Knowledge that Transforms

Michael Luca of Johns Hopkins University reviews “Decisions about Decisions: Practical Reason in Ordinary Life” by Cass R. Sunstein. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the psychological, practical, and emotional factors that inform decision-making processes.”

Elena Carletti of Bocconi University reviews “Unexpected Revolutionaries: How Central Banks Made and Unmade Economic Orthodoxy” by Manuela Moschella. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the development of central banks from the heyday of monetary orthodoxy in the 1980s to the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, explaining why central banks responded to changed economic conditions by breaking with monetary orthodoxy and what consequences this evolutionary path entails for the role of central banks in domestic societies.”

Daiji Kawaguchi of University of Tokyo reviews “Building a New Economy: Japan's Digital and Green Transformation” by D. Hugh Whittaker. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores institutional and ideational change in Japan and whether or not these are coming together to form a new growth model, focusing on the changing nature of the Japanese state and state–market relations, corporate governance, management and employment, education and training, and innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The list below specifies doctoral degrees conferred by U.S. and Canadian universities during academic year July 2024 to June 2025. Lists of degree recipients and subject classifications are provided by the university. Note: Dissertations without classifications may be found under “Y Miscellaneous Categories.”

Elaine Kelly of Institute for Fiscal Studies and The Health Foundation reviews “The Economics of the UK Health and Social Care Labour Market: How Labour Economics Can Inform Policy toward the Frontline Care Workforce” by Robert Elliott. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Discusses economic theories key to understanding the workings of the labor markets for frontline health- and social-care workers in the United Kingdom, focusing on the theories of net advantages, human capital, the production function, the labor demand schedule, and equilibrium in the labor market.”

Karen Dynan of Harvard University reviews “The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters” by Diane Coyle. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the shortcomings in standard economic measurement and why the current metrics miss important considerations, highlighting over a decade's worth of research on questions of economic statistics and measurement.”

This review of liquidity traps unifies three landmark economic downturns—the US Great Depression, the Great Recession, and Japan’s Long Recession—into a single analytical framework. We examine various forces that drive natural interest rates negative: temporarily (such as banking crises and debt overhangs) or permanently (such as demographic shifts and inequality). When policy rates hit the zero lower bound, conventional monetary tools lose traction. Under a standard monetary policy regime, counterintuitive paradoxes emerge: Greater price flexibility deepens recessions, and positive supply shocks become contractionary. We show how policy effects—including the size of fiscal multipliers, forward guidance, and these paradoxes—depend critically on the monetary-fiscal regime and on central bank credibility. The paper explains how regime changes, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 abandonment of the gold standard and balanced-budget dogmas, successfully reversed deep slumps by credibly shifting expectations. We examine whether secular-stagnation forces are likely to assert themselves in the coming decades.(JEL E32, E42, E43, E52, E62, G01, G21)

Editor's Note Our policy is to annotate all English-language books on economics and related subjects that are sent to us. A very small number of foreign-language books are called to our attention and annotated by our consulting editors or others. Our staff does not monitor and order books published; therefore, if an annotation of a book does not appear six months after the publication date, please write to us or the publisher concerning the book.

The categories listed below are used to classify books, book reviews, journal articles, and dissertations indexed in JEL and EconLit. New changes to the classification system appear as soon as possible on www.econlit.org . The JEL classification system may be used freely for scholarly purposes. We suggest the following format: “JEL: A10, B10, etc.”