Julian Morgan – författare

The rise of Constantine marked a pivotal and transformative time for the Roman Empire. Besides imposing many important changes to Rome''s government and currency and a reorganization of civil and military spheres, Constantine is also well known for being the first Roman emperor to embrace and eventually convert to Christianity, a religion once oppressed and reviled by pagan Rome, and for shifting imperial power to the eastern part of the empire. In this book, the life of Constantine the Great, as he would become known as, is explored, analyzed, and enlivened via historical images of artworks and ancient Roman relics.

Cleopatra is renowned as one of the most famous female leaders in all of history, but often her importance as the Macedonian dynasty’s last queen is obscured by her reputation for a lavish life and her tumultuous, high-profile romances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Countless books, movies, plays, and operas have highlighted the drama and downplayed her keen political acumen and dedication to increasing Egypt’s power. Cleopatra, who began ruling Egypt when she was only eighteen years old, was a witty, stimulating conversationalist who was able to use her charm and intelligence for the good of her country.

As the last descendant of the history-changing Julius Caesar, Nero more than made a name for himself. But his rule of ancient Rome, which lasted from 54 to 68 CE, is a story that is not so straightforward. His shocking and outright brutal behavior certainly stands out, whether it was the murder of his mother, his enjoyment of performance art at a time when such public performances were highly unusual, or his general disregard for his role as ruler when it came to running his government. But much of Nero’s nasty reputation was not so straightforward as history might make it seem.

The height of the Roman Empire’s power was during the reign of Hadrian. While endless predecessors and their rivals fought for expansion, Hadrian focused on sustaining his domain and his people’s livelihood. Readers will learn how even such an internal focus can lead to tragedy, specifically by intersecting religion with absolute statesmanship, as the Bar Kokhbah Revolt demonstrated. Regardless, conducting massive city-building projects, fortifying the borders of the empire, and other feats christen Hadrian as the third of the Five Good Emperors. Santillian and Morgan’s exhaustive research culminates in a comprehensive examination of all that Hadrian left in his wake.

Institutions and Wage Formation in the New Europe addresses the role played by institutions in European wage formation with a focus on EMU and institutional change in labour markets. Under this general heading there are three broad but distinct themes. The first emphasises the role of institutions in affecting the dispersion of wages across occupational, age, skill, and industry and employment contract categories. The contributors make clear the profound effect that European institutions can have in influencing, and in most cases compressing, such pay differentials with consequent implications for the employment prospects of certain segments of the labour force. The second theme is the explanation for recent wage moderation in Europe. The contributions under this theme stress the role of developments in the bargaining systems of European countries and the presence of a number of temporary or specific factors, which have helped to bring about pay moderation. The final theme is the extent to which institutions are changing within Europe in the light of EMU and the adoption of new business practices.This book will appeal to academics with an interest in labour markets and EMU issues, and also industrial relations specialists with an interest in institutional topics.

This book provides a description of the main macroeconomic models used by the European Central Bank and the euro area national central banks (Eurosystem). These models are used to help prepare economic projections and scenario analysis for individual countries and the euro area as a whole. The volume takes stock of the current macroeconometric modelling infrastructure available within the Eurosystem, highlighting not only the structures and main features of the models used but also their purposes and underlying model-building philosophies. A 'bird's eye view' of the key details of the design, structure and characteristics of the models is provided, along with information on the responses of these models to a series of standard economic and policy shocks.This is the first time that a comprehensive description and systematic comparison of the main macroeconomic models has been published. This book will be of great interest to Central Bank and government economists, as well as academics, economists and students with an interest in central banking, econometric modelling, forecasting and macroeconomic policy.