The second edition of this important textbook introduces students to the fundamental ideas of heterodox economics. It is written in a clear way by top heterodox scholars. This introductory book offers not only a critique of the dominant approach to economics, but also presents a positive and constructive alternative. Students interested in an explanation of the real world will find the heterodox approach not only satisfying, but ultimately better able to explain a money-using economy prone to periods of instability and crises. Key features of this textbook include: A non-conventional understanding of economic analysis on a number of relevant topics A new analysis of the state of macroeconomics Deep and convincing criticism of orthodox thinking Discussion of the crucial importance of money, banking and finance today New discussions of the theories of consumption and investment Analysis of the roots of the 2008 global financial crisis A presentation of the features of sustainable development. Students of economics at all levels can use this textbook to deepen their understanding of the heterodox approach, the fundamental roots of the 2008 global financial crisis and the need to rethink economics afresh.

Exchange-Traded Funds in Europe provides a single point of reference on a diverse set of regional ETF markets, illuminating the roles ETFs can play in risk mitigation and speculation. Combining empirical data with models and case studies, the authors use diffusion models and panel/country-specific regressions-as well as graphical and descriptive analyses- to show how ETFs are more than conventional, passive investments. With new insights on how ETFs can improve market efficiency and how investors can benefit when using them as investment tools, this book reveals the complexity of the world's second largest ETF market and the ways that ETFs are transforming it.

'The thoroughgoing disaster inflicted on the global economy in 2008 by the gambling of the financial system should have resulted serious sanctions for financial actors and the jettisoning of any belief in the efficacy and fairness of the neoliberal regime. But the tepid action of policy makers has allowed the system to muddle through and undermined any remaining trust and faith among the polity. It is not hard to see the breakdown of political stability across the world in the last two to three years as resulting direct from the justified belief that the rules of the global economy favor the very few. In this book, a group of critical scholars painstakingly identify and illuminate key aspects of the global financial system that continue to reinforce global inequalities of power and that contribute to dangerous political and economic instability. Through a series of thorough case studies ranging from the macroeconomic instability engendered by untrammeled capital flows, to the way sovereign debt restructuring favors northern creditors, to the hierarchy of the monetary system that concentrates enormous power in the hands of a few central banks, these studies throw light on the ways global financial neoliberalism and political and social power work to undermine macroeconomic stability and social justice. It will be read by serious scholars of the political economy of finance with great interest.' - Arjun Jayadev, Azim Premji University, India and Institute for New Economic Thinking The essays in this book describe and analyze the current contours of the international financial system, covering both developed and developing countries, and focusing on the ways in which the current international financial system structures and is affected by profound inequalities in the international system. This keen analysis of key topics in international finance takes a heterodox perspective, with focus on the role of inequalities in power in shaping the structure and outcomes in the international sphere. The Political Economy of International Finance in an Age of Inequality begins with a discussion of capital flows and financial crisis, moves into an up-to-date discussion of the political economy of currency unions, and then focuses on analysis of capital flows and economic crises. New and established academics present a broad variety of special case studies within that general framework focusing on understudied yet important up to date cases from understudied regions and countries for a unique and important exploration of the field. This book will be of interest to students and specialists in international finance, who will benefit from the combination of the strong general framework and illustrative case studies. Its approach will appeal both to generalists and specialists. Contributors include: M. Arora, E. Braunstein, H. Comert, D. Dutt, N. Eichacker, G. Epstein, I. Grabel, S. Khalil, M. Majd, F. Perez, L.D. Rosero, Z. Ybrayev

This book explores the origins, rationale, problems and prospects of the European fiscal policy framework. It provides the reader with a roadmap to EMU's budgetary framework by exploring its theoretical and empirical foundations, uncovering its historical roots and emphasising its supranational nature. The authors, who have been at the forefront of the academic and policy debate on economic policy in Europe, argue that fiscal policy has always been at the core of the EMU debate. The Maastricht criteria and the Stability and Growth Pact are the most contentious building blocks of EMU's institutional architecture: they have aroused heated controversies between academics and policymakers ever since their adoption. As EMU's budgetary rules undergo their first severe shock, Europe is still searching for its fiscal soul. The book's basic premise is that one cannot fully understand EMU's fiscal framework and the recent debate on its reform without placing them in a historical and institutional perspective and abstracting from the uniqueness of EMU, where sovereign countries retain a large degree of fiscal independence, and monetary policy is entrusted to an independent central bank with the overriding mission of maintaining price stability. Analysing all aspects of EMU's fiscal rules and institutions, this book will strongly appeal to students, academics and researchers of macroeconomic policy and European integration. Policymakers and fiscal policy experts at both national and international levels will also find the book to be of great interest.

