This is a book of invited essays on topics in economic history that have a direct relevance to present policy debates. Topics include banking regulation, immigration, Third-World development policies, etc. Each essay explores the role of government policies in the outcome of events. All essays are written in non-technical terms and are easily accessible to general readers.

In this witty, accessible, and revealing book, McCloskey demystifies economic theory and practice to show that behind the economists claim to certainty is the ancient art of storytelling. If You're So Smart will engage, enlighten, and empower anyone trying to evaluate the experts who stand ready to engineer our lives. "Writing with delicious wit and great seriousness."--Publishers Weekly. "Mr. McCloskey is more interesting on an uninspired day than most of his peers can manage at their very best."--Peter Passell, New York Times Donald N. McCloskey is John F. Murray Professor of Economics and professor of history at the University of Iowa.

Historians and economists will find here what their fields have in common - the movement since the 1950s known variously as 'cliometrics', 'economic history', or 'historical economics'. A leading figure in the movement, Donald McCloskey, has compiled, with the help of George Hersh and a panel of distinguished advisors, a highly comprehensive bibliography of historical economics covering the period up until 1980. The book will be useful to all economic historians, as well as quantitative historians, applied economists, historical demographers, business historians, national income accountants, and social historians.

The field of economics proves to be a matter of metaphor and storytelling - its mathematics is metaphoric and its policy-making is narrative. Economists have begun to realize this and to rethink how they speak. This volume is the result of a conference held at Wellesley College, involving both theoretical and applied economists, that explored the consequences of the rhetoric and the conversation of the field of economics.

Historians and economists will find here what their fields have in common - the movement since the 1950s known variously as 'cliometrics', 'economic history', or 'historical economics'. A leading figure in the movement, Donald McCloskey, has compiled, with the help of George Hersh and a panel of distinguished advisors, a highly comprehensive bibliography of historical economics covering the period up until 1980. The book will be useful to all economic historians, as well as quantitative historians, applied economists, historical demographers, business historians, national income accountants, and social historians.

The field of economics proves to be a matter of metaphor and storytelling - its mathematics is metaphoric and its policy-making is narrative. Economists have begun to realize this and to rethink how they speak. This volume is the result of a conference held at Wellesley College, involving both theoretical and applied economists, that explored the consequences of the rhetoric and the conversation of the field of economics.

Debating the promises and limits of the "new economic history," seventeen economists and economic historians look at Great Britain, from the peak of her industrial dominance in 1840 to her eclipse by the surging economies of Germany and the United States. Their discussion brings a new methodological challenge to the field of economic history and a new interpretation of the British economy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Debating the promises and limits of the "new economic history," seventeen economists and economic historians look at Great Britain, from the peak of her industrial dominance in 1840 to her eclipse by the surging economies of Germany and the United States. Their discussion brings a new methodological challenge to the field of economic history and a new interpretation of the British economy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.