Monday, April 7, 2014

WRONG: Nine Economic Policy Disasters and What We Can Learn from Them

Richard S. Grossman (Wesleyan University). WRONG (Oxford University Press, 2013).

"WRONG examines nine of the worst economic policy blunders of the last 250 years in order to learn why these policies were adopted and how they went so wrong. Analyzing events as diverse as trade policy in the 18th century, famine relief policy in the 19th century, post-war reconstruction in the 20th century, and the subprime and sovereign debt crises in the 21st century, WRONG presents detailed post-mortem analyses of some of the world's most severe economic policy failures. The issues that underlie these historical crises—famine, post-war reconstruction, global trade, and international finance, to name a few—remain extremely relevant today. . . . Presented clearly for economists and non-economists alike, WRONG provides a valuable guide book for contemporary policy makers and the citizens who elect them."
WRONG book jacket