The Demise of Finance-Dominated Capitalism goes well beyond the dominant interpretation that the recent financial and economic crises are rooted in malfunctioning and poorly regulated financial markets. The book provides an overview of different theoretical, historical and empirical perspectives on the long-run transition towards finance-dominated capitalism, on the implications for macroeconomic and financial stability, and ultimately on the recent global financial and economic crises. In the first part of the book the macroeconomics of finance-dominated capitalism, the theories of financial crisis and important past crises are reviewed. The second part deals with the 2007-09 financial and economic crises in particular, and discusses five explanations of the crises in more detail. The special focus of the book is the long-run problems and inconsistencies of finance-dominated capitalism that played a key role in the crisis and its severity. The comprehensive literature reviews on the issues of financialization and economic crises will be a valuable aid to students. Policy makers will find the broader views on the causes of the recent financial and economic crises and the contradictions of finance-dominated capitalism of great interest. Alternative views on the long-run developments towards financialization, as well as on the relationships of these developments with the recent financial crises, will appeal to researchers in this field. Contributors: R. Barradas, N. Budyldina, C.A. Carrasco, D. Detzer, N. Dodig, T. Evans, G. Gabbi, E. Hein, H. Herr, A. Kalbaska, S. Lagoa, E. Leao, J. Michell, OE. Orhangazi, F. Serrano, A. Vercelli

The epic successor to one of the most important books of the century: at once a retelling of global history, a scathing critique of contemporary politics, and a bold proposal for a new and fairer economic system.

Thomas Piketty’s bestselling Capital in the Twenty-First Century galvanized global debate about inequality. In this audacious follow-up, Piketty challenges us to revolutionize how we think about politics, ideology, and history. He exposes the ideas that have sustained inequality for the past millennium, reveals why the shallow politics of right and left are failing us today, and outlines the structure of a fairer economic system.

Our economy, Piketty observes, is not a natural fact. Markets, profits, and capital are all historical constructs that depend on choices. Piketty explores the material and ideological interactions of conflicting social groups that have given us slavery, serfdom, colonialism, communism, and hypercapitalism, shaping the lives of billions. He concludes that the great driver of human progress over the centuries has been the struggle for equality and education and not, as often argued, the assertion of property rights or the pursuit of stability. The new era of extreme inequality that has derailed that progress since the 1980s, he shows, is partly a reaction against communism, but it is also the fruit of ignorance, intellectual specialization, and our drift toward the dead-end politics of identity.

Once we understand this, we can begin to envision a more balanced approach to economics and politics. Piketty argues for a new “participatory” socialism, a system founded on an ideology of equality, social property, education, and the sharing of knowledge and power. Capital and Ideology is destined to be one of the indispensable books of our time, a work that will not only help us understand the world, but that will change it.

For decades, science and technology (sci-tech) have influenced world trade, world economy, and international finance. However, their specific impacts are seldom known and related empirical studies are rare. Thus, we must quantify and empirically explore how sci-tech influences such areas as mentioned above. The purpose of this book is to explore how sci-tech influences world trade, foreign exchange, and currency internationalization in various ways through quantifying science & technology first. This book empirically explores how major world currencies might change their relative international positions with continuous innovation and diffusion of sci-tech.Currency internationalization is measured by the percentage share of the average daily turnover of a particular currency in the global foreign exchange market over the corresponding overall daily turnover of the global foreign exchange market. Sci-tech as a commodity is borderless, yet its inventors and related businesses are bound by the intellectual property laws of their own countries. Patents, especially international patents, are useful representations of science & technology. They cannot be compared directly because of different criteria of patent regulators worldwide, and thus the quality of patents varies across patent regulators. Based on patent data from annual IP 5 Statistics Reports and charges for the use of IP of major currency issuers released by WTO, this book defines and quantifies sci-tech originality capability using data of charges for the use of IP of each economy and sci-tech internationalization using weighted patent families first, and proceeds to study how sci-tech internationalization affects currency internationalization.

