1 comments about Public Choice III.

1. This is a great book! As a political-science graduate student I've been exposed to a great deal of game-theory and rat-choice in my seminar classes, but, unfortunately, it has come in the form of numerous papers, piles of books, and several classes that did not build off of one another. I was left with the feeling that it was a very, very important subject, but it was presented in a manner that left me, as a student, with an incomplete picture of the topic and the breadth of work that has gone on in this field.

   Mueller's achievements in this volume have been three:

   1. Coherent presentation of the theory of public choice / rational politics.

   2. Discussion of the most important empirical work that has gone on in this field in a unified fashion that leads one naturally into further inquiry in this area.

   3. Logically organizes and presents the material in a way that reinforces concepts, logic, and thinking in the book.

   These three things make this book a great review or introductory text to the field of public choice / rational politics that should be on the "must have" list of every serious student of politics and economics. Moreover, not being terribly skilled at mathematics myself, the material is presented both through intuitive written discussions, fairly simplistic "example" equations that are pretty easy to follow if you've had a "principles" microecon course with calculus, and, which I greatly appreciate, a fair amount of graphs. Moreover, the bibliography that the book draws on is very, very extensive...meaning that it has the additional utility of being a handy jumping off point if you're doing research in this area.

   My only complaint, and this is a minor one, is that I would like a bit more math in the book either at the end of each chapter or in an appendix that works out, step-by-step, some of the additional concepts he runs over that aren't dealt with mathematically in the main text of the chapters themselves.

   This, at least in my opinion, is an excellent book for the graduate student interested in learning about public choice / rational politics.

2 comments about When Washington Shut Down Wall Street: The Great Financial Crisis of 1914 and the Origins of America's Monetary Supremacy.

1. In Kazuo Ishiguro's novel The Remains of the Day, a blue-blood guest unmercifully grills James Stevens, the head butler at an English estate. The pompous guest is trying to demonstrate that uneducated people should not have the vote. "My good man," he asks, "do you suppose the debt situation regarding America is a significant factor in the present low levels of trade? Or...is the abandonment of the gold standard...at the root of the matter?" Stevens, aware that the question is meant only to baffle him, replies that he has no idea. Poor Stevens! Anyone without a degree in international finance would have an equally difficult time answering such an abstruse question. That's why this intriguing business history book by William L. Silber is so worthwhile: He brings global finance to life by spotlighting America's 1914 money crisis and by explaining how then-U.S. Treasury Secretary William McAdoo used this portentous episode to establish the nation's financial supremacy. We suggest you read this illuminating work of economic history to understand the seminal events that established U.S. monetary policy.



2. This book is a great read. The topic is fascinating (to me, at least). Some of the material is a bit intricate, but the author does a great job of explaining it. He liberally uses footnotes to explain details which to an economist might be pedestrian but to a lay person such as myself are not obvious. (One ongoing topic is the exchange rate between pounds sterling and dollars, and how that relates to the price of gold and the cost of shipping gold between the UK and the US. He does a great job of walking the reader through the process and the arithmetic.) I highly recommend this book, and particularly recommend it to anyone who wonders what the Federal Reserve Board really does.

5 comments about Debt Virus: A Compelling Solution to the World's Debt Problems.

1. This is one of the most thought- provoking and scary books I have ever read. Clearly solutions must be found to the incredible build up of world debt to avoid world crisis. Dr. Jaikaran has a solution that sounds plausible and I recommend that everyone tell those in power about this book. You will not be able to put it down!



2. Frederick Soddy wrote a book in the 1920's with the same title as my review. Dr. Soddy was writing about the monetary system in England and he reached the same conclusions as Dr. Jaikaran. Dr. Soddy also won the Nobel Prize in Physics for work involving the discovery of Isotopes. Dr Soddy was clearly a very bright man, but after reading his book I must tell you he was obviously better with numbers and physics than he was with the English language.

   Jacques Jaikaran, on the other hand, can write. Dr. Jaikaran and Dr. Soddy reached identical conclusions about money and the way it works in our society, but after reading "Debt Virus" you'll have a clearer, more understandable picture than you will after wading through "Wealth, Virtual Wealth and Debt."

   This is an important book that anyone who earns, saves, invests or uses "money" (obviously I mean everyone) ought to read.

   I interviewed Dr. Jaikaran for a radio show I once hosted and have heard him speak back in 1995. He taught me more about money than I had previously learned in four years as an undergraduate, three years in law school and twenty five years of business. And, he did so in an engaging, easy to understand manner.

