Edinburgh University Press – serie

Vera Zamagni charts the remarkable story of European economic growth from the birth of industrialization through to the present day. Setting European events within the wider context of world economic progress and alongside developments in Asia, Eastern Europe and the United States, she provides an up-to-date and authoritative survey suitable for course use.The book begins with an outline of the economic landscape of the late Middle Ages before exploring the process of European industrialization, including how the British model was replicated across Europe, and why Britain was unable to maintain its position relative to other economies, in particular the United States. The advent of global finance is examined and the economic impact of world war and revolution is assessed. European reconstruction and integration is analysed alongside the decline of Russia and the growth of the Asian economies. The book ends with an assessment of the impact of the global crash of 2008 and the subsequent crisis of the Eurozone. Throughout her analysis, Zamagni shows how the social and economic institutions and values of European civilization catalyzed economic progress. That these same structures are now threatened makes this history particularly timely.

The post-Cold War global order has unravelled. Liberal values and institutions are in full retreat, while authoritarians everywhere are emboldened. International law has given way to the rule of lawlessness. The world is more globalized than ever, but also increasingly fragmented and disorderly. Meanwhile, humanity faces a perfect storm of threats from runaway climate change to escalating geopolitical confrontation. In this trenchant critique, Bobo Lo argues that revitalizing global order is the central task of our time, the key to addressing the realities and demands of the twenty-first century. He proposes a new internationalism, centred on a broad view of self-interest, greater representativeness and inclusiveness, and the acceptance of flexibility and diversity. The world has moved on, and so must its governance.

Modern political life is a confusing and disorientating terrain of competing ideologies. Jason Blakely offers readers a lively, fresh and insightful guide through the labyrinth of conflicting and competing ideas in order to better understand why ideology in the modern era can be so divisive.Lost in Ideology sets out from the conviction that the current disorientation engulfing the world’s liberal democracies is in no small part ideological in origin. People feel confused because there are multiple ideological maps, so to speak, each marked by dramatically different points of interest, rivers, summits, roads, and total topographies. Ideology in the modern era has the paradoxical effect of orienting millions even as it disorients millions. This leads us to the present-day predicament in which individuals of every imaginable political stripe confidently declare: “I have a theory – but you? You have an ideology!”

The growing economic power of government has prompted many studies to seek to establish the optimum size of government and how it might relate to economic growth, productivity and inflation.Václav Rybácek examines how these studies have used national accounts and officially published statistics to invariably underestimate the size of government, which has lead to erroneous economic policy recommendations and ultimately to an unrealistic assessment of a government’s ability to meet its debts. The book shows how the methodology of macroeconomic statistics has failed to keep pace with the expansion of government and has misallocated, for example, many public producers in the field of financial services, to the corporate sector. Even central banks conducting government policy are shown to stand outside official figures on the size of government. Similarly, when showing the relative size of government, the choice of denominator, such as GDP, can further lead to underestimating government size.Drawing on Austrian economic theory, in particular in relation to market operation, the book offers a more robust methodology for the measurement of government, which is then used to recalculate fiscal indicators and GDP in order to present a more appropriate set of data for the analysis of public sector dynamics in the majority of EU countries.

The theory of general equilibrium offers a simplified guide to how real economies function: it describes how price, demand, supply and production interact in multiple markets and tend towards a state of equilibrium. The first attempt to model this interaction was made in the late nineteenth century, but it remained a largely theoretical exercise until the computer age, when large amounts of data could be processed to model national economies on an unprecedented scale.Yves Balasko, one of the key pioneers in the field, offers an accessible introduction to general equilibrium theory and some of its most important developments of the past fifty years. The book begins with an historical presentation of general equilibrium theory that includes the two theorems of welfare economics and also a new proof of the existence of an equilibrium. The central chapters examine the main results of the theory of general equilibrium that can be obtained by following the equilibrium manifold and natural projection approach. The final chapter demonstrates the potential for extending the general equilibrium model beyond the market economy by introducing uncertainty and contingent commodities.Written for students taking courses in economic theory and modelling who have relatively limited mathematical proficiency, the book fills a gap between forbidding technical expositions and the less rigorous elementary ones. As a masterly summation of developments in equilibrium theory by one of the subject’s leading figures, it will also be welcomed by economists working across applied and computable general equilibrium analysis.

