John Perkins's sensational New York Times bestseller Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (more than 300,000 sold) revealed just the tip of the iceberg of the secret world of economic hit men and the web of global corruption. Now more economic hit men and investigators tell the whole shocking story.
Now with a new epilogue that speaks directly to the currentenergy crisis, The Prize recounts the panoramic history ofthe world's most important resource: oil. Daniel Yergin's timelessbook chronicles the struggle for wealth and power that hassurrounded oil for decades and that continues to fuel globalrivalries, shake the world economy, and transform the destiny ofmen and nations. This updated edition categorically proves theunwavering significance of oil throughout the twentieth century andinto the twenty-first by tracing economic and political clashesover precious "black gold." With his far-reaching insight and in-depth research, Yergin isuniquely positioned to address the present battle over energy,which undoubtedly ranks as one of the most vital issues of ourtime. The canvas of his narrative history is enormous -- from thedrilling of the first well in Pennsylvania through two great worldwars to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm, andnow both the Iraq War and climate change. The definit
Pack your cutlass and blunderbuss--it's time to go a-pirating "The Invisible Hook" takes readers inside the wily world of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century pirates. With swashbuckling irreverence and devilish wit, Peter Leeson uncovers the hidden economics behind pirates' notorious, entertaining, and sometimes downright shocking behavior. Why did pirates fly flags of Skull and Bones? Why did they create a "pirate code"? Were pirates really ferocious madmen? And what made them so successful? "The Invisible Hook" uses economics to examine these and other infamous aspects of piracy. Leeson argues that the pirate customs we know and love resulted from pirates responding rationally to prevailing economic conditions in the pursuit of profits."The Invisible Hook" looks at legendary pirate captains like Blackbeard, Black Bart Roberts, and Calico Jack Rackam, and shows how pirates' search for plunder led them to pioneer remarkable and forward-thinking practices. Pirates understood the advantages of consti
Over its eighty-seven-year history,American International Group,better known as AIG,has achieved unparalleled success by adjusting to changing economic trends,regulatory rules,and political situations.While founder Cornelius Vander Starr—who led this Shanghai start-up for fifty years—built an extraordinary insurance franchise,it was his hand-picked successor,Maurice "Hank" Greenberg,who would turn that franchise into one of the world's most profitable and powerful financial services companies. Now,in Fallen Giant,author Ron Shelp—who worked alongside Greenberg and within the AIG organization for more than a decade—sheds light on AIG,the company,and Hank Greenberg,the man.Through in-depth research,candid interviews,and firsthand experiences,Shelp provides a detailed look at how AIG was originally created and reveals the trouble that Greenberg and company eventually ran into when New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer turned his sights on them. Entertaining and informative,Fallen Gian
In the summer of 2003, the New York Times Magazine sent Stephen J. Dubner, an author and journalist, to write a profile of Steven D. Levitt, a heralded young economist at the University of Chicago. Levitt was not remotely interested in the things that interest most economists. More... Instead, he studied the riddles of everyday lifefrom cheating to crime to child-rearingand his conclusions turned the conventional wisdom on its head. For instance, he argued that one of the main causes of the crime drop of the 1990s was the legalization of abortion twenty years earlier. (Unwanted children have a greater likelihood of becoming criminals; with so many unwanted children being aborted in the 1970s, the pool of potential criminals had significantly shrunk by the 1990s.) The Times article yielded an unprecedented response, a deluge of interest from thousands of curious, inspired, and occasionally distraught readers. Levitt and Dubner collaborated on a book that gives full play to Levitts most compelling ideas.
Book De*ionIncorporating recent advances in modern macroeconomics, this fifth edition offers increased coverage of long-run analysis and a new treatment of US policy rules and price adjustment. The authors provide a thorough account of the Solow Growth Model, develop the insights of endogenous-growth theory, explain the role of fiscal and monetary policy in the long run, and present a structural look at unemployment. Having examined the US monetary system and the Fed's policy rule, and on fluctuations in inflation and output, the book goes on to discuss how the policy rule is integrated into the general model of the economy. Also available are a corresponding study guide, instructor's manual, and test-item file. 作者简介: Robert E.Hall is professor of economics at Standford University and also Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He received his B.A.from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D.from the Massachusetts Insititute of Technology. He taught at
Here at last is the long awaited sequel to the international bestselling phenomenon, Freakonomics. Steven Levitt, the original rogue economist, and Stephen Dubner have been working hard, uncovering the hidden side of even more controversial subjects, from charity to terrorism and prostitution. And with their inimitable style and wit, they will take us on another even more gripping journey of discovery. Superfreakonomics will once again transform the way we look at the world.