   Dr. Jaikaran (he's a medical doctor by the way) learned about money, after becoming a successful surgeon, when he was invited to join a bank board. Being a responsible person, he actually read the materials he was given by the bank, the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve. Then after he resigned from the bank board and after the bank later failed, he translated all of that into English you and I can understand.

   Dr. Jaikaran has made a compelling case that our civilization is piling up too much debt, causing debt inflation and creating dangerous monetary conditions. He also provides intriguing information about who owns the Federal Reserve (it's not who you think), how banking really works, the history of money, where our money comes, what banking systems might offer safer alternative systems from and other important facts. By the way, he's not a "gold bug" arguing for a return to the gold standard.

   But, does any of this really matter to regular people like us? Well, if you paid attention to current events over the past five years, you will have noticed a series of currency crises in Thiland, Russia and Argentina. Those people we watched on television mobing banks, trying to get their money out of Argentina while it was still worth something and worried about the economic survival of their families, could easily have been you and me. Their system is basically the same as ours.

   Dr. Jaikaran is a very bright, forthright and opinionated man with strong views on a variety of subjects. You may disagree with him about somethings, I do; however, I've not been able to find fault with his facts, logic or conclusions when it comes to money and debt.

   If Dr. Jaikaran and Frederick Soddy are right about money and debt, and I think they are, then our monetary system is in grave danger.

   I feel strongly enough about this that I've given this book to at least half a dozen people and suggested it to dozens of others. I would have given more away if I could find people willing to think about money, fractional reserve banking and debt.




3. This book is written at a high school level but it is more
   informative than most college textbooks on the subject
   of money and banking...

   The problem:

   Every dollar in existence represents a dollar of debt owed by an
   individual, a business firm, or a governmental unit. Few
   understand that all our money arises out of debt and IOU
   operations.

   When a storekeeper secures a $10,000 loan from the bank, there is
   no transfer of funds. The bank simply makes a bookkeeping entry
   that increases the storekeeper's checking account by $10,000. By
   doing so, the bank has just created new money. In addition, the
   bank expects the storekeeper to repay the loan with interest on
   the money it created by the bookkeeping entry.

   In an all-debt or debt-dominant money system it is mathematically
   and physically impossible to repay the aggregate debt, for only
   money representing the principal is ever created. The interest
   that must be repaid along with the principal debt is never
   created. For some people to repay their principal and interest,
   their interest must come from the principal created for other
   people�s debt. A deficit in the aggregate money supply thus
   occurs making it impossible for other debtors to repay their
   principal, much less principal and interest. Given such a money
   system, it is only a matter of time before all the wealth of the
   productive sector of society is transferred into the hands of the
   money creators.

   The solution:

   Debt-free money, in the form of "US Notes."

   The dollar bills in your pocket are called Federal Reserve Notes.
   Under the present system, the US Treasury acts as a "print shop"
   for the Federal Reserve. The Treasury only prints money when
   asked to do so by the Federal Reserve System. Its order to print
   money does not come from the President or Congress.

   When the government wants money, it has only two choices, it can
   either tax American citizens and businesses, or it must borrow the
   money from somewhere. When the government borrows money from the
   Federal Reserve, it issues an IOU (a bond) to the Fed, which then
   creates checkbook money by means of a bookkeeping entry. This
   newly created money is then lent to the government, at a price,
   known as interest. In order to pay the interest on this national
   debt, the government either collects taxes, or borrows more money.

   The author proposes that Congress is legally entitled to order the
   US Treasury to print US notes. He goes on to suggest that the
   Treasury should be the only authorized source of money in the
   United States, and it ought to answer to the government. In this
   way, money would be created by government but no interest would be
   owed. This in turn would eliminate the need for an income tax.

   My thoughts:

   The author's solution is similar to what Abraham Lincoln tried to
   do when he issued "greenbacks" to fund the civil war.

   Although the author's presentation of the problem is excellent, I
   have misgivings about his solution. Once the government is given
   the right to print fiat money, the potential for abuse would be
   enormous. For instance, a left-wing government might decide to go
   on a spending spree and propose all sorts of public works projects,
   from socialized medicine to government ownership of entire
   industries.

   Unless equal attention is given to making sure that the power of
   government to intrude into the lives of citizens and businesses
   (both public and private) is limited, the author's solution might
   just put us on the fast track to socialism, and we could end
   up with the very tyranny we seek to prevent. In my opinion,
   debt-free money issued by the government should only be attempted
   if, and only if, constitutional safeguards ensuring limited
   government are in place.