Inequality is part and parcel of our lives. What degree of inequality we find acceptable or unacceptable informs the foundational values of our societies, and shapes our political and economic structures. Yet until recently the study of economic inequality (unlike poverty) was considered by economists as a problem not worth examining. That has changed. With the dramatic increase in the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, inequality has become recognised by all shades of political opinion as a potential threat to economic growth and the functioning of society and democracy.In A Short History of Inequality, Michele Alacevich and Anna Soci chart the emergence of the inequality question and in so doing provide a masterly overview of the work of recent scholars and the main concepts and debates that have arisen within inequality studies. Their analysis highlights how the historical diffidence to examining inequality, the relationship of inequality to the processes of globalization, and the adverse effects of inequality on democracy are all strongly intertwined.The book is an ideal introduction for students and the general reader looking to understand what’s at stake when the rewards of capitalism are distributed unjustly.

Inequality is part and parcel of our lives. What degree of inequality we find acceptable or unacceptable informs the foundational values of our societies, and shapes our political and economic structures. Yet until recently the study of economic inequality (unlike poverty) was considered by economists as a problem not worth examining. That has changed. With the dramatic increase in the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, inequality has become recognised by all shades of political opinion as a potential threat to economic growth and the functioning of society and democracy.In A Short History of Inequality, Michele Alacevich and Anna Soci chart the emergence of the inequality question and in so doing provide a masterly overview of the work of recent scholars and the main concepts and debates that have arisen within inequality studies. Their analysis highlights how the historical diffidence to examining inequality, the relationship of inequality to the processes of globalization, and the adverse effects of inequality on democracy are all strongly intertwined.The book is an ideal introduction for students and the general reader looking to understand what's at stake when the rewards of capitalism are distributed unjustly.

The Brexit debate in the UK focuses almost exclusively on the UK’s own position within the European Union and largely ignores the reaction and opinion of the other 27 member states. The UK’s negotiations will, however, involve each and every member state, as well as the EU institutions, and their past relationship with the UK will be critical for shaping any future relations.This book offers an in-depth, ground-up analysis of the attitudes and opinions of the rest of Europe towards Brexit. Covering the period from David Cameron’s attempt to negotiate EU reform prior to the Referendum and closing with the triggering of Article 50, the book will chart the individual member states’ response to, coverage of, and political fall-out from, the UK’s referendum process and result. The aim is to provide a backdrop for the future relations of those states with the UK and their likely positions during the negotiations.Drawing on the research of country experts, the book provides essential context and insight into the likely approach of the European nations towards the UK at this historic juncture

Conceived in an era of rapid post-Cold War economic liberalization, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in 1994, brought together Canada, Mexico and the United States with the aim of creating a regional trade bloc that eliminated the friction and costs of trade between the three nations.Without an overarching institutional framework, NAFTA never sought to attain the levels of integration achieved by the European Union – for many it was a missed opportunity – and never quite fulfilled its potential as a single market. And under Trump’s administration a trilateral trade agreement has become increasingly precarious.This book provides an overview of NAFTA and its successor the USCMA, explaining the theory behind the politics and economics of trade in North America. It offers an accessible and concise analysis of the key provisions, shortcomings and past revision efforts of the governments involved.At a time of increasing protectionism and heightened awareness of trading relationships, the book highlights the lessons to be learnt from the fraught history of one of the largest trade blocs in the world.

Since the late-1990s Turkey has emerged as a significant economic power. Never colonized and straddling the continents of Europe and Asia, it plays a strategically important role in a region of increasing instability.Bülent Gökay examines Turkey’s remarkable domestic political and economic transformation over the past two decades within the context of broader regional and global changes. By situating the story of Turkey’s economic growth within an analysis of the structural changes and shifts in the world economy, the book provides new insights into the functioning of Turkey’s political economy and the successes and failures of its ruling party’s economic management.

Since the late-1990s Turkey has emerged as a significant economic power. Never colonized and straddling the continents of Europe and Asia, it plays a strategically important role in a region of increasing instability.Bülent Gökay examines Turkey’s remarkable domestic political and economic transformation over the past two decades within the context of broader regional and global changes. By situating the story of Turkey’s economic growth within an analysis of the structural changes and shifts in the world economy, the book provides new insights into the functioning of Turkey’s political economy and the successes and failures of its ruling party’s economic management.

