Roger D. Congleton of George Mason University reviews “Free Riding” by Richard Tuck,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Examines the possibility that the phenomenon of free riding, or declining to contribute to a collective project if the contribution is negligible, is a recent, historically contingent concept. Discusses the prisoners’ dilemma; voting and other thresholds; negligibility; rule and act utilitarianism; and perfect competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. Tuck is Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government at Harvard University. Index.”
Larry Samuelson of Yale University reviews “The Foundations of Positive and Normative Economics: A Handbook” by Andrew Caplin, Andrew Schotter,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Fifteen papers, resulting from a New York University conference held in August 2006, consider how best to incorporate new measurement technologies related to choice behavior into the current, united paradigm of economics. Papers discuss the case for mindless economics; the case for mindful economics; what is so informative about choice; two points of view regarding revealed preference and behavioral economics; some thoughts on the principle of revealed preference; mindless or mindful economics--a methodological evaluation; choice-theoretic foundations for behavioral welfare economics; revealed mistakes and revealed preferences; the economist as therapist--methodological ramifications of “light” paternalism; look-ups as the windows of the strategic soul; revealed preference and bounded rationality; the seven properties of good models; researcher incentives and empirical methods; choice and process--theory ahead of measurement; and economic theory and psychological data--bridging the divide. Caplin is Professor of Economics and Codirector of the Center for Experimental Social Science at New York University. Schotter is Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Experimental Social Science at New York University. Index.”
Giuseppe Bertola of Universita di Torino reviews “The Economics of Inaction: Stochastic Control Models with Fixed Costs” by Nancy L. Stokey,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Provides an introduction to stochastic control models in economics that feature fixed adjustment costs or other elements that lead to inaction regions. Discusses stochastic processes, Brownian motions, and diffusions; stochastic integrals and Ito’s lemma; martingales; useful formulas for Brownian motions; exercising an option; models with fixed costs; models with fixed and variable costs; models with continuous control variables; regulated Brownian motion; investment--linear and convex adjustment costs; and an aggregate model with fixed costs. Stokey is Frederick Henry Prince Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. Index.”
Philip J. Cook of Duke University reviews “The Economics of Crime: An Introduction to Rational Crime Analysis” by Harold Winter,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Undergraduate textbook presents an introduction to the economic analysis of crime. Discusses rational crime basics; efficient punishment and fines; prison and crime deterrence; the death penalty and crime deterrence; race and crime; private crime deterrence; drugs and crime; social reforms and crime deterrence; and what economists do. Winter is Associate Professor at Ohio University. Index.”
Neil De Marchi of Duke University reviews “The Patron’s Payoff: Conspicuous Commissions in Italian Renaissance Art” by Jonathan K. Nelson, Richard J. Zeckhauser,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Presents an application of the methods of information economics to the study of art. Provides overviews of the main players--patrons, artists, and audiences; the analytic framework--benefits, costs, and constraints; theories of distinction--magnificence and signaling; and selecting and magnifying information--signposting and stretching. Includes five papers that discuss private chapels in Florence--a paradise for signalers (Jonathan K. Nelson and Richard J. Zeckhauser); commissioning familial remembrance in fourteenth-century Florence--signaling Alberti patronage at the Church of Santa Croce (Thomas J. Loughman); signs of success--Leone Leoni’s signposting in sixteenth-century Milan (Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio); Andrea Mantegna’s Madonna della Vittoria and the rewriting of Gonzaga history (Molly Bourne); and whether image is everything--visual art as self-advertising in Europe and America (Larry Silver). Nelson is Coordinator of Art History at Syracuse University Abroad in Florence. Zeckhauser is Frank P. Ramsey Professor of Political Economy in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Index.”
Matthew J. Hoffmann of University of Toronto reviews “Global Warming: Looking Beyond Kyoto” by Ernesto Zedillo,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Fourteen papers, resulting from a conference hosted by the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization in October 2005, examine the economic, social, and political context of climate policy in both industrialized and developing nations, and consider a multilateral approach that goes beyond the mitigation-focused Kyoto policies. Papers discuss the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change--establishing the evidence; whether the global warming alarm is founded on fact; anthropogenic climate change--revisiting the facts; “dangerous” climate change--key vulnerabilities; the policy implications of climate change impacts; economic analyses of the Kyoto Protocol--whether there is life after Kyoto; the European Emissions Trading Regime and the future of Kyoto; climate change--designing an effective response; an international policy architecture for the post-Kyoto era; controversies of Russian climate policy and opportunities for greenhouse gas reduction; climate policy in the United Kingdom; Canada’s approach to tackling climate change; India and climate change--mitigation, adaptation, and a way forward; and correct choices for China--energy conservation, a cyclic economy, and a conservation-minded society. Zedillo is Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization and Professor in the field of international economics and politics at Yale University. Index.”
