Author: Paul R. Krugman

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Pub. in: August, 2004

ISBN: 0393326055

Pages: 480

Measurements: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BA01501

Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0393326055

Paul R. Krugman is one of the best known economists of our time.

For the past several years, one of the first things I do upon logging onto the Internet each day has been to check to see if Paul Krugman's latest column has appeared in the New York Times. Krugman has emerged as one of the very best economic/political commentators in the US. He has done this by making economics primary in considering the political economy, as opposed to those who have primarily focused on the political utility of a theory. For instance, as early as the halcyon days of Reagan's adaptation of Laffer's supply-side economics, that updating of the old pre-depression era version of trickle down economics was seen to be devoid of actual content, even by people like Reagan's budget director David Stockman and conservative columnist George Will. Many conservatives who recognized the conceptual inadequacies of supply side economics nonetheless clung to it because of its political value, i.e., it helped political candidates in elections, although it did nothing to help the economy and pretty obviously did a great deal of harm.
Krugman consistently argues that political policies only make sense if they first make economic sense. Krugman has become progressively political over the years in his writing, but he is first and foremost an economist. And it is as an economist that he finds the policies of the Bush administration so desperately lacking.

The good news and bad news of this book is that it consists primarily of reprintings of Krugman's New York Times columns of the past three years. It is bad news because for my part I would have valued a cogent discussion of the economic impact of the Bush tax and economic policies. It is good news because the columns are all utterly outstanding, and although in a somewhat piecemeal fashion, they do get at the very issues I would most like to see covered. Krugman writes at length about the California energy crisis (which was primarily not the fault of Gray Davis, which his critics allege), the true effects of trickle down economic policies, the nature of Bush's connections with Harken, the absurdities of Bush's claims about his tax policy, and a host of connected issues. There is considerable new material, especially in the introduction, but the heart of the book consists of his columns.

Krugman's virtues as a writer are considerable. He has a real gift at breaking down complex issues into their constitutive elements, and recasting them in ways that non-economists can grasp. His writing is idea-driven and informed by a deep understanding of economics, a profound departure from many writers who decide on their conclusions first, and then concoct a theory to try and give it substance. Krugman has a deep commitment to facts and evidence. A couple of websites have tried to deconstruct much of what Krugman has said (e.g., about employment and the effects of trickle down), but this has inevitably led to a considerable amount of gentle yet firm butt spanking, brought on by the pseudo-grasp of theory by Krugman's would-be critics.

While my first wish would have been for a book of completely new material, I am very happy to have these superb essays available in one volume. Anyone wanting to gain deeper understanding of the economic policies of the nineties and especially of the past two years needs to read this book.

(From quoting Robert Moore, USA)

Target readers: Current econonomics and nonfiction readers, academics, business students and economists.