Craig Freedman - Böcker

How modern economics abandoned classical liberalism and lost its wayMilton Friedman once predicted that advances in scientific economics would resolve debates about whether raising the minimum wage is good policy. Decades later, Friedman’s prediction has not come true. In Where Economics Went Wrong, David Colander and Craig Freedman argue that it never will. Why? Because economic policy, when done correctly, is an art and a craft. It is not, and cannot be, a science. The authors explain why classical liberal economists understood this essential difference, why modern economists abandoned it, and why now is the time for the profession to return to its classical liberal roots.Carefully distinguishing policy from science and theory, classical liberal economists emphasized values and context, treating economic policy analysis as a moral science where a dialogue of sensibilities and judgments allowed for the same scientific basis to arrive at a variety of policy recommendations. Using the University of Chicago—one of the last bastions of classical liberal economics—as a case study, Colander and Freedman examine how both the MIT and Chicago variants of modern economics eschewed classical liberalism in their attempt to make economic policy analysis a science. By examining the way in which the discipline managed to lose its bearings, the authors delve into such issues as the development of welfare economics in relation to economic science, alternative voices within the Chicago School, and exactly how Friedman got it wrong.Contending that the division between science and prescription needs to be restored, Where Economics Went Wrong makes the case for a more nuanced and self-aware policy analysis by economists.

George Stigler was awarded a much-deserved Nobel Prize in 1982. At heart always a shy boy from the provinces, defending himself and his beliefs against the demands of a more wicked and devious world, he remained one of the only truly inscrutable figures in the history of modern economics.

For the economics profession, issues of marketing and ideology have often been reduced to the status of 'the love that dare not speak its name'.

For the economics profession, issues of marketing and ideology have often been reduced to the status of 'the love that dare not speak its name'.

At the start of a new century, Japan finds itself confronted with an economic challenge that is unlike any it has faced since the end of World War II. Most commentators agree that Japan has to change. The issue is the form and direction that such a change must take. While many Western economists forcefully urge the Japanese to become more like the US, there are other academics who have registered strong reservations to such a simplistic solution. In this volume, noted scholars take opposing positions on key issues including financial reform, corporate change and international trade. The editor contributes a thought-provoking introduction which also presents an overview of the topic. The papers gathered here present an opportunity for readers to consider the underlying conflicts in Japan's economy and society that makes choosing a new direction such a difficult proposition. Economic Reform in Japan is a coherent and eminently readable book designed to provoke further discussion amongst scholars and researchers of Japan and East Asia, economists, political scientists and sociologists.

In this ground-breaking book, leading commentators on the Japanese economy analyse both the immediate and deep-seated causes that make a sustained economic recovery in Japan problematic. They debate the deep-rooted structural causes of Japan's decline and assess Japan's faltering financial system before prescribing policies to abate the continuing crisis.Starting with Japan's unanticipated economic collapse in the 1990s, the volume's contributors try to fathom the way forward for a seemingly catatonic economy. The first section deals with the entrenched structural causes of Japan's economic decline and demonstrates why sustained recovery is likely to be difficult. The second section tackles a more immediate difficulty impeding economic recovery - Japan's nearly bankrupt financial system - and discusses how regulators and politicians both helped to cause and can possibly combat this problem. All contributors agree that measures must be taken to ensure the synchronization of political, institutional and cultural structures to guarantee Japan's successful recovery. They are unable to agree on which measures will be effective and feasible. This highly insightful and accessible volume will be of interest to scholars of Japanese studies, financial economics and international economics as well as anyone with an interest in the current Japanese crisis.

The rise and relative decline of the Japanese economy has been an important feature of the world economy over the last decade. In this innovative book, distinguished experts re-evaluate commonly held perceptions in the West and in Japan about the strength of the economy. They shed new light on Japan's current economic situation and prescribe policies to restructure the domestic economy in order to achieve growth objectives.Japanese Economic Policy Reconsidered provides a critical evaluation of the key issues facing the Japanese economy, and the political and economic environments that continue to hold back Japan's future growth. The contributors advocate far-reaching structural reform in order to allow market forces to dictate industry policy. They then turn to the changing role of foreign trade and evaluate the Clinton Administration's attempt to define a new approach to US-Japan trade relations. Special attention is given to an empirical analysis of the problem of overseas production. They also examine the peculiar characteristics of Japanese foreign direct investment inflows, and advocate the removal of disincentives to foreign investment, in order to encourage trade and economic growth. The authors then discuss the role of the financial sector, particularly in relation to Germany and the United States, and discover parallels in monetary policy in all three countries. They recommend regulatory reform of the financial sector in Japan to adapt to the future financial environment.This volume will be accessible to both scholars and practitioners looking for a deeper insight into modern Japan. It will also be of great use to students of macroeconomics, Asian studies, business economics and international economics.

Cold-war ideology infected the development of economics in ways its practitioners were often not fully aware. The Chicago counter-revolution against the dominant post-war triumph of Keynesian analysis had an essential subtext, a perceived struggle between freedom and collective slavery. Ideological objectives subsequently influenced methodological concerns, pushing economists to adopt the zero-sum tactics of the courtroom rather than the mutually beneficial manners of the senior common room. In these ideologically charged times, economists stopped reading opposing views carefully, seeking instead to dismiss, out of hand, uncongenial ideas.In this collection of previously published and new material, Craig Freedman examines the problem of ideology through the reflection cast by the architects of the Chicago counter-revolution, George Stigler and Milton Friedman. The second half of the volume demonstrates the legacy of these ideological fires, namely a profession where the methodology of careless reading and zero-sum exchanges have persisted and come to dominate.

Snow on the Pine presents a compelling view of the Japanese foreign policy that runs counter to the common wisdom reducing Japan's post-war efforts to the pursuit of purely commercial interests. This book takes a new approach — the eventual Japanese defeat in the Second World War did not transform Japan into an “exceptional state” seeking only economic interests. Like any other nations, economic issues have always played a crucial role in policy decisions. However, this is but only one amongst the many interweaving threads determining foreign policy decisions.In the authors' eyes, Japan's foreign policy is characterized by the drive to dominate and influence the East Asia region, which has been a consistent motivation since the days of the Meiji restoration. Thus, the post-war period in this analysis provides a continuation rather than a break with the country's previous history. Tactics, and even strategies, may have changed over time to meet the challenges of the ever evolving economic and political environments but the overall objective has essentially remained constant. The snow melts, but the pine endures.

Snow on the Pine presents a compelling view of the Japanese foreign policy that runs counter to the common wisdom reducing Japan's post-war efforts to the pursuit of purely commercial interests. This book takes a new approach — the eventual Japanese defeat in the Second World War did not transform Japan into an “exceptional state” seeking only economic interests. Like any other nations, economic issues have always played a crucial role in policy decisions. However, this is but only one amongst the many interweaving threads determining foreign policy decisions.In the authors' eyes, Japan's foreign policy is characterized by the drive to dominate and influence the East Asia region, which has been a consistent motivation since the days of the Meiji restoration. Thus, the post-war period in this analysis provides a continuation rather than a break with the country's previous history. Tactics, and even strategies, may have changed over time to meet the challenges of the ever evolving economic and political environments but the overall objective has essentially remained constant. The snow melts, but the pine endures.