Our sense-making capabilities and the relationship between our individual and collective intelligence and the comprehensibility of the world is both remarkable and deeply mysterious. Our capacity to make sense of the world and the fact that we pass our lives steeped in knowledge and understanding, albeit incomplete, that far exceeds what we are or even experience has challenged our greatest thinkers for centuries.In Logos, Raymond Tallis steps into the gap between mind and world to explore what is at stake in our attempts to make sense of our world and our lives. With his characteristic combination of scholarly rigour and lively humour he reveals how philosophers, theologians and scientists have sought to demystify our extraordinary capacity to understand the world by collapsing the distance between the mind that does the sense-making and the world that is made sense of. Such strategies – whether by locating the world inside the mind, or making the mind part of the world – are shown to be deeply flawed and of little help in explaining the intelligiblity of the world. Indeed, it is the distance that we need, argues Tallis, if knowledge is to count as knowledge and for there to be a distinction between the knower and the known.Tallis brings his formidable analysis to bear on the many challenges we face when trying to make sense of our sense-making. These include the idea of cognitive progress, which presupposes a benchmark of complete understanding; cognitive completion, which unites the separate strands of our understanding (from the laws of nature to our ineluctable everyday understanding of things, incorporating the meanings we live by); and the knowing subject – us – with our partial and limited viewpoint mediated by our bodies.The book showcases Tallis’s enviable knack of making tricky philosophical arguments cogent and engaging to the non-specialist and his remarkable ability to help us see humankind more clearly. For anyone who has shared Einstein’s observation that “the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility”, the book will be fascinating and insightful reading.

The work of Karl Polanyi has become a central reference point for scholars in a variety of traditions and disciplines within the social sciences, including international relations, international political economy, economic sociology and economic anthropology. This book offers a comprehensive introduction to Polanyi’s political and economic thought by examining the key themes that run throughout it: economic ideas, commodification, money, the gold standard, geopolitical economy, the state, class, fascism, democracy and knowledge.Each chapter introduces the relevant aspects of Polanyi’s writings, covering important terminology and the position of the theme in relation to his work more broadly. The contributions seek to engage critically with Polanyi’s ideas, analysing both the strengths and weaknesses, as well as highlighting continuing points of relevance to contemporary issues and debates.The book celebrates the diversity of Polanyi’s political and economic thought whilst encouraging the reader to see it as a whole and not as a set of fragmented concepts. It is an ideal introduction for students engaging with Polanyi’s work for the first time.

The work of Karl Polanyi has become a central reference point for scholars in a variety of traditions and disciplines within the social sciences, including international relations, international political economy, economic sociology and economic anthropology. This book offers a comprehensive introduction to Polanyi’s political and economic thought by examining the key themes that run throughout it: economic ideas, commodification, money, the gold standard, geopolitical economy, the state, class, fascism, democracy and knowledge.Each chapter introduces the relevant aspects of Polanyi’s writings, covering important terminology and the position of the theme in relation to his work more broadly. The contributions seek to engage critically with Polanyi’s ideas, analysing both the strengths and weaknesses, as well as highlighting continuing points of relevance to contemporary issues and debates.The book celebrates the diversity of Polanyi’s political and economic thought whilst encouraging the reader to see it as a whole and not as a set of fragmented concepts. It is an ideal introduction for students engaging with Polanyi’s work for the first time.

The benefits of globalization have long been trumpeted by right-wing and centre-left politicians and is enshrined in the neoliberal consensus of western democracies. However, in recent years, conservative rhetoric has turned increasingly anti-globalization. Ray Kiely examines this new trend, in particular the discourse of “winners” and “losers” of globalization that has emerged since the financial crisis, and which has been used by conservative politicians in the United States and the UK to reflect real and imagined threats to domestic economies and national identity.The book examines new US and UK conservative movements (alongside earlier traditions) and the development of conservative ideas, in particular projects for renewal, that have shaped responses to globalization that challenge neoliberal and third way approaches. The nostalgia for a former supposed age of economic and societal harmony, which has characterized this conservative anti-globalization response is given particular attention. The popular mantras of deregulation and economic nationalism that loomed large in both the election of Donald Trump and the UK’s Brexit vote are shown to be potent examples of the success of this new conservative (anti-)globalization rhetoric.As well as examining the changing nature of Anglo-American conservatism, the book also offers an insightful account of the wider resurgence of populism.

