Economic Ideas You Should Forget

Reporting on cutting-edge advances in economics, this book presents a selection of commentaries that reveal the weaknesses of several core economics concepts. Economics is a vigorous and progressive science, which does not lose its force when particular parts of its theory are empirically invalidated; instead, they contribute to the accumulation of knowledge. By discussing problematic theoretical assumptions and drawing on the latest empirical research, the authors question specific hypotheses and reject major economic ideas from the “Coase Theorem” to “Say’s Law” and “Bayesianism.” Many of these ideas remain prominent among politicians, economists and the general public. Yet, in the light of the financial crisis, they have lost both their relevance and supporting empirical evidence. This fascinating and thought-provoking collection of 71 short essays written by respected economists and social scientists from all over the world will appeal to anyone interested in scientific progress and the further development of economics.

This two-volume set presents a selection of commentaries by respected economists and social scientists that reveal the weaknesses and strengths of several core economics concepts. In the volume “Economic Ideas You Should Forget”, the authors question specific hypotheses and reject major economic ideas. In the volume “21st Century Economics: Economic Ideas You Should Read and Remember”, the authors state their personal opinion on what matters most in contemporary economics.

In a series of 50 accessible essays, Ed Conway introduces and explains the essential economic concepts needed to understand booms and busts, bulls and bears, and how economics influences every aspect of our lives, whether buying a house or what you ate for breakfast this morning. From Adam Smith's invisible hand to supply and demand, stocks and shares to communism, 50 Economics Ideas You Really Need to Know is a complete introduction to the most important economics concepts in history.

The history of economic thought, like all other history, needs to be rewritten for every generation—not only because another chapter which has enriched our experience needs to be added to its books, but because the remainder needs to be interpreted anew. Without interpretation history is meaningless. Interpretation means adding spirit and life to the mere collection of facts, taking part in the issues of the period by understanding them and not merely passing sentence on them from the judge’s seat.

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.

Bringing a fresh and original outlook to the problem of poverty in our world, the aim of the author is to explain how by seeing the Economics of Money as a mathematical operation in each transaction, and by seeing money as an ancient tool we need to improve, we can move towards a different approach to economics and the mathematics of money to solve poverty around the world and in the process bring greater wealth to all.