   Ironically, socialism is precisely what the "money power" wants.
   Since they control the government through indebtedness, they would
   like the government to assume even greater control over the economy
   and the lives of ordinary citizens.

   Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. In the final analysis,
   our social problems are not so much political or economic, as they
   are spiritual:

   �If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves,
   and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then
   will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
   their land.�

   II Chronicles 7:14




4. He makes some interesting points. And then repeats them over and over and over. He also gives no suggestion for implementing his solution, other than everyone with a loan suing the bank for loaning them illegitimate money. I believe he is currently incarcerated in a federal prison for tax fraud (claimed Texas was not really a state and therefore didn't have to file tax returns).



5. If you want to understand money, its function, its creators, its effects on society and the ills of all human being, it is the only book that will enlighten you about the dangerous power of banking institutions.

3 comments about Urban Economics.

1. I had "Urban Economics" for one of my urban planning courses at graduate school. It was a pleasure to study the principles and processes of city building, growth and dynamics, through this book. Every chapter in the book can be a title for a separate volume. So this is a very comprehensive overall general view of economics as a determinant of urban development and form.

   I particularly liked the chapters on Urban Poverty and Housing. The chapter on poverty explains issues like income transfers, food stamps and their effect on consumer behavior, problems of inner cities and development policies needed to change that.

   Housing has a great chapter devoted to the peculiarities of housing as a commodity and the effect of race and discrimination on housing patterns. The most interesting part concerns the "filtering" of housing from the upper income to lower income populations.

   Also explained is the auto oriented transportation vs mass transit and their specific roles in shaping cities.

   Highly recommended. Easy to read and understand.




2. STILL IN PACKAGE, book was in great shape, brand new, prompt delivery.



3. It's not the perfect textbook for the subject, but it is good enough that I still use it in my class. I gave five stars to the 5th edition. The new edition has less material and it is organized in a more integrated way, which for some could be better, but I prefer to teach in a more focused way (with each chapter focusing on one issue). Thus, because there is less material and the new organization, I would give 4 stars to the 6th edition. The book is still very comprehensive, although there are topics that could be better explored (either simplified or extended) and in some cases more accurately according to the current standard urban economics. It has a very good survey of empirical evidence (actually the best feature of the book), but they lack details on the evidence and on the limitations of the studies. Finally, the examples in the text and in the end-of-chapters are poor (not realistic, not creative, and not well adjusted to the material in the book). There are no questions to test knowledge, just understanding (however, these questions are not very clear or smart).

No comments about Billions for the bankers: Debts for the people.

1 comments about Transforming Microfinance Institutions: Providing Full Financial Services to the Poor.

1. This edited volume includes contributions from some of the strongest practitioners in the field of microfinance, many of whom work at Accion in Washington DC. A number of the authors have also taught advanced microfinance classes, and this experience comes across in a volume that is both accessible and reflects their ground-breaking work.

2 comments about The Truth About the National Debt: Five Myths and One Reality.

1. This is a must read for anyone who wants to know about the national debt and its significance, or as you will find out in the book, its lack thereof.
   
   The only point I disagree with is his argument of the insignificance of foreign debt. I feel this is still a major issue. Also, he tries to go into other aspects of government funding that are problematic, but I found it very difficult to understand.



2. This is a great book for anyone that wants to know how public finance actually works. After having studied economics for many years, it always gets to me when I hear stupid members of Congress or their political people say that spending is destroying the nation. First, if that were true, maybe they (Congress) should stop spending. Although the stats are a few years behind, it is the facts about the debt that are important.

2 comments about The Politics of Public Budgeting: Getting And Spending, Borrowing And Balancing.

1. Those of you who read Aaron Wildavsky's (1979) "Politics of the Budgetary Process" know the big debate over public budgeting between those who believe public budgeting process is politically incremental and, therefore, who focus mainly on the individual actors and their strategies, and those who propose a more comprehensive and global outlook that focus on dynamics in the larger environment, which subsequently affect and shape how individual actors behave and respond to episodes.

