Why Economies Fail: The Rise and Fall of Economic Empires - Softcover

Morris, Alan J; Sayre, John E

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1481914901 ISBN 13: 9781481914901

Verlag: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

Economies fail in many ways and for a variety of reasons. The debt crisis in Europe is one type of failure, as are the recurrent recessions that most countries experience from time to time. Strikes, lockouts and other types of industrial conflicts are obvious signs of failure, as are the many examples of environmental degradation from costly oil spills to global warming from the total destruction of whole fisheries to the increase in the number of endangered species. But often the failure is more insidious and less obvious as is the case with the growth of child poverty and the increasing number of families living below the poverty line. What this book argues is that the cause of each of these, and many other, economic failures, is systemic in nature. These are not separate and isolated short-comings but are instead the result of unbalanced economies. In some cases, as with the Soviet Union, this imbalance becomes so severe that the whole economic structure collapses. Why Economies Fail looks at the various different types of economies that have existed from time immemorial and concludes that there are, in fact, only four different ways that any economy can be structured. These four types are: co-operation, command, custom and competition – what are referred to as the Four Cs. Each type is examined in a survey of historical development starting with early foraging societies (co-operation) and continuing with ancient slave economies such as Sparta and the Roman Empire (command), medieval feudal societies (custom) up to modern market economies (competition). It explains how each was structured and how each was inevitably doomed to fail. The cause of failure in all cases was the over-dependence on just one of these structures. The survey also looks at modern economies such as communism, fascism and Islamic Republics, as well as market economies and suggests that the failures of each are the result of extremism. The final chapter explains why a mixed economy which encompasses elements of each of the Four Cs is likely to be the most successful. It looks at those elements necessary to produce “the right mix” and concludes with a surprising league table of today’s nations which shows those that have been successful in finding the right blend, and those which have failed abysmally. The position of the US and Canada in this table might surprise many people. The authors have many years of experience teaching and researching economics and are the successful authors of The Principles of Microeconomics, The Principles of Macroeconomics (both into their 7th editions), and The Worlds of Economics. Why Economies Fail however is far from being a dry economics textbook. It is a lively and intriguing look at the present and past structures of economies and encompasses ideas from many other disciplines including anthropology, history, social psychology, sociology and political theory.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Alan J. Morris, though loathe to admit it, first worked as an accountant in England, where he became an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and obtained his first degree in 1971 in Manchester, U.K. He subsequently obtained his Master’s degree at Simon Fraser University, B.C., in 1973. He worked on his doctorate at Leicester University, U.K., and returned to work in business in Vancouver, B.C., until his appointment at Capilano University in 1988. He currently resides in North Vancouver with his wife, and one of his sons and is an avid devotee of classical music, birding, soccer, and beer. To his knowledge, he has never been an adviser to the Canadian government. Together with John Sayre, he is the author of two economics textbooks, Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson which has been adopted by over 30 universities and colleges across Canada and is now in its 7th edition. John E. Sayre earned a B.S.B.A. at the University of Denver and an M.A. from Boston University. He began teaching principles of economics while in the Peace Corps in Malawi. He came to Vancouver to do Ph.D. studies at Simon Fraser University and ended up teaching at Capilano University for the next 30 years. John is an avid golfer who also enjoys cycling and listening to a wide range of music.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1481914901
• ISBN 13: 9781481914901
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 214
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Manufactured by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.de/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxemburg