New Ideas from Dead Economists: An Introduction to Modern Economic Thought - Softcover

Buchholz, Todd G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452265339 ISBN 13: 9780452265332

Publisher: Plume, 1990

Synopsis

In examining the major economic theories of the last 200 years, Todd Buchholz breathes new life into the so-called "dead science"--he offers bold and original interpretations of contemporary economic events that will shape the '90s and beyond.

About this title

Review

Over 150 years ago, Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle dubbed economics the "dismal science." But it certainly doesn't seem that way in the skillful hands of Todd G. Buchholz, author of New Ideas from Dead Economists. In this revised edition of a book first published in 1989, economics is accessible, relevant, and fascinating. It's even fun--for example, when he uses the cast of Gilligan's Island and Henny Youngman jokes to explain complex economic theories. "Why not have the last laugh on Carlyle by using the dead economists themselves to reverse their bad reputations and to teach the lessons they left to us?"

Buchholz surveys and critiques economic thought from Adam Smith's invisible hand of the 18th century to the depression-fighting ideas of the Keynesians and money-supply concepts of the 20th-century monetarists. He also relates classic economic principles to such modern-day events as the fall of communism, the Asian financial meltdown, and global warming. Buchholz includes plenty of anecdotes about the lives of the great economists: Karl Marx, for instance, was an unkempt slob; David Ricardo, the early-19th-century English politician and economist, was among the rare economists to get rich trading stocks; and Maynard Keynes was so homely his friends called him "Snout." Here's a lively and authoritative read for those interested in the past, present, and future of economics. --Dan Ring

About the Author

Todd G. Buchholz is an internationally acclaimed economist who advises ABC News, as well as some of the world's leading investment funds. He has served as a director of economic policy at the White House and is a contribuiting editor for Worth magazine. Buchholz holds advanced degrees from Cambridge University and Harvard Law School and was awarded the Allyn Young Teaching Prize by Harvard University's Department of Economics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0452265339
• ISBN 13: 9780452265332
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 336