The benefits of globalization have long been trumpeted by right-wing and centre-left politicians and is enshrined in the neoliberal consensus of western democracies. However, in recent years, conservative rhetoric has turned increasingly anti-globalization. Ray Kiely examines this new trend, in particular the discourse of “winners” and “losers” of globalization that has emerged since the financial crisis, and which has been used by conservative politicians in the United States and the UK to reflect real and imagined threats to domestic economies and national identity.The book examines new US and UK conservative movements (alongside earlier traditions) and the development of conservative ideas, in particular projects for renewal, that have shaped responses to globalization that challenge neoliberal and third way approaches. The nostalgia for a former supposed age of economic and societal harmony, which has characterized this conservative anti-globalization response is given particular attention. The popular mantras of deregulation and economic nationalism that loomed large in both the election of Donald Trump and the UK’s Brexit vote are shown to be potent examples of the success of this new conservative (anti-)globalization rhetoric.As well as examining the changing nature of Anglo-American conservatism, the book also offers an insightful account of the wider resurgence of populism.

Far from witnessing the beginning of the end of organized labour as a major political force, Rethinking Global Labour argues that, post-financial crisis, we are entering a new era for workers and their organizations in which they will begin to impact decisively on the new global order.In exploring the potential futures for the world’s workers, the book provides an insightful account of how globalization has created a new global working class while increasing the insecurity and precarious nature of most employment. Moving beyond categories of North and South, Munck argues that the new global class of workers will be central both to the future of globalization and to its possible alternatives. In some ways the book poses a “return to the future” drawing parallels with the birth of the labour and democratic movements before the consolidation of nation states.At a time of growing unease with the negative effects of economic globalization, Rethinking Global Labour offers an important assessment of global labour and its potential for organization.

Far from witnessing the beginning of the end of organized labour as a major political force, Rethinking Global Labour argues that, post-financial crisis, we are entering a new era for workers and their organizations in which they will begin to impact decisively on the new global order.In exploring the potential futures for the world’s workers, the book provides an insightful account of how globalization has created a new global working class while increasing the insecurity and precarious nature of most employment. Moving beyond categories of North and South, Munck argues that the new global class of workers will be central both to the future of globalization and to its possible alternatives. In some ways the book poses a “return to the future” drawing parallels with the birth of the labour and democratic movements before the consolidation of nation states.At a time of growing unease with the negative effects of economic globalization, Rethinking Global Labour offers an important assessment of global labour and its potential for organization.

Elinor Ostrom was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in economics and her achievement has generated renewed interest in the Bloomington School research program in institutional economics and political economy.These new essays showcase Ostrom’s extensive and lasting influence throughout economics and the wider social sciences. They contextualize the Bloomington School within schools of economic thought and show how Ostrom’s distinct methodology is used in policy-making and governance. Case studies are used to illustrate the value of civic involvement within public policy, a method pioneered by Ostrom and the Bloomington School.The book provides a valuable resource for those keen to understand Ostrom’s approach, especially when applied to policy-making and wider application in the social sciences. Readers new to the Bloomington School will be introduced to its central areas of research while those already familiar will appreciate its subtle connections to other disciplines and research agendas.

Elinor Ostrom was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in economics and her achievement has generated renewed interest in the Bloomington School research program in institutional economics and political economy.These new essays showcase Ostrom’s extensive and lasting influence throughout economics and the wider social sciences. They contextualize the Bloomington School within schools of economic thought and show how Ostrom’s distinct methodology is used in policy-making and governance. Case studies are used to illustrate the value of civic involvement within public policy, a method pioneered by Ostrom and the Bloomington School.The book provides a valuable resource for those keen to understand Ostrom’s approach, especially when applied to policy-making and wider application in the social sciences. Readers new to the Bloomington School will be introduced to its central areas of research while those already familiar will appreciate its subtle connections to other disciplines and research agendas.