   Rather than approaching public budgeting from the narrow perspective of incremental view of public budgeting, which sees budgeting as negotiations among a group of routine actors, bureaucrats, budget officials, chief executives, and legislators, who meet each year and bargain to resolution, in "The Politics of Public Budgeting" Rubin (2000) develops what she calls "real-time budgeting" perspective, which refers to the continual adjustment of decisions in each stream to decisions and information coming from other streams and from the environment. Streams include:

   The Revenue Cluster: Revenue decisions include technical estimates of how much income will be available for the following year, assuming no change in the tax structures, and policy decisions about changes in the level or type of taxation. Will taxes be raised or lowered? Will tax breaks be granted, and if so, to whom, for what purpose. Which tax sources will be emphasized, which de-emphasized, with what effect on regions and economic classes, or on age groups?

   The Budget Process Cluster: The process cluster concerns how to make budget decisions. Who should participate in the budget deliberations? How influential should interest groups be? How much power should the legislature have? How should the work be divided, and when should particular decisions be made?

   The Expenditure Cluster: The expenditure cluster involves some technical estimates of likely expenditures such as for grants that are dependent on formulas and benefit programs whose costs depend on the level of unemployment. Policy relevant expenditure questions involve which programs will be funded at what level, who will benefit from public programs and who will not, and similar questions.

   The Balance Cluster: The Balance cluster concerns the basic budgetary question of whether the budget has to be balanced each year with each year's revenues, or whether borrowing is allowed to balance the budget, and if so, how much, for how long, and for what purposes.

   Budget Implementation Cluster: Budget implementation cluster concerns the basic budgetary questions of how close actual expenditures should be to the ones planned in the budget, how one can justify variation from the budget plan, and the budget can be remade after it is approved during the budget year.

   According to Rubin (2000), "budget outcomes are not solely the result of budget actors negotiating with one another in a free-for-all; outcomes depend on the environment, and on the budget process as well as individual strategies". "Individual strategies have to be framed in a broader context than simply perceived self-interest" (p. 33). What happens in the clusters consequentially is affected by the global environment of public budgeting and the perceptions and strategies of individual budget actors are adjusted accordingly. The clusters model of Rubin (2000) reminisces the "policy environments framework" (developed by Nakamura and Smallwood [1980]) that views public policy process as a simultaneously interaction among individual actors, elements of importance and arenas of power in three policy environments (policy formation, policy implementation and policy evaluation environments) with each environment having influence on the other ones with the help of communication linkages that let each actor in one environment the opportunity to send message to the others in the other environments. In Rubin's real-time budgeting view, each cluster is imbued with different questions and each cluster attracts a different characteristic set of actors and generates its typical pattern of politics (p. 27) and what happens in each cluster is influenced by the episodes in the larger policy environment.

   Based on the real-time view of public budgeting, Rubin (2000) organizes her book into nine major chapters, with each chapter explaining the clusters in detail and supporting arguments with didactic short case studies. In general, the book provides the reader with a dynamic and rich description of budgeting process in public sector.

   Having reviewed public budgeting process, Rubin (2000) recommends that a balance of power should be established and maintained between the executive and the legislature, so one can catch the other at bad practice-a recommendation running contrary to the argument that to solve federal budget deficit problem either the executive or the legislature has to be empowered.

   Overall, Rubin's book is a well-written, clear, and descriptive account of public budgeting process, and, so entertaining and engaging that create a sense in the reader that s/he should read more about the subject to better comprehend the complexity and dynamism of public budgeting. I recommend "The Politics of Public Budgeting" as a powerful text to those who are interested in the subject. Also recommended are "Politics of the Budgetary Process" by Aaron Wildavsky (1979), "Public Budgeting Systems" by Robert D. Lee and Ronald W. Johnson (1998), "Public Budgeting in America" by Thomas D. Lynch (1995), and "The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process" by Allen Schick (2000).




2. The book was delivered on time just as promised. The book was in the condition described (new). good text book.

1 comments about Paying the Tab: The Costs and Benefits of Alcohol Control.

1. This careful study, clearly written, explores and analyzes the social science literature of alcohol control in the United States since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. The author explains the social costs of alcohol use and, especially, misuse as scientists have come to understand the subject. Professor Cook examines public policy toward alcoholic beverages, including their taxation. The relative costs of alcoholic beverages for the consumer have declined, especially since the 1950s, because of structural changes in the industries that supply them (especially in the brewing industry) and of the industries that distribute them. Those costs have also declined because of public policy decisions, including decisions to lower the effective rate of taxation as Americans have experienced inflation. The result, Cook concludes, is that the social costs of alcohol misuse are not covered by the tax revenues gained form the sales of alcoholic beverages.

No comments about Public Finance and Public Policy: Responsibilities and Limitations of Government.