists Failed to Predict the Crisis and How to Avoid the Next One
Reviewer: Christine Shields, Shields Economics
The failure of economists to anticipate the global financial crisis and mitigate the impact of the ensuing recession has spurred a public outcry. Economists are under fire, but questions concerning exactly how to redeem the discipline remain unanswered. In this provocative book, renowned economist Meghnad Desai investigates the evolution of economics and maps its trajectory against the occurrence of major political events to provide a definitive answer.
Making Sense of Markets
Reviewer: Ian Harwood, Independent Consultant
In March 2012, the Financial Times carried a front page story headlined 'Years of struggle for a jinxed generation'. It stated that 'For the first time in half a century, young Britons embarking on their careers cannot expect to be any better off than their parents…' Before and since, there have been numerous analyses highlighting a gloomy future ahead, and with little qualification or equivocation. The prevailing consensus since 2007 has been that the economic world is in a dire state. But are things really as bad as all that, or is sloppy thinking and excessively negative sentiment masking a more positive outlook? Making Sense of Markets argues that received wisdom is still far too pessimistic, and that investment opportunities have been missed as a result.