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Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society

The Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society

By Binyamin Appelbaum

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In this "lively and entertaining" history of ideas (Liaquat Ahamed, The New Yorker ), New York Times editorial writer Binyamin Appelbaum tells the story of the people who sparked four decades of economic revolution. Before the 1960s, American politicians paid little attention to economists. But as the post-World War II boom began to sputter, economists gained influence and power.

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Book Information

Publisher: Back Bay Books.
Publish Date: 09/15/2020
Pages: 448
ISBN-13: 9780316512343
ISBN-10: 0316512346
Language: English

Full Description

In this "lively and entertaining" history of ideas (Liaquat Ahamed, The New Yorker), New York Times editorial writer Binyamin Appelbaum tells the story of the people who sparked four decades of economic revolution. Before the 1960s, American politicians paid little attention to economists. But as the post-World War II boom began to sputter, economists gained influence and power. Binyamin Appelbaum traces the rise of the economists, first in the United States and then around the globe, as their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing government, unleashing corporations, and hastening globalization. Some leading figures in the field are relatively well-known, such as Milton Friedman and Arthur Laffer, while others stayed out of the limelight but left a lasting impact on modern life: Walter Oi, a blind economist who persuaded President Nixon to end military conscription; Alfred Kahn, who rejoiced in the crowded cabins on commercial flights as proof of his deregulation of air travel; and Thomas Schelling, who put a dollar value on human life. Their fundamental belief? That government should stop trying to manage the economy. Their guiding principle? That markets would deliver steady growth and ensure that all Americans shared in the benefits. But the economists' hour failed to deliver on its promise of broad prosperity. And the single-minded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, the health of liberal democracy, and future generations. Timely, engaging, and expertly researched, The Economists' Hour is a reckoning--and a call for people to rewrite the rules of the market.
A Wall Street Journal Business BestsellerWinner of the Porchlight Business Book Award in Narrative & Biography

About the Author

Binyamin Appelbaum is the lead business and economics writer on the Editorial Board of The New York Times. From 2010 to 2019, he was a Washington correspondent for the Times , covering economic policy in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis.

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