With its emphasis on the centrality of fundamental uncertainty and the resulting desire for liquid assets, post-Keynesian economics offers important insights into understanding how modern economies work, placing money and banking at their heart, exactly as any realistic account would do.In this advanced introduction, Matteo Iannizzotto revisits the contributions of post-Keynesian ideas to such central issues as the inescapable condition of uncertainty in economic decisions, the theory of liquidity preference, effective demand, endogenous money supply, and the financial instability hypothesis. In each case, the author traces the foundations in the work of Keynes and presents the strength of post-Keynesian ideas of later authors like Kaldor, Minsky and Weintraub in comparison with the corresponding models of mainstream economics and shows their greater explanatory power particularly in the light of the recent global financial crisis.

Health economics has become an established field of enquiry over recent years and is now an important contributor to normative health policy, and decisions concerning the allocation of resources and the quality of healthcare provision across the world.Medical Economics, written by two physicians who are also qualified economists, introduces readers to the core economic considerations in healthcare provision and management. Addressing concerns that are relevant to both the individual and to public health, the authors draw on a wider range of economic tools and analytical frameworks than typically offered by standard textbooks. Combining thought experiments with real-world examples they illustrate the healthcare challenges facing today’s policy-makers.The book is aimed specifically at courses in medicine, public health, and healthcare management and administration, but also at economists looking for a broader perspective on healthcare systems, including healthcare financing, markets, the role of the state and other macroeconomic considerations, evaluation methods, healthcare technology, paying for medical care, health insurance and ethical issues.

Health economics has become an established field of enquiry over recent years and is now an important contributor to normative health policy, and decisions concerning the allocation of resources and the quality of healthcare provision across the world.Medical Economics, written by two physicians who are also qualified economists, introduces readers to the core economic considerations in healthcare provision and management. Addressing concerns that are relevant to both the individual and to public health, the authors draw on a wider range of economic tools and analytical frameworks than typically offered by standard textbooks. Combining thought experiments with real-world examples they illustrate the healthcare challenges facing today’s policy-makers.The book is aimed specifically at courses in medicine, public health, and healthcare management and administration, but also at economists looking for a broader perspective on healthcare systems, including healthcare financing, markets, the role of the state and other macroeconomic considerations, evaluation methods, healthcare technology, paying for medical care, health insurance and ethical issues.

The 2016 Brexit referendum result has been portrayed as the consequence of various short-term phenomena: the financial crisis, austerity, migration and UKIP, to name a few. Overnight the political future of the UK took an unprecedented and unexpected turn against EU membership. Since then, the UK’s government has been charting unknown waters in its negotiations to disentangle the United Kingdom from its membership and obligations to the European Union.In this book, Martin Westlake argues that focus on the short-term, reflex action of the Brexit vote has overshadowed a series of longer-term trends that were inexorably leading, or pushing, the UK away from full membership of the European Union. He shows that the UK was an increasingly semi-detached member, requiring ever more elaborate and ingenious fixes with opt-outs and rebates to keep its involvement in the project. Rather than a sudden, impulsive act of rejection, Brexit should be seen as having taken place over a number of years at various levels: a gradual slipping of the ties that bound the country to the European Union.

The 2020 World Happiness Report ranked Finland, for the third year running, as the world's happiest country.The "Nordic Model" has long been touted as the aspiration for social and public policy in Europe and North America, but what is it about Finland that makes the country so successful and seemingly such a great place to live?Is it simply the level of government spending on health, education and welfare? Is it that Finland has one of the lowest rates of social inequality and childhood poverty, and highest levels of literacy and education?Finland clearly has problems of its own - for example, a high level of gun ownership and high rates of suicide - which can make Finns sceptical of their ranking, but its consistently high performance across a range of well-being indicators does raise fascinating questions.In the quest for the best of all possible societies, Danny Dorling and Annika Koljonen explore what we might learn from Finnish success.

Blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt digital interaction across our economy and society. As the internet has changed our lives, the potential for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to do the same is considerable. Fred Steinmetz, Lennart Ante and Ingo Fiedler assess this rapidly developing technology and its imminent economic and societal impact.The ideas behind blockchain technology stem from an open-source movement and build on existing technology to facilitate the exchange of value in general and assets in particular via a protocol on top of the internet. Current platform-based business structures face the risk of being replaced by evolving decentralized ecosystems and individuals are set to become empowered by sovereignty over their digital data and footprints.The book begins by explaining the key concepts of blockchain technology and presents an overview of the involved technical and economic elements. These form the basis for a discussion of the socio-economic implications of this new technology. This is followed by an in-depth analysis of significant case studies in the sectors of energy, digital identity, capital markets, logistics and gambling that outline the risks and benefits of the technology. The book strives to be non-technical and accessible, and to demystify the functionalities of blockchains and their potential for a range of readers in the wider social sciences.

Blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt digital interaction across our economy and society. As the internet has changed our lives, the potential for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to do the same is considerable. Fred Steinmetz, Lennart Ante and Ingo Fiedler assess this rapidly developing technology and its imminent economic and societal impact.The ideas behind blockchain technology stem from an open-source movement and build on existing technology to facilitate the exchange of value in general and assets in particular via a protocol on top of the internet. Current platform-based business structures face the risk of being replaced by evolving decentralized ecosystems and individuals are set to become empowered by sovereignty over their digital data and footprints.The book begins by explaining the key concepts of blockchain technology and presents an overview of the involved technical and economic elements. These form the basis for a discussion of the socio-economic implications of this new technology. This is followed by an in-depth analysis of significant case studies in the sectors of energy, digital identity, capital markets, logistics and gambling that outline the risks and benefits of the technology. The book strives to be non-technical and accessible, and to demystify the functionalities of blockchains and their potential for a range of readers in the wider social sciences.

Finance has long been an integral part of the capitalist economy, yet since the 1970s the realm of finance has burgeoned, reaching well beyond its traditional funding roles. Finance now reaches into all aspects of economic life from the everyday activity of the individual, to the behaviour of corporations and the decisions made for society as a whole. The power and fragility of the financial sector are seen by the simple fact that when things go wrong, it can bring down banks, currencies, and governments, plunging countries into generations of debt and hardship.Malcolm Sawyer offers a comprehensive survey of the impact of financialization on economic growth and society. The book draws on and distills a remarkable range of research to provide readers with a guide to current thinking about the place of finance in the wider macroeconomy and considers the prospects for definancialization and a future role that is less pervasive.

In Seeing Ourselves, philosopher and neuroscientist Raymond Tallis brings together the preoccupations of some fifty years of writing and thinking about the overwhelming mystery of ordinary human life, and goes in search of what kind of beings we are, and where we might find meaning in our lives.If, asks Tallis, we reject the supernatural belief that we are pure spirits temporarily lodged in bodies, handmade by God, and uniquely related to Him, what should we put in its place? How do we ensure, if we accept the death of God, that something within us does not also die? And if we are simply organisms shaped by the forces of evolution, with no reason to exist and with no objective value, as some scientists claim, where shall we find meaning sufficiently enduring and profound to withstand the knowledge of our own mortality and the certain loss of all that we love or value? How should we think of ourselves if we are neither fallen angels trying to enact the will of God, nor unrisen apes acting out a biological prescription?Tallis begins his quest by establishing what it is we know of our fundamental nature. Showcasing a remarkable detailed engagement with a huge range of disciplines, he examines our relationship to our own bodies, to time, our selfhood and our agency – all manifestations of the unique nature of human consciousness – and shows why human beings are like nothing else in the universe. Having revealed our nature in all its glory, Tallis then addresses what is unresolved in the human condition – our hunger for a coherent life, inwardly lit by a single sense of purpose and meaning – and the search for something that matches the profundity of religion, even to the point of accommodating the tragedy of our lives. He shows that it is the actuality of human transcendence and the needs it awakens that must be the bridge across the divide between believers and non-believers.The book is ultimately a celebration. Behind the philosophical arguments is a hunger for more wakefulness inspired by a feeling of wonder and gratitude for the mystery of the most commonplace manifestations of our humanity. Tallis’s endeavour in Seeing Ourselves is to turn up the wattage of the light in which we see our everyday world and to think more clearly about who we are. It is only when we have woken from religion and naturalism, that we will find ourselves at the threshold of an unfettered inquiry – into ourselves, the world we have built and the universe into which we have built it – and then there may be some hope for salvation.