As Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward argued in the early seventies, in a capitalist economy, social welfare policies alternatingly serve political and economic ends as circumstances dictate. In moments of political stability, governments emphasize a capitalistic work ethic (even if it means working a job that will leave one impoverished); when times are less politically stable, states liberalize welfare policies to recreate the conditions for political acquiescence. Sanford Schram argues in this new book that each shift produces its own path dependency even as it represents yet another iteration of what he (somewhat ironically) calls "ordinary capitalism," where the changes in market logic inevitably produce changes in the structure of the state. In today's ordinary capitalism, neoliberalism is the prevailing political-economic logic that has contributed significantly to unprecedented levels of inequality in an already unequal society. As the new normal, neoliberalism has marketization of the state as a core feature, heightening the role of economic actors, especially financiers, in shaping public policy. The results include increased economic precarity among the general population, giving rise to dramatic political responses on both the Left and the Right (Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party in particular). Schram examines neoliberalism's constraints on politics as well as social and economic policy and gives special attention to the role protest politics plays in keeping alive the possibilities for ordinary people to exercise political agency. The Return of Ordinary Capitalism concludes with political strategies for working through-rather than around-neoliberalism via a radical, rather than status-quo-reinforcing, incrementalism.

Post-Keynesian Monetary Theory recaps Marc Lavoie's views on monetary theory over a 35-year period, seen from a post-Keynesian perspective. The book contains a collection of twenty previously published papers, as well as an introduction which explains how these papers came about and how they were received. All of the selected articles avoid mathematical formalism. Readers will find analyses of the earlier advocates of endogenous money such as Nicholas Kaldor and Jacques Le Bourva. They will discover how the arguments in support of the post-Keynesian theory of endogenous money and the credit view of banking have evolved through this 35-year period, and how they have been related to the new procedures pursued by central banks. All these essays show the relevance of the realistic post-Keynesian monetary theory in understanding the subprime and euro crises, quantitative easing and the distributional role of interest rates. Within these pages Marc Lavoie provides an overview of what has happened in post-Keynesian monetary economics over the last three and a half decades for students and scholars with interest in monetary economics, the horizontalist-structuralist debates and the recent history of economic thought.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic - at the interlocking levels of politics, economy, and society - have been different across regions, states, and societies. In the case of the Middle East and North Africa, which was already in the throes of intense tumult following the onset of the 2011 Arab Spring, COVID's blows have on the one hand followed the trajectory of some global patterns, while at the same time playing out in regionally specific ways. Based on empirical country-level analysis, this volume brings together an international team of contributors seeking to untangle how COVID-19 unfolds across the MENA. The analyses are framed through a contextual adaptation of Ulrich Beck's famous concept of "risk society" that pinpointed the negative consequences of modernity and its unbridled capitalism. The book traces how this has come home in full force in the COVID-19 pandemic. The editors, Larbi Sadiki and Layla Saleh, use the term "Arab risk society". They highlight short-term and long-term repercussions across the MENA. These include socio-economic inequality, a revitalized state of authoritarianism challenged by relentless democratic struggles. But the analyses are attuned to problem-solving research. The "ethnographies of the pandemic" included in this book investigate transformations and coping mechanisms within each country case study. They provide an ethically-informed research praxis that can respond to the manifold crises crashing down upon MENA polities and societies

A "highly entertaining history [of] global hustling, cola wars and the marketing savvy that carved a niche for Coke in the American social psyche" (Publishers Weekly). Secret Formula follows the colorful characters who turned a relic from the patent medicine era into a company worth $80 billion. Award-winning reporter Frederick Allen's engaging account begins with Asa Candler, a nineteenth-century pharmacist in Atlanta who secured the rights to the original Coca-Cola formula and then struggled to get the cocaine out of the recipe. After many tweaks, he finally succeeded in turning a backroom belly-wash into a thriving enterprise. In 1919, an aggressive banker named Ernest Woodruff leveraged a high-risk buyout of the Candlers and installed his son at the helm of the company. Robert Woodruff spent the next six decades guiding Coca-Cola with a single-minded determination that turned the soft drink into a part of the landscape and social fabric of America. Written with unprecedented access to Coca-Cola's archives, as well as the inner circle and private papers of Woodruff, Allen's captivating business biography stands as the definitive account of what it took to build America's most iconic company and one of the world's greatest business success stories.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Providing a critical overview of cultural economics, this Research Agenda explores the current state of affairs in the field, suggesting methods of improvement for the coherency and progressiveness of future research. Situating work in this area in its historical context, Samuel Cameron draws together a range of international contributors to explore the development of cultural economics. Undertaking a thorough examination of matters of data quality, statistical methodology and the challenge of new developments in technology, chapters examine the different approaches to cultural economics. The book explores the myriad ways in which the topic has been neglected by mainstream economics, and examines reasons why it needs to be considered, evaluated and explored in more detail in our modern world. Current researchers in cultural economics, as well as cultural policies and leisure studies will find this book an invaluable read in exploring different ways to integrate cultural economics into mainstream studies. This Research Agenda will also be an invaluable aid for advanced students to create discussions suitable for essay topics and dissertations. Contributors include: S. Cameron, C. Peukert, J. Snowball, H. Sonnabend, M. Zieba