BUST: GREECE, THE EURO, AND THE SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS In 2001, Greece saw its application for membership into theEurozone accepted, and the country sat down to the greatest freelunch in economic history. However, the coming years of globaleconomic prosperity would lead to unrestrained spending, cheapborrowing, and a failure to implement financial reform, leaving thecountry massively exposed to a financial crisis—which dulystruck. In Bust: Greece, the Euro, and the Sovereign Debt Crisis,Bloomberg columnist Matthew Lynn explores Greece's spectacular riseand fall from grace and the global repercussions of its financialdisaster. Page by page, he provides a thrilling account of theGreek financial crisis, drawing out its origins, how it escalated,and its implications for a fragile global economy. Along the way,Lynn looks at how the Greek contagion has spread like wildfirethroughout Europe and explores how government ineptitude as well asfinancial speculators compounded the problem. Blendi
'Truly eye-opening ...There is almost no situation that Harford cannot dissect with his sharp economist's tools ...economics has never been this cool' NEW STATESMAN If humans are so clever, why do we smoke and gamble, or take drugs, or fall in love? Is this really rational behaviour? And how come your idiot boss is so overpaid? In fact, the behaviour of even the unlikeliest of individuals - prostitutes, drug addicts, racists and revolutionaries - complies with economic logic, taking into account future costs and benefits, even if we don't quite realise it. We are rational beings after all.
The study of the electronic structure of materials is at amomentous stage, with the emergence of computational methods andtheoretical approaches. Many properties of materials can now bedetermined directly from the fundamental equations for theelectrons, providing insights into critical problems in physics,chemistry, and materials science. This book provides a unifiedexposition of the basic theory and methods of electronic structure,together with instructive examples of practical computationalmethods and real-world applications. Appropriate for both graduatestudents and practising scientists, this book describes theapproach most widely used today, density functional theory, withemphasis upon understanding the ideas, practical methods andlimitations. Many references are provided to original papers,pertinent reviews, and widely available books. Included in eachchapter is a short list of the most relevant references and a setof exercises that reveal salient points and challenge thereader.
Do economics and statistics succeed in explaining human socialbehaviour? To answer this question. Leland Gerson Neuberg studiessome pioneering controlled social experiments. Starting in the late1960s, economists and statisticians sought to improve social policyformation with random assignment experiments such as those thatprovided income guarantees in the form of a negative income tax.This book explores anomalies in the conceptual basis of suchexperiments and in the foundations of statistics and economics moregenerally. Scientific inquiry always faces certain philosophicalproblems. Controlled experiments of human social behaviour,however, cannot avoid some methodological difficulties not evidentin physical science experiments. Drawing upon several examples, theauthor argues that methodological anomalies prevent microeconomicsand statistics from explaining human social behaviour as coherentlyas the physical sciences explain nature. He concludes thatcontrolled social experiments are a frequently overrate
The world of business is changing fast. The prevailing model for creating wealth--a model that has its roots in the industrial revolution and that dominated the last century no longer applies. Natural Capitalism introduces an alternative, a new paradigm. Praised by business and political leaders as well as economists and environmentalists around the globe, this groundbreaking book reveals how tomorrow's most successfuLglobal businesses will draw profit from their own environmental responsibility.
MYOB Software for Dummies has been completely updated in line with the latest version of the software, and also covers the latest on electronic payments and GST. Featuring expert tips for running your small business and working your business software harder and smarter, this jargon-free guide explains everything you need to know about MYOB software.
