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Book reviews

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Are Chief Executives Overpaid?

Reviewer: Dame Kate Barker, Chairman, British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme

In this hard-hitting book, Deborah Hargreaves explains why pay for the top 0.1% has sky-rocketed in the past 20 years.

The Chinese Economy

Adaption and Growth

Reviewer: Lavan Mahadeva, Research Director, CRU

The new edition of a comprehensive overview of the modern Chinese economy, revised to reflect the end of the “miracle growth” period.

The Cost‑Benefit Revolution

Reviewer: Jonah P Adaun

Why policies should be based on careful consideration of their costs and benefits rather than on intuition, popular opinion, interest groups, and anecdotes. Opinions on government policies vary widely. Some people feel passionately about the child obesity epidemic and support government regulation of sugary drinks. Others argue that people should be able to eat and drink whatever they like. Some people are alarmed about climate change and favor aggressive government intervention. Others don't feel the need for any sort of climate regulation. In The Cost-Benefit Revolution, Cass Sunstein argues our major disagreements really involve facts, not values

Federal Central Banks

A comparison of the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank

Reviewer: James Smith, Director of Research, Resolution Foundation

Federal Central Banks is a unique study that critically examines the role and impact of central banks in federal and confederal political systems.

Uncertain Futures

Imaginaries, Narratives, and Calculation in the Economy

Reviewer: William A Allen, Visitor, National Institute of Economic & Social Research

Uncertain Futures considers how economic actors visualize the future and decide how to act in conditions of radical uncertainty. It starts from the premise that dynamic capitalist economies are characterized by relentless innovation and novelty and hence exhibit an indeterminacy that cannot be reduced to measurable risk. The organizing question then becomes how economic actors form expectations and make decisions despite the uncertainty they face.

The Power of Capitalism

A journey through recent history across five continents

Reviewer: Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser, CEBR

“The market has failed, we need more government intervention." That’s the mantra politicians, the media, and intellectuals have been reiterating ever since the outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis. By taking the reader on a journey across continents and through recent history, Rainer Zitelmann disproves this call for greater government intervention, and demonstrates that capitalism matters more than ever.

Prosperity and Justice

A plan for the new economy - The Final Report of the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice

Reviewer: Dame Kate Barker, Chairman of Trustees, British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme

The Final Report of the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice The UK economy is broken. It no longer provides rising living standards for the majority. Young people face an increasingly insecure future. The gap between rich and poor areas is widening. Meanwhile the rise of giant digital companies, the advance of automation, and catastrophic environmental degradation challenge the very foundations of our economic model. This important book analyses these profound challenges and sets out a bold vision for change.

Will China Save the Planet?

Reviewer: Bridget Rosewell

Now that Trump has turned the United States into a global climate outcast, will China take the lead in saving our planet from environmental catastrophe? Many signs point to yes. China, the world's largest carbon emitter, is leading a global clean energy revolution, phasing out coal consumption and leading the development of a global system of green finance. But as leading China environmental expert Barbara Finamore explains, it is anything but easy.

Money and Government

A Challenge to Mainstream Economics

Reviewer: Kevin Gardiner

The dominant view in economics is that money and government should play only a minor role in economic life. Money, it is claimed, is nothing more than a medium of exchange; and economic outcomes are best left to the 'invisible hand' of the market. The view taken in this important new book is that the omnipresence of uncertainty make money and government essential features of any market economy.

Unelected Power

The quest for legitimacy in central banking and the regulatory state

Reviewer: Ian Bright

Central bankers have emerged from the financial crisis as the third great pillar of unelected power alongside the judiciary and the military. They pull the regulatory and financial levers of our economic well-being, yet unlike democratically elected leaders, their power does not come directly from the people. Unelected Power lays out the principles needed to ensure that central bankers, technocrats, regulators, and other agents of the administrative state remain stewards of the common good and do not become overmighty citizens.

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Articles reflect the authors’ views which are not necessarily shared by the Society or the Editors. The Editors welcome comments, ideas and articles on a wide range of applied economics topics and related issues of more general interest.

For Books and Reviews contact:
Ian Harwood
Book Reviews Editor, The Society of Professional Economists
harwoodfive@btinternet.com

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