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.
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.
This unique text uses Microsoft Excel workbooks toinstruct students. In addition to explaining fundamental conceptsin microeconomic theory, readers acquire a great deal ofsophisticated Excel skills and gain the practical mathematicsneeded to succeed in advanced courses. In addition to theinnovative pedagogical approach, the book features explicitlyrepeated use of a single central methodology, the economicapproach. Students learn how economists think and how to think likean economist. With concrete, numerical examples and novel, engagingapplications, interest for readers remains high as live graphs anddata respond to manipulation by the user. Finally, clear writingand active learning are features sure to appeal to modernpractitioners and their students. The website accompanying the textis found at www.depauw.edu/learn/microexcel .
Capital, one of Marx's major and most influential works, wasthe product of thirty years close study of the capitalist mode ofproduction in England, the most advanced industrial society of hisday. This new translation of Volume One, the only volume to becompleted and edited by Marx himself, avoids some of the mistakesthat have marred earlier versions and seeks to do justice to theliterary qualities of the work. The introduction is by ErnestMandel, author of Late Capitalism, one of the only comprehensiveattempts to develop the theoretical legacy of Capital. --This textrefers to the Paperback edition.
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
In the last two decades, free markets have swept the globe. But traditional capitalism has been unable to solve problems like inequality and poverty. In Muhammad Yunus’ groundbreaking sequel to Banker to the Poor, he outlines the concept of social business—business where the creative vision of the entrepreneur is applied to today’s most serious problems: feeding the poor, housing the homeless, healing the sick, and protecting the planet. Creating a World Without Poverty reveals the next phase in a hopeful economic and social revolution that is already underway.
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
Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in coommon? Why do drug dealers still live with their mums? How much do parents really matter? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life - from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing - and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book:Freakonomics 作者简介 Steveb D. Levitt teaches economics at the University of Chicago. He recently received the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded every two years to the best American economist under forty. Stephen J. Dubner lives in N
During a 1999 protest of the World Trade Organization, Rivoli, an economics professor at Georgetown, looked on as an activist seized the microphone and demanded, "Who made your T-shirt?" Rivoli determined to find out. She interviewed cotton farmers in Texas, factory workers in China, labor champions in the American South and used-clothing vendors in Tanzania. Problems, Rivoli concludes, arise not with the market, but with the suppression of the market. Subsidized farmers, and manufacturers and importers with tax breaks, she argues, succeed because they avoid the risks and competition of unprotected global trade, which in turn forces poorer countries to lower their prices to below subsistence levels in order to compete. Rivoli seems surprised by her own conclusions, and while some chapters lapse into academic prose and tedious de*ions of bureaucratic maneuvering, her writing is at its best when it considers the social dimensions of a global economy, as in chapters on the social networks of African used-clothin
Unfinished at the time of Marx'sdeath in 1883 and first published with a preface by FrederickEngels in 1894, the third volume of "Das Kapital" strove to combinethe theories and concepts of the two previous volumes in order toprove conclusively that capitalism is inherently unworkable as apermanent system for society. Here, Marx asserts controversiallythat - regardless of the efforts of individual capitalists, publicauthorities or even generous philanthropists - any market economyis inevitably doomed to endure a series of worsening, explosivecrises leading finally to complete collapse. But he also offers aninspirational and compelling prediction: that the end of capitalismwill culminate, ultimately, in the birth of a far greater form ofsociety.
A storm is coming, a turbulent new era in which the planet's supply of oil will be overtaken by demand. Fuel prices will soar and inflation will skyrocket-but with this guide, two leading financial strategists show you how to weather the worst of it, and even capture impressive returns. With the help of the author's 'all season' Oil Indicator, you'll learn how to choose the right investments for any market environment, as you discover; why oil and natural gas stocks should be core holdings in every investor's portfolio, why a cautious buy-and-hold strategy is a sure monet loser, why conventional 'safe' stocks are really the riskiest, why gold may be on the verge of a historic bull run, how the global oil wars make defense stocks a premium buy, where to find the best bets in the field of alternative energy, how to profit from real estate without actually owning any.
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.
What happens when advances in technologg allow mang things to be produced for more or less nothing? And what happens when those things are then made available to us for free? In his groundbreaking new book, The Long Tail author Chris Anderson considers a brave new world where the old economic certainties are being undermined by a growing flood of free goods - newspapers, DVDs, T-shirts, phones, even holiday flights. He explains why this has become possible - why fast-evolvingtechnologies, particularly the Internet, have caused production and distribution costs in many sectors to plummet to levels unthinkable even a decade ago. He shows how the flexibility provided by the online world allows producers to trade ever more creatively, offering items for free to make real or perceived gains elsewhere. He pinpoints the winners and losers in the Free universe. And he demonstrates the wags in which, as an increasing number of things become available for free, our decisions to make use of them will be determined by tw
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. 作者简介: Steven Hiatt is an editor and writer who has worked for Apple Computer,Netscape, Progressive Asset Manage-ment, and Stanford Research institute. He is the editor(with Mike Davis)of Fire in the Hearth:The Radical Politics of Place in America and is president of Editcetera, a cooperative of publishing professionals.
