Alan Beattie – författare

*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*Why do some countries succeed while others fail? What causes boom or bust? The World Trade Editor of the FT explains how the world really works.'A thorough examination of economies from the age of empire to the age of the IMF' The Washington PostWhy do oil and diamonds lead to economic disaster more often than boom? Why doesn't Africa grow cocaine? Why might believing in God be good for your balance-sheet?Botswana and Sierra Leone are both blessed with abundant diamonds. Why did Botswana became the world's fastest-growing economy while Sierra Leone suffered a decade of brutal civil war?For the past two hundred years Argentina had enjoyed a vista of economic opportunity almost identical to that of the USA but in 2001 Argentina's government bankrupted itself. Why did the USA succeed while Argentina stalled?Time and again, world leaders have failed to learn the lessons of economic history, and their mistakes continue to have surprising and catastrophic consequences.The path to prosperity is rarely obvious and the sources of success are often unexpected.In False Economy, Alan Beattie uses extraordinary stories of economic triumph and disaster to explain how some countries went wrong while others went right, and why it's so difficult to change course once you're on the path to ruin.

This reader documents the growing debate about health and wellbeing. Some 'new voices' speak from neglected lay experiences and values; others are challenging medical perspectives 'from within'. Competing perspectives on health beseige familiar areas of everyday life: our bodies, the home and workplace. Health goals are increasingly debated on wider agendas in social planning: in the marketing of lifestyles, in transport policies, and in the appraisal of alternative futures. But prospects for health are bound up with social equity, international justice, and global sustainability - as well as with the 'journey of hope' of the individuals who struggle to survive.