The author of the widely praised Age of Greed now gives us a bold indictment of some of our most accepted economic theories - why they're wrong, the harm they've done, and the theories that would vastly improve them. Jeff Madrick, a former columnist for The New York Times, is an economics columnist for Harper's, a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books, and editor of Challenge Magazine. He is visiting professor of humanities at The Cooper Union, and director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative at the Roosevelt Institute. His books include Age of Greed, The End of Affluence, and Taking America. He has also written for The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Institutional Investor, The Nation, American Prospect, The Boston Globe and Newsday. He lives in New York City.
About the Author :
Jeff Madrick, a former economics columnist for Harper's and the New York Times, is a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books and the editor of Challenge magazine. He is visiting professor of humanities at the Cooper Union and director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative at the Century Foundation. His books include Age of Greed, The End of Affluence, and Taking America. He has also written for the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Institutional Investor, Nation, American Prospect, the Boston Globe, and Newsday.
Adam Grupper, award-winning narrator, has garnered honors from AudioFile magazine, Publishers Weekly, iTunes, the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences, and the Audio Publishers Association. He has been in eleven Broadway productions, including the acclaimed revival of Fiddler on the Roof. His film and television credits include The Rebound, Homeland, Master of None, Music and Lyrics, Two Weeks Notice, Elementary, and Allegiance.
Review :
"Jeff Madrick argues that the professional failures since 2008 didn't come out of the blue but were rooted in decades of intellectual malfeasance...As Madrick makes clear, many economists have, consciously or unconsciously, engaged in a game of bait and switch...Seven Bad Ideas tells an important and broadly accurate story about what went wrong."
-- "New York Times"
"'Zombie ideas, ' it's been said, are those that should have been killed by evidence but refuse to die. Even more obdurate are the axioms of orthodox economics, upon which pernicious policies are erected. Mythbuster Madrick, in clear and compelling prose, demolishes seven of the biggest of these. May they (hopefully) rest in peace."
-- "Mike Wallace, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and New York Times bestselling author of Close Encounters"
"[A] must-read...In this brisk and accessible volume, which should be on Econ 101 syllabi, Madrick outlines the wrong-headed propositions, fictitious models, shoddy research, and partisan agendas that have made a reexamination of the entire field long overdue, especially in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008."
-- "Salon"
"A readable, useful economic text. Somewhere, John Maynard Keynes is smiling."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"An important and eloquent voice...Madrick's wonderful chapter on efficient markets should be required reading for everyone in the financial world."
-- "New York Review of Books"
"Bankers and economists who failed to avert the [2008] crisis aren't evil, according to Madrick, just misguided, particularly in oversimplifying major economic shifts. This book is an attempt to inject the complexity back in...well worth the effort."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"If there were an eighth bad idea, it would be ignoring this book."
-- "Shelf Awareness"
"Narrator Adam Grupper adeptly narrates this examination of some of the big ideas in economics. Grupper reads in an even tone, using pauses and pacing to emphasize Madrick's explanations and critiques as he tackles each of the seven ideas in turn. Grupper expertly navigates the economic and business terms as well as the plethora of names that have contributed to these economic theories...Grupper's reading, while serious and appropriate for the topic, contains enough enthusiasm to keep the energy high and the listener engaged through all seven of the ideas presented, many of which are widely known, yet will be taken in a new light after listening to this interpretation of them."
-- "AudioFile"
