A reexamination of the major economic theories of the past two hundred years discusses how long-dead, famous economists such as Adam Smith and others would handle today's economic problems.

An entertaining and widely-praised introduction to great economic thinkers throughout history, now in its fourth edition, with updates and commentary on the 2020 “great cessation,” Trump and Obama economic policies, the dominance of Amazon, and many other timely topics. Through the teachings of Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman and more, renowned economist Todd Buchholz shows how age-old ideas still apply to our modern world. In this revised edition, Buchholz offers fascinating insights on the most relevant issues of 2021: climate change, free trade debates, the refugee crisis, growth and conflict in Russia and China, game theory, and behavioral economics. New Ideas from Dead Economists—found on the desks of university students, prime ministers, and Wall Street titans—is a riveting guide to understanding both the evolution of economic theory and our complex contemporary economy.

Examines the theories of famous economists throughout history, reinterpreting the ideas of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Maynard Keynes, and others in light of contemporary economic conditions.

In the graveyard of economic ideology, dead ideas still stalk the land. The recent financial crisis laid bare many of the assumptions behind market liberalism—the theory that market-based solutions are always best, regardless of the problem. For decades, their advocates dominated mainstream economics, and their influence created a system where an unthinking faith in markets led many to view speculative investments as fundamentally safe. The crisis seemed to have killed off these ideas, but they still live on in the minds of many—members of the public, commentators, politicians, economists, and even those charged with cleaning up the mess. In Zombie Economics, John Quiggin explains how these dead ideas still walk among us—and why we must find a way to kill them once and for all if we are to avoid an even bigger financial crisis in the future. Zombie Economics takes the reader through the origins, consequences, and implosion of a system of ideas whose time has come and gone. These beliefs—that deregulation had conquered the financial cycle, that markets were always the best judge of value, that policies designed to benefit the rich made everyone better off—brought us to the brink of disaster once before, and their persistent hold on many threatens to do so again. Because these ideas will never die unless there is an alternative, Zombie Economics also looks ahead at what could replace market liberalism, arguing that a simple return to traditional Keynesian economics and the politics of the welfare state will not be enough—either to kill dead ideas, or prevent future crises. In a new chapter, Quiggin brings the book up to date with a discussion of the re-emergence of pre-Keynesian ideas about austerity and balanced budgets as a response to recession.

Presents an overview of economic thought through the writings of twenty philosophers representative of the historical development of economic theory.

Here is a bold history of economics - the dramatic story of how the great economic thinkers built today's rigorous social science. Noted financial writer and economist Mark Skousen has revised and updated this popular work to provide more material on Adam Smith and Karl Marx, and expanded coverage of Joseph Stiglitz, 'imperfect' markets, and behavioral economics.This comprehensive, yet accessible introduction to the major economic philosophers of the past 225 years begins with Adam Smith and continues through the present day. The text examines the contributions made by each individual to our understanding of the role of the economist, the science of economics, and economic theory. To make the work more engaging, boxes in each chapter highlight little-known - and often amusing - facts about the economists' personal lives that affected their work.

Lasting Lessons from the Corner Office uncovers the secrets behind the success of the great CEOs through their lives and personal stories. Why did Ray Kroc's plan for McDonald's thrive when all the other burger joints failed? How can we apply his lessons to Krispy Kreme? How did Walt Disney's most dismal day as a young cartoonist radically change his career direction? We learn about their biggest challenges and failures, and how they successfully rode the waves of demographic and technological change. When Estée Lauder was a child in Queens, New York, the average American spent $8 a year on toiletries. How did she spot an opportunity in high-priced cosmetics? Why did she pound on the doors of Saks? How did Thomas Watson, Jr., decide to roll the dice and put all of IBM's chips on computing, when his father thought it could be a losing idea? Lasting Lessons from the Corner Office not only fascinates with the personal lives of these CEOs, it shows how we can transfer their ideas today to the triumphs and struggles of Sony, Dell, Costco, Carnival Cruises, Time Warner, and numerous other companies trying to figure out how to stay on top, or climb back up. The featured CEOs in this book were not candidates for sainthood. Many of them knew "God" only as a prefix to "damm it." But they were devoted to their businesses, not just to their egos, personal bank accounts, and yachts. Extraordinarily fresh and deeply thoughtful, Todd G. Buchholz's Lasting Lessons from the Corner Office is a truly enjoyable and fun—yet serious and realistic—look at what we still have to learn and absorb from these former CEOs.