John P. Bonin of Wesleyan University reviews “From Socialism to Capitalism: Eight Essays” by Janos Kornai,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Presents comparisons of socialism and capitalism, and dictatorship and democracy, with an interpretation of the “change of system.” Discusses the coherence of the classical system; the inner contradictions of reform socialism; market socialism or socialist market economy; the speed of transformation; the great transformation of Central Eastern Europe--success and disappointment; what “change of system” means; what countries embarking on postsocialist transformation can learn from the experiences so far; and the system paradigm. Kornai is Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, Permanent Fellow Emeritus of Collegium Budapest, Institute for Advanced Study, and Distinguished Research Professor at Central European University. Name and subject indexes.”
Petra Moser of Stanford University and NBER reviews “Financing Innovation in the United States, 1870 to the Present” by Naomi R. Lamoreaux, Kenneth L. Sokoloff,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Eleven papers examine the ways in which innovation has been funded in the United States at different stages of economic development, beginning with the post-Civil War period of the Second Industrial Revolution. Papers discuss financing invention during the Second Industrial Revolution--Cleveland, Ohio, 1870-1920; the organizing and financing of innovative companies in the evolution of the U.S. automobile industry; why finance capitalism and the Second Industrial Revolution arose in the 1890s; funding new industries--a historical perspective on the financing role of the U.S. stock market in the twentieth century; stock market swings and the value of innovation, 1908-29; financing fiber--Corning’s invasion of the telecommunications market; the federal role in financing major innovations--information technology during the postwar period; learning the hard way--IBM and the sources of innovation in early computing; trading knowledge--an exploration of patent protection and other determinants of market transactions in technology and research and development; the governance of new firms--a functional perspective; and real effects of knowledge capital on going public and market valuation. Lamoreaux is Professor in the Departments of Economics and History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Sokoloff is Professor of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Vice President of the Economic… Index.”
Jessica Goldberg of University of Michigan reviews “Youth in Africa’s Labor Market” by Marito Garcia, Jean Fares,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Eleven papers examine the challenges African youth face in their transition to work and present a strategy for meeting these challenges. Papers discuss why it is important for Africa to invest in its youth (Marito Garcia and Jean Fares); transitions to working life for Africa’s youth (Garcia and Fares); how Africa’s young people spend their time (Garcia and Fares); the effect of education on income and employment (Garcia and Fares); working in bad jobs or not working at all (Garcia and Fares); the three pillars of policy--lessons from international experience (Garcia and Fares); school-to-work transitions--a regional overview (Lorenzo Guarcello, Marco Manacorda, Furio Rosati, Fares, Scott Lyon, and Cristina Valdivia); what determines labor market participation by youth in Burkina Faso (Daniel Parent); child labor and youth employment in Ethiopia (Guarcello, Lyon, and Rosati); youth in the labor market and the transition from school to work in Tanzania (Florence Kondylis and Manacorda); and how universal primary education affected returns to education and labor market participation in Uganda (Lisa Dragoset and Lars Vilhuber). Garcia is Lead Economist with the World Bank’s Human Development Department, Africa Region. Fares is Senior Economist with the World Bank’s Human Development Network. Index.”
Miki Seko of Keio University reviews “Accelerating Japan’s Economic Growth: Resolving Japan’s Growth Controversy” by F. Gerard Adams, Lawrence R. Klein, Yuzo Kumasaka, Akihiko Shinozaki,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Explores the impact of the information technology (IT) revolution on the Japanese production function using an econometric model of Japan and simulation studies based on a theoretical framework. Discusses the economic growth record in Japan; the challenges to Japanese economic growth; the IT/e-business revolution and globalization--implications of the New Economy for Japan; IT and productivity growth--a theoretical and empirical framework; the East Asian growth process and IT--implications for Japan; information and communications technology and productivity growth in Japan; revisiting Japanese industrial organization and the corporate system; a case study of government policy and the telecommunications market in Japan; IT-related development and policy--some examples from the United States with relevance to Japan; estimating a new economy production function for Japan; simulation studies for accelerating Japanese economic growth; policies to achieve faster economic growth in Japan; and accelerating Japan’s economic growth. Adams is Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. Klein is a Nobel Laureate and Benjamin Franklin Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. Kumasaka is CEO of IT Economy Advisers. Shinozaki is a professor at Kyushu University. Index.”