The Price of Prosperity
Why Rich Nations Fail and How to Renew Them
Reviewer: Matthew Whittaker, Chief Economist, Resolution Foundation
In this bold history and manifesto, a former White House director of economic policy exposes the economic, political, and cultural cracks that wealthy nations face and makes the case for transforming those same vulnerabilities into sources of strength—and the foundation of a national renewal.
Progress
Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future
Reviewer: Ian Stewart, Chief Economist, Deloitte
It’s all over our televisions, newspapers and the internet. Every day we’re bludgeoned by news of how bad everything is – Brexit, financial collapse, unemployment, poverty, environmental disasters, disease, hunger, war. Indeed, our world now seems to be on the brink of collapse, and yet contrary to what most of us believe, our progress over the past few decades has been unprecedented.
The political origins of inequality
Why a More Equal World is Better for Us All
Reviewer: Christine Shields, Shields Economics
Inequality is the defining issue of our time. But it is not just a problem for the rich world. It is the global 1% that now owns fully half the world's wealth-the true measure of our age of inequality. In this historical tour de force, Simon Reid-Henry rewrites the usual story of globalization and development as a story of the management of inequality.
Platform Revolution
How Networked Markets Are Transforming The Economy
Reviewer: Mark Cleary, Kinetic Economics
Facebook, PayPal, Alibaba, Uber-these seemingly disparate companies have upended entire industries by harnessing a single phenomenon: the platform business model. Platform Revolution delivers the first comprehensive analysis of how platforms use technology to match producers and consumers in a multisided marketplace, unlocking hidden resources and creating new forms of value.
The Man Who Knew
The Life & Times of Alan Greenspan
Reviewer: Ian Harwood, Independent Economic & Investment Consultant
Shortlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, this is the biography of one of the titans of financial history over the last fifty years.
The Wealth of Humans
Work and its Absence in the Twenty‑first Century
Reviewer: Andrew Sentance, Senior Economic Adviser, PwC and former MPC member
To work is human, yet the world of work is changing fast, and in unexpected ways. With rapid advances in information technology, huge swathes of the job market - from cleaners and drivers to journalists and doctors - are being automated: a staggering 47% of American employment is at risk of automation within the next two to three decades. At the same time, millions more jobs are being created. What does the future of work hold?
The Disruption Dilemma
Reviewer: David Lancefield, Partner, PwC
"Disruption" is a business buzzword that has gotten out of control. Today everything and everyone seem to be characterized as disruptive – or, if they aren't disruptive yet, it's only a matter of time before they become so. In this book, Joshua Gans cuts through the chatter to focus on disruption in its initial use as a business term, identifying new ways to understand it and suggesting new tools to manage it.
What they Do with your Money
How the financial System Fails us and How to Fix it
Reviewer: Vicky Pryce, Board member of CEBR
A call to reboot capitalism and preserve $85 trillion in retirement savings for their owners-not for use as the financial industry's ATM. Each year we pay billions in fees to those who run our financial system. The money comes from our bank accounts, our pensions, our borrowing, and often we aren't told that the money has been taken. These billions may be justified if the finance industry does a good job, but as this book shows, it too often fails us.
Legislating instability
Adam Smith, Free Banking, and the Financial Crisis of 1772
Reviewer: William A Allen, Economic & Financial Consultant
From 1716 to 1845 Scotland's banks were among the most dynamic and resilient in Europe, effectively absorbing a series of economic shocks that rocked financial markets in London and on the continent. Legislating Instability explains the seeming paradox that the Scottish banking system achieved this success without the government controls usually considered necessary for economic stability.
Capital without Borders
Wealth Managers and the One Percent
Reviewer: Ian Bright
How do the one percent keep getting richer despite financial crises and the myriad of taxes on income, capital gains, and inheritance? Brooke Harrington interviewed professionals who specialize in protecting the fortunes of the world’s richest people: wealth managers. To gain access to their tactics and mentality, she trained to become one of them.