The endogenous nature of money is a fact that has been recognized rather late in monetary economics. Today, it is explained most comprehensively by post-Keynesian economic analysis. This book revisits the nature of money and its endogeneity, featuring a number of the protagonists who took part in the original debates in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as new voices and analyses. Expert contributors revisit long-standing discussions from the position of both horizontalism and structuralism, and prescribe new areas of research and debate for post-Keynesian scholars to explore. Louis-Philippe Rochon and Sergio Rossi eloquently situate the nature of money and its endogeneity in an historical context, before bringing together an engaging array of chapters written by contemporary leading scholars. These chapters put forth detailed analyses of money creation; central bank operations and the role of monetary authorities; a link between interest rates and income distribution; a stock-flow analysis of monetary economies of production; and finally, a reinterpretation of horizontalism and structuralism. Post-Keynesian and heterodox economists, institutionalist economists, scholars of money and finance, and graduate students studying economics will all find this an enlightening read. Contributors include: A. Cottrell, P. Dalziel, P. Docherty, G. Fontana, S.T. Fullwiler, E. Hein, J.E. King, J. Knodell, M. Lavoie, N. Levy-Orlik, C.J. Niggle, T.I. Palley, Y. Panagopoulos, L.-P. Rochon, C. Rogers, S. Rossi, M. Sawyer, M. Setterfield, J. Smithin, A. Spiliotis

This major Handbook consists of 29 contributions that explore the full range of exciting and interesting work on money and finance currently taking place within heterodox economics. There are many themes and facets of alternative monetary and financial economics but two major ones can be identified. The first concerns the nature of money: money is credit created through the financial system in the process of loan creation. The second theme is that money is endogenous and not exogenous. Contributions to the Handbook cover the origins and nature of money, detailed analyses of endogenous money, surveys of empirical work on endogenous money and the nature of monetary policy when money is endogenous. The second theme focuses on the financial system, and the perception that it is generally subject to volatility, instability and crisis. This Handbook will undoubtedly serve as the ultimate guide to the full spectrum of alternative monetary economics. Philip Arestis and Malcolm Sawyer have performed an invaluable task in compiling a comprehensive Handbook, written by leading specialists, that will be required reading by upper level undergraduate and postgraduate students studying money, finance and macroeconomics as well as heterodox and monetary economists more generally.

This book provides an enlightening glimpse into the deep theoretical traditions of post-Keynesian theory whilst also illuminating the richness and uniqueness of post-Keynesian economic policy. The editors have gathered together leading scholars and researchers to push the boundaries of post-Keynesian thinking. They address a number of important issues dealing with wage determination, income distribution and central bank governance. Many of these chapters share a common theme including a criticism of the usefulness of monetary policy in fighting or targeting inflation and the questions this raises for central bank governance. The book also focuses on open economy issues such as capital flows, globalization, FDI and the Washington Consensus. Monetary Policy and Financial Stability is required reading for students, scholars and researchers of economics, and for policymakers seeking rational alternatives to the current neo-classical orthodoxy.

This book examines the major economic and political factors influencing China's exchange rate policies from the foundation of the People's Republic to the present. It considers how national economic and political priorities, international influences, domestic institutional interests and the new constraints imposed by China's rapidly globalising post-Mao economy determine exchange rate policy. The authors argue that China's exchange rate decisions were not made simply in response to external pressures, rather that they were formed on the basis of domestic assessments of domestic circumstances to serve domestic interests. They go on to illustrate that such decisions are made on the basis of what policymakers perceive are the nation's best interests, and thus constitute dynamic interplay between national priorities and the interests of institutional and non-institutional actors in the policy arena. Fulfilling the demand for further research on how China formulates exchange rate policy, this book will strongly appeal to a wide-ranging audience including: students, academics and researchers with an interest in political economy, Asian studies, international relations, comparative politics, international business and international economics and finance. Policymakers and bankers will also find much to interest them in this book.

Money laundering is a problem of some magnitude internationally and has long term negative economic impacts. Brigitte Unger argues that today, money laundering is largely linked to fraud and that it is not only small islands and tax havens which launder, but increasingly, industrialized countries like the US, Australia, The Netherlands and the UK. Well established financial markets and growing economies with sound political and social structures attract launderers in the same way as they attract honest capital. The book gives an interdisciplinary overview of the state-of-the-art of money laundering as well as describing the legal problems of defining and fighting money laundering. It then goes on to present a number of economic models designed to measure money laundering and applies these to measuring the size of laundering in The Netherlands and Australia. The book also gives an overview of techniques and potential effects of money laundering identified and measured so far in the literature. It adds to this debate by calculating the effects of laundering on crime and economic growth. This book will be of great interest to lawyers, financial experts, economists, political scientists, as well as to government ministries, international and national organizations and central banks.