The Wisdom of Finance
Reviewer: Vicky Pryce, SBE fellow and Author
This book captures Desai's lucid exploration of the ideas of finance as seen through the unusual prism of the humanities. Through this novel, creative approach, Desai shows that outsiders can access the underlying ideas easily and insiders can reacquaint themselves with the core humanity of their profession.
The Contradictions of Capital in the 21st Century
Reviewer: Bridget Rosewell, Senior Partner, Volterra
This volume of essays builds upon renewed interest in the long-run global development of wealth and inequality stimulated by the publication in 2014 of Thomas Piketty s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. It brings together an international team of leading economic historians and economists to provide a comprehensive overview of global developments in the theory, practice and policy of inequality, and its place in the modern world order.
Machine, Platform, Crowd
Harnessing Our Digital Future
Reviewer: Ian Bright
We live in strange times. A machine plays the strategy game Go better than any human; upstarts like Apple and Google destroy industry stalwarts such as Nokia; ideas from the crowd are repeatedly more innovative than corporate research labs.
MIT’s Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson know what it takes to master this digital-powered shift: we must rethink the integration of minds and machines, of products and platforms, and of the core and the crowd. In all three cases, the balance now favors the second element of the pair, with massive implications for how we run our companies and live our lives.
Inside Job
How government insiders subvert the public interest
Reviewer: Rosemary Connell
National decline is typically blamed on special interests from the demand side of politics corrupting a country's institutions. The usual demand-side suspects include crony capitalists, consumer activists, economic elites, and labor unions. Less attention is given to government insiders on the supply side of politics - rulers, elected officials, bureaucrats, and public employees. In autocracies and democracies, government insiders have the motive, means, and opportunity to co-opt political power for their benefit and at the expense of national well-being. Many storied empires have succumbed to such inside jobs. Today, they imperil countries as different as China and the United States. Democracy - government by the people - does not ensure government for the people. Understanding how government insiders use their power to subvert the public interest - and how these negative consequences can be mitigated - is the topic of this book by Mark A Zupan.
Virtual Competition
The Promise and Perils of the Algorithm‑Driven Economy
Reviewer: Leath Al Obaidi
Shoppers with Internet access and a bargain-hunting impulse can find a universe of products at their fingertips. In this thought-provoking expose, Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke invite us to take a harder look at today's app-assisted paradise of digital shopping.
The Money Formula
Dodgy Finance, Pseudo Science, and How Mathematicians Took Over the Markets
Reviewer: Bridget Rosewell, Volterra Partners
The Financial Diaries
How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty
Reviewer: Sunil Krishnan, Santander Asset Management
Happiness For All?
Unequal Hopes and Lives In Pursuit of the American Dream
Reviewer: Sunil Krishnan, Santander Asset Management
Basic Income
And how we can make it happen
Reviewer: Simon Briscoe
Basic Income
A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Sane Economy
Reviewer: Simon Briscoe