In the summer of 2003, the New York Times Magazine sent Stephen J. Dubner, an author and journalist, to write a profile of Steven D. Levitt, a heralded young economist at the University of Chicago. Levitt was not remotely interested in the things that interest most economists. More... Instead, he studied the riddles of everyday lifefrom cheating to crime to child-rearingand his conclusions turned the conventional wisdom on its head. For instance, he argued that one of the main causes of the crime drop of the 1990s was the legalization of abortion twenty years earlier. (Unwanted children have a greater likelihood of becoming criminals; with so many unwanted children being aborted in the 1970s, the pool of potential criminals had significantly shrunk by the 1990s.) The Times article yielded an unprecedented response, a deluge of interest from thousands of curious, inspired, and occasionally distraught readers. Levitt and Dubner collaborated on a book that gives full play to Levitts most compelling ideas.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and best-selling author of The Lexus and the Olive Tree gives a bold, timely, and surprising picture of the state of globalization in the twenty-first century. In this brilliant #1 bestseller, "the most important columnist in America today" (Walter Russell Mead, The New York Times) demystifies the brave new world for readers, allowing them to make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes. With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues, Thomas L. Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how governments and societies can, and must, adapt. The World Is Flat is the timely and essential update on globalization, its successes and discontents, powerfully illuminated by one of our most respected journalists.
赵景波编著的《荒漠化与防治教程(普通高等教育规划教材)》主要包括荒漠化地区的自然环境、风蚀荒漠化、水蚀荒漠化、蒸发盐渍荒漠化、石漠化和亚热带的红土退化、冻融荒漠化、生物动力荒漠化和荒漠化监测与评价,共十章内容。在各类荒漠化动力类型中,主要包括了荒漠化的分布、发生动力、条件、影响因素、形成的地表景观和物质组成类型、等级划分、治理技术与措施等。《荒漠化与防治教程(普通高等教育规划教材)》吸收了国内外新的研究成果,增加了生物动力荒漠化新类型,区分了荒漠化的动力和第二动力,内容全面系统。 本书为大专院校本科生教材,也可作为研究生教材,并可供地理、生态、水土保持、农牧业与环境科学研究人员和大专院校教师参考。
Are there tangible benefits in flossing? Is it wrong to fake orgasms? What does the perfect online dating ad look like? Should we bother doing the ironing? Is it really impossible to buy the perfect Christmas gift? (Other than this book, of course.) Economists might not be the first people you would think of to give you advice on such diverse areas as parenting, the intricacies of etiquette or the dark arts of seduction. But for years bestselling author Tim Harford has been doing just that: answering the most challenging questions in his brilliant column, where he uses the tools of economics to give practical advice about everyday dilemmas, conundrums and concerns. From family rows and the stock market to buying socks or speed dating, you'll find within these pages a witty - and of course rational - explanation for almost everything you ever wanted to know about life.
The case for the inevitable failure of a paper money economyand what that means for the future All paper money systems in history have ended in failure. Eitherthey collapsed in chaos, or society returned to commodity moneybefore that could happen. Drawing upon novel new research, PaperMoney Collapse conclusively illustrates why paper moneysystems—those based on an elastic and constantly expanding supplyof money as opposed to a system of commodity money of essentiallyfixed supply—are inherently unstable and why they must lead toeconomic disintegration. These highly controversial conclusions clash with the presentconsensus, which holds that elastic state money is superior toinflexible commodity money (such as a gold standard), and thatexpanding money is harmless or even beneficial for as long asinflation stays low. Contradicting this, Paper Money Collapse showsthat: The present crisis is the unavoidable result of continuouslyexpanding fiat money The current policy of accelerat
For the Third Edition, 2001 Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz joins forces with new co-author Carl Walsh, who brings both economic expertise and teaching savvy to the project. Together, Stiglitz and Walsh thoroughly integrate contemporary economics into the traditional curriculum. Informed by the broad range of research that earned Professor Stiglitz the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, the first edition of this text pioneered important topics relating to the economics of imperfect markets, which are today's standard in all principles texts. Only this text, however, gives those topics serious attention, with complete chapters on imperfect information in product markets, imperfections in labor markets, technological change, and environmental externalities, as well as a complete chapter on strategic behavior. 作者简介: Joseph E. Stiglitz is professor of economics, business, and international and public affairs at Columbia University. Known throughout the world for his groundbreaking research, J
