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Chronicling the story of what has come to be called the new growth theory, this text helps to explain dominant first-mover firms like IBM or Microsoft, underscores the value of intellectual property, and provides essential advice to those concerned with the expansion of the economy.
The #1 New York Times–bestselling political humorist reads Adam Smith’s classic economic treatise—so you don’t have to. Recognized almost instantly on its publication in 1776 as the fundamental work of economics, The Wealth of Nations was also recognized as really long. The original edition totaled over nine hundred pages in two volumes—including the blockbuster sixty-seven-page “Digression concerning the Variations in the Value of Silver during the Course of the Four last Centuries,” which, to those uninterested in the historiography of currency supply, is like reading Modern Maturity in Urdu. Although daunting, Adam Smith’s tome is still essential to understanding such current hot topics as outsourcing, trade imbalances, and Angelina Jolie. In this witty, approachable, and insightful examination of Smith and his groundbreaking work, P. J. O’Rourke puts his trademark wit to good use, and shows us why Smith is still relevant, why what seems obvious now was once revolutionary, and why the pursuit of self-interest is so important. “If there is anyone on the planet who can make Adam Smith as entertaining and informative as he was prophetic, it’s P. J. O’Rourke.” —The Weekly Standard “Hilarious . . . Learning history while better understanding the current economy—and laughing while doing it? Hard to ask for more.” —Rocky Mountain News
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The book presents estimates of total wealth for nearly 120 countries, using economic theory to decompose the wealth of a nation into its component pieces: produced capital, natural resources and human resources. The wealth estimates provide a unique opportunity to look at economic management from a broader and comprehensive perspective. The book's basic tenet is that economic development can be conceived as a process of portfolio management, so that sustainability becomes an integral part of economic policy making. The rigorous analysis, presented in accessible format, tackles issues such as g.
In this eye-opening work of economic theory, Jane Jacobs argues that it is cities—not nations—that are the drivers of wealth. Challenging centuries of economic orthodoxy, in Cities and the Wealth of Nations the beloved author contends that healthy cities are constantly evolving to replace imported goods with locally-produced alternatives, spurring a cycle of vibrant economic growth. Intelligently argued and drawing on examples from around the world and across the ages, here Jacobs radically changes the way we view our cities—and our entire economy.
We are well aware of the rise of the 1% as the rapid growth of economic inequality has put the majority of the world’s wealth in the pockets of fewer and fewer. One much-discussed solution to this imbalance is to significantly increase the rate at which we tax the wealthy. But with an enormous amount of the world’s wealth hidden in tax havens—in countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the Cayman Islands—this wealth cannot be fully accounted for and taxed fairly. No one, from economists to bankers to politicians, has been able to quantify exactly how much of the world’s assets are currently hidden—until now. Gabriel Zucman is the first economist to offer reliable insight into the actual extent of the world’s money held in tax havens. And it’s staggering. In The Hidden Wealth of Nations, Zucman offers an inventive and sophisticated approach to quantifying how big the problem is, how tax havens work and are organized, and how we can begin to approach a solution. His research reveals that tax havens are a quickly growing danger to the world economy. In the past five years, the amount of wealth in tax havens has increased over 25%—there has never been as much money held offshore as there is today. This hidden wealth accounts for at least $7.6 trillion, equivalent to 8% of the global financial assets of households. Fighting the notion that any attempts to vanquish tax havens are futile, since some countries will always offer more advantageous tax rates than others, as well the counter-argument that since the financial crisis tax havens have disappeared, Zucman shows how both sides are actually very wrong. In The Hidden Wealth of Nations he offers an ambitious agenda for reform, focused on ways in which countries can change the incentives of tax havens. Only by first understanding the enormity of the secret wealth can we begin to estimate the kind of actions that would force tax havens to give up their practices. Zucman’s work has quickly become the gold standard for quantifying the amount of the world’s assets held in havens. In this concise book, he lays out in approachable language how the international banking system works and the dangerous extent to which the large-scale evasion of taxes is undermining the global market as a whole. If we are to find a way to solve the problem of increasing inequality, The Hidden Wealth of Nations is essential reading.
