Cambridge Studies in Economic Policies and Institutions – serie

The Fading Miracle provides a lucid account of economic policy in West Germany from the late 1940s up to the present. First published in hardback in 1992, this paperback edition has been updated to include events since then. The authors describe and evaluate the major policy controversies and decisions, and place particular emphasis on the characteristically German institutions of policy counselling and their role in policy formation. The book will be of interest to students and teachers of economics, and to all those with an interest in the development of the greatest economic power in Europe.

This work focuses on the economic challenges the American economy has faced during the post-World War II era, and on the new challenges - represented notably by the competing economies of Japan, Germany, and of the entire European Union - which confront it as the twenty-first century approaches. Professor Spulber presents a detailed critique of the thesis alleging that the American economy has experienced some kind of decline, and also argues that the economy will continue to move forward energetically and successfully if growth and change are primarily left to emerge from the impulses and incentives of the private economy.