Privatizing China: Inside china's Stock Markets goes behind the hype and the headlines to show the reality of China's stock markets. Understanding these markets and knowing how they need to develop is essential to the rising generation of foreign investors, fund managers, executives and regulators who only recently have been given access. It is the only book to provide a comprehensive analysis of how the market was established and how this history has shaped its current strengths and weaknesses. In this second edition of Privatizing China, the authors Carl Walter and Fraser Howie have completely revised and updated their account of the evolution of China's equity markets. As long-term market participants, the authors have added three new chapters that provide an insider's view of the political struggle over market reform, an in-depth look at the resulting 2005 G share reforms and a full treatment of the policies and market practice of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFll)channel.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Big Short,Liar’s Poker and The Blind Side! The tsunami of cheap credit that rolled across the planetbetween 2002 and 2008 was more than a simple financial phenomenon:it was temptation, offering entire societies the chance to revealaspects of their characters they could not normally afford toindulge. The Greeks wanted to turn their country into a pi?ata stuffedwith cash and allow as many citizens as possible to take a whack atit. The Germans wanted to be even more German; the Irish wanted tostop being Irish. The trademark of Michael Lewis’s bestsellers is to tell animportant and complex story through characters so outsized andoutrageously weird that you’d think they have to be invented.(You’d be wrong.) In Boomerang, we meet a brilliant monk who hasfigured out how to game Greek capitalism to save his failingmonastery; a cod fisherman who, with three days’ training, becomesa currency trader for an Icelandic bank; and an Irish real estatedevelope
Perhaps the hottest field in macroeconomics, economic growth is fascinating to theorists and critically important to policy makers. Charles Jones, a rising star in the field, explains the inroads economists have made in understanding how economies grow. The story begins with empirical evidence: how rich are the rich countries, how poor are the poor, and how fast do the rich and poor countries grow? Jones then presents major theories of growth, from the Nobel Prize-winning work of Robert Solow to the new growth theory that has ignited the field in recent years.
An updated look at what Fischer Black's ideas on business cyclesand equilibrium mean todayThroughout his career, Fischer Blackdescribed a view of business fluctuations based on the idea that awell-developed economy will be continually in equilibrium. In theessays that constitute this book, which is one of only two booksBlack ever wrote, he explores this idea thoroughly and reaches somesurprising conclusions.With the newfound popularity of quantitativefinance and risk management, the work of Fischer Black has garneredmuch attention. "Business Cycles and Equilibrium"-with its theorythat economic and financial markets are in a continualequilibrium-is one of his books that still rings true today, giventhe current economic crisis. This "Updated Edition" clearlypresents Black's classic theory on business cycles and the conceptof equilibrium, and contains a new introduction by the person whoknows Black best: Perry Mehrling, author of "Fischer Black and theRevolutionary Idea of Finance" (Wiley). Mehrling goes inside
An expos? on the delusion, greed, and arrogance that led toAmerica's credit crisis The collapse of America's credit markets in 2008 is quitepossibly the biggest financial disaster in U.S. history. ConfidenceGame: How a Hedge Fund Manager Called Wall Street's Bluff is thestory of Bill Ackman's six-year campaign to warn that the $2.5trillion bond insurance business was a catastrophe waiting tohappen. Branded a fraud by the Wall Street Journal and New YorkTimes, and investigated by Eliot Spitzer and the Securities andExchange Commission, Ackman later made his investors more than $1billion when bond insurers kicked off the collapse of the creditmarkets. Unravels the story of the credit crisis through an engaging andhuman drama Draws on unprecedented access to one of Wall Street's best-knowninvestors Shows how excessive leverage, dangerous financial models, and ablind reliance on triple-A credit ratings sent Wall Streetcareening toward disaster Confidence Game is a real world "Empero
It is in Books IV and V of The Wealth of Nations that AdamSmith offers his considered response to the French Physiocrats,perhaps the first great school of economic theorists, and assessesthe nature of the mercantile system, particularly the colonialrelationship with America, whose achievements could have been evenmore spectacular if conditions of free trade and economic union hadexisted. Even on the eve of the Declaration of Independence, Smithfamously predicted that America "will be one of the foremostnations of the world." It is also here that he develops the casefor a limited state role in economic planning, notably to combatmarket failure and induce efficiency in areas such as education,public works, justice, and defense. His pioneering analysis stillprovides many subtle and penetrating insights into one of today'smost vital and controversial policy debates. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Andrew Skinner