In this short, powerful book, multimillionaire and bestsellingauthor Steven K. Scott reveals King Solomon’s breakthroughstrategies to achieve a life of financial success and personalfulfillment. Steve Scott flunked out of every job he held in his first six yearsafter college. He couldn’t succeed no matter how hard he tried.Then Dr. Gary Smalley challenged him to study the book of Proverbs,promising that in doing so he would achieve greater success andhappiness than he had ever known. That promise came true, makingScott a millionaire many times over. In The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, Scott reveals Solomon’s key forwinning every race, explains how to resolve conflicts and turnenemies into allies, and discloses the five qualities essential tobecoming a valued and admired person at work and in your personallife. Scott illustrates each of Solomon’s insights and strategieswith anecdotes about his personal successes and failures, as wellas those of such extraordinary people as Benjamin Franklin, ThomasEdis
Published in 1778, The Wealth of Nations was the first book oneconomics to catch the public's attention. It provides a recipe fornational prosperity that has not been bettered since, based onsmall government and the freedom of citizens to act in their bestinterests. It reassuringly assumes no knowledge of its subject, andover 200 years on still provides valuable lessons on thefundamentals of economics. This deluxe, selected edition is astylish keepsake from the Capstone Classics series. This edition includes: An abridged selection of all 5 books for the contemporaryreader An original commentary offering new research and analysis byclassic literature guru Tom Butler-Bowdon A biography and chronology of Adam Smith's life and the eventssurrounding the original publication of the work Today, The Wealth of Nations is still essential reading for anybusiness or self-development library, reminding us that it is theingenuity and drive of people, not governments, that remains thesou
'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.
In The Great Shame, Thomas Keneally--the bestselling, BookerPrize-winning author of Schindler's List--combines the authority ofa brilliant historian and the narrative grace of a great novelistto present a gripping account of the Irish diaspora. The nineteenth century saw Ireland lose half of its population tofamine, emigration, or deportation to penal colonies inAustralia--often for infractions as common as stealing food. Amongthe victims of this tragedy were Thomas Keneally's own forebearers,and they were his inspiration to tell the story of the Irish whostruggled and ultimately triumphed in Australia and North America.Relying on rare primary sources--including personal letters, courttran*s, ship manifests, and military documents--Keneallyoffers new and important insights into the impact of the Irish inexile. The result is a vivid saga of heroes and villains, fromGreat Famine protesters to American Civil War generals to greatorators and politicians.
Created in 1959, Amway has had an integralpart in shaping and improving the lives and lifestyles of millions of people around the world. Not just a business, but an opportunity for personal success and achievement, it has spread the old-fashioned American dream across the globe--from South America to the Pacific Rim. This definitive history of Amway delves deep into the heart and soul of the organization.It is an inspirational,motivational chronicle of the company as a whole—its ideology,goals,beliefs,ethics,and sense of values.With provo cative insights, into the first four decades of Amway,this valuable book shows where the company satnds at the dawn of the nes millennium——and how it will continue to move forward in the twenty-first century. In addition to the actual history of Amway,you'll read the uplifting stories of people around the world whose lives have been totally transformed by its philosophy-astonishing accounts of personal success that will motuvate you to improve your own life by
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
Drucker's vision of a "post-capitalist society"--one in which knowledge is the basic resource and nation-states compete with transnational, regional and tribal structures--is hardly original. What is new in this invigorating essay is his far-reaching analysis of the economic crisis of militarized, wasteful "megastates" like the United States and the former Soviet Union, which have failed to bring about a meaningful redistribution of income. Improving American productivity, he writes, will require investment in human resources and infrastructure (as Japan, Germany, Korea and Taiwan have done) and a drastic restructuring of organizations, including the elimination of most management layers. The federal goverment, Drucker asserts, should contract out tasks in the social sphere, confining itself to the role of policymaker. Among his other provocative proposals: jettison military aid to other countries; create a public audit agency to eliminate pork-barrel deals and special-interest politics; and hold schools acco
In Loyalty Myths, the authors have assembled 53 of the most common beliefs about customer loyalty – all of them wrong or misconceived! Each of the beliefs in this book is debunked with real-world examples. While other books speak in platitudes; this book is the only one to validate each proposition with real data. Granted unprecedented access to customer records from a variety of multi-national corporations. Through these records, Ipsos Loyalty was able to precisely track the impact of this customer-centric construct on actual purchasing behavior. The authors’ findings and conclusions will stun business leaders around the world. The lessons learned from these provide a true guide for the proper use of customer loyalty.
Written during the winter of 1857-8, the "Grundrisse" wasconsidered by Marx to be the first scientific elaboration ofcommunist theory. A collection of seven notebooks on capital andmoney, it both develops the arguments outlined in the CommunistManifesto (1848) and explores the themes and theses that were todominate his great later work "Capital". Here, for the first time,Marx set out his own version of Hegel's dialectics and developedhis mature views on labour, surplus value and profit, offering manyfresh insights into alienation, automation and the dangers ofcapitalist society. Yet while the theories in "Grundrisse" make ita vital precursor to "Capital", it also provides invaluablede*ions of Marx's wider-ranging philosophy, making it a uniqueinsight into his beliefs and hopes for the foundation of acommunist state.