Charting the Economy assesses the course of Malayas commodity-dependent economy during the first 40 years of the 20th century under British colonial control, contrasting it with economic growth and development in contemporary Malaysia. Drawing on archival documents to derive estimates of Malayas GDP and analysing trends, it breaks new ground in understanding the dynamics of economic performance. In the first half of the 20th century, the Malay Peninsula, like much of Southeast Asia, was under colonial rule. Colonialism facilitated the control of lands, institutions and peoples, as well as the exploitation of natural resources. Malayas economy was largely agrarian, supported by two primary commodity pillarstin and rubberproduced to meet the needs of the industries and people in Europe and North America. Sultan Nazrin Shah eloquently articulates how the economy rode a commodity roller-coaster. Being small and open, it was exceedingly vulnerable to external cyclical shocksWorld War I (19141918), the Roaring Twenties (19201929), and the Great Depression (19291932)which were the main causes of economic booms and busts. This book makes a compelling case that the colonial laissez-faire economic system worked well for the agency houses that repatriated huge profits but paid small dividends to the masses. Development was highly uneven, with growth and prosperity concentrated in and benefiting the Peninsulas west coast states, where most of the tin mines and rubber plantations were located. After independence, national control over economic management was accompanied by a long-term vision for a socially just nation. Real GDP growth in post-independence Malaysia brought rapid advances in standards of living.

This is a pivotal period in Sri Lanka's economic development. The end of conflict opens a door for accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction. Reform is needed to regain momentum because fiscal imbalances and rising public debt could jeopardize macroeconomic stability. The economy would benefit from significant trade and commercial policy reform. The labor market suffers from sluggish growth of formal sector employment and from skills mismatches, which can be addressed by changes in education policy and systems. The book analyzes these and related critical constraints on the Sri Lankan economy, and proposes a set of policy reforms that would lay the foundations for more rapid and inclusive development.

We need to break free from the capitalist economy. Degrowth gives us the tools to bend its bars. Economic growth isn’t working, and it cannot be made to work. Offering a counter-history of how economic growth emerged in the context of colonialism, fossil-fueled industrialization, and capitalist modernity, The Future Is Degrowth argues that the ideology of growth conceals the rising inequalities and ecological destructions associated with capitalism, and points to desirable alternatives to it. Not only in society at large, but also on the left, we are held captive by the hegemony of growth. Even proposals for emancipatory Green New Deals or postcapitalism base their utopian hopes on the development of productive forces, on redistributing the fruits of economic growth and technological progress. Yet growing evidence shows that continued economic growth cannot be made compatible with sustaining life and is not necessary for a good life for all. This book provides a vision for postcapitalism beyond growth. Building on a vibrant field of research, it discusses the political economy and the politics of a non-growing economy. It charts a path forward through policies that democratise the economy, “now-topias” that create free spaces for experimentation, and counter-hegemonic movements that make it possible to break with the logic of growth. Degrowth perspectives offer a way to step off the treadmill of an alienating, expansionist, and hierarchical system. A handbook and a manifesto, The Future Is Degrowth is a must-read for all interested in charting a way beyond the current crises.

Early in the twenty-first century, a quiet revolution occurred. For the first time, the major developed economies began to invest more in intangible assets, like design, branding, and software, than in tangible assets, like machinery, buildings, and computers. For all sorts of businesses, the ability to deploy assets that one can neither see nor touch is increasingly the main source of long-term success. But this is not just a familiar story of the so-called new economy. Capitalism without Capital shows that the growing importance of intangible assets has also played a role in some of the larger economic changes of the past decade, including the growth in economic inequality and the stagnation of productivity. Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake explore the unusual economic characteristics of intangible investment and discuss how an economy rich in intangibles is fundamentally different from one based on tangibles. Capitalism without Capital concludes by outlining how managers, investors, and policymakers can exploit the characteristics of an intangible age to grow their businesses, portfolios, and economies.