An easier-to read, moderately abridged, current language version of the 1776 classic. Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations is the great pioneering study of economic growth and performance. When first published in 1776, the factory-based Industrial Revolution was only just getting underway. However, there had been steadily rising production and incomes in Britain, the North American colonies, Holland and other countries since at least the late 17th century. Smith uses basic theory, observation and documentary sources to analyze the nature and causes of economic advancement in general. The book is lengthy and wide-ranging. It examines the contributions to production of labour, land and capital. It explains the economic importance of large buoyant markets and industrial specialization. It also shows that national wealth does not depend on economic factors alone. For example, the favourableness or otherwise of the political-legal environment for industry and commerce is everywhere a major influence on national prosperity. This is a moderately abridged current language version of the book – essentially translating the work into modern English to improve its readability and understandability. The translation is substantive but retains literalness and original word order and grammar as far as possible. CONTENTS: Editorial Foreword Author’s Introduction BOOK 1: INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND INCOMES Chapter 1: Industrial Specialization Chapter 2: The Origins Of Industrial Specialization Chapter 3: The Extent Of The Market Limits Specialization Chapter 4: The Origins And Use Of Money Chapter 5: The Real Economic And Nominal Monetary Prices Of Goods Chapter 6: Supply Prices, Production Costs And Incomes Chapter 7: The Natural And Market Prices Of Products Chapter 8: The Wages Of Labour Chapter 9: The Profits Of Capital Chapter 10: Wages And Profits In Different Trades Chapter 11: The Rent Of Land BOOK 2: CAPITAL – ITS NATURE, ACCUMULATION AND USES Chapter 1: Different Types Of Capital Chapter 2: Monetary Capital Chapter 3: The Accumulation Of Capital Chapter 4: Capital Lent At Interest Chapter 5: The Different Uses Of Capital BOOK 3: NATIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES Chapter 1: The Natural Process Of Economic Growth Chapter 2: The Discouragement Of Agriculture In Europe After The Fall Of The Roman Empire Chapter 3: Urban Growth And Manufacturing After The Fall Of The Roman Empire Chapter 4: The Contribution Of Urban Industry And Commerce To Rural Economies BOOK 4: POLITICAL-ECONOMIC THEORIES AND POLICIES Chapter 1: The Mercantilist Political Economic Model Chapter 2: Restrictions On Importing Goods Capable Of Domestic Production Chapter 3: Restrictions On Imports To Correct So-called Disadvantageous Trade Balances Chapter 4: Tax Refunds On Exports Chapter 5: Export Subsidies Chapter 6: Treaties Of Commerce Chapter 7: Colonies Chapter 8: The Mercantilist System – Conclusions Chapter 9: The Agricultural Political Economic Model – The Notion Of Land As The Great Source Of National Wealth BOOK 5: GOVERNMENT FINANCES – PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, TAXATION AND BORROWING Chapter 1: Government Expenditure Chapter 2: The Sources Of General Public Revenues Chapter 3: Public Debts
Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was the product of the rich tradition of the Scottish Enlightenment but the book’s fame immediately spread across the whole of Europe. This book looks at the long journey of Smith’s ideas from Scotland to peninsular Spain, reconstructing in detail the reception, adaptation, interpretation, and application of Smith's central concepts from 1777 up to 1840. In light of methodological advances during the last two decades in the history of economic thought and the studies on the late Spanish Enlightenment and early Liberalism, the book tackles a series of significant issues and gaps in the historiography. In particular: this book sheds new light on the role of France as an intermediate step as the ideas spread from Britain southwards; the analysis draws not just on translations but also handwritten materials, book reviews, syntheses, summaries, plagiarism and rebuttals; a wide range of methods of dissemination are considered including the printing press and periodicals, parliamentary debates, academic chairs and societies; the role of individual translators and agents is given due prominence; the political interpretations of the Wealth of Nations and the ways in which the book was incorporated into the work of Spanish economists in the decades following publication are also considered. This book marks a significant contribution to the literature on the reception of Smith’s Wealth of Nations, studies of the Spanish Enlightenment and history of economic thought more broadly.
