Knowledge that Transforms

Jonathan H. Adler of William and Mary Law School reviews “The Chevron Doctrine: Its Rise and Fall, and the Future of the Administrative State” by Thomas W. Merrill. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the standard that courts apply in determining whether an administrative agency has correctly interpreted the statute under which it operates, delving into where this standard – the Chevron doctrine – came from, how it spread, and arguments over its adequacy.”

Evelyn (Wamboye) Nyadwera of Penn State DuBois reviews “Africa and Preferential Trade: An Unpredictable Path for Development” by Richard E. Mshomba. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores nonreciprocal preferential trade arrangements as a form of foreign aid, considering potential benefits and risks of using such arrangements as a means of addressing economic challenges in least-developed countries (LDCs).”

Eric Chyn of University of Texas at Austin reviews “Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman's Bank” by Justene Hill Edwards. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Chronicles the history of the Freedman's Bank from the perspective of the freed people who invested in the bank as depositors and the experiences of the bank's administrators, detailing how Black depositors' experiences with the bank, and the federal government's unwillingness to hold the perpetrators of its demise accountable, represented an under-explored aspect of the White racial violence that characterized Black people's lives during the Reconstruction and during the Gilded Age.”

Sarah Bloom Raskin of Colin W. Brown Distinguished Professor of Practice, Duke University School of Law reviews “Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters” by Leah Downey. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores how decisions about who gets to decide if, when, and on what terms money is created influence the possibilities for collective self-government, investigating the institutional arrangements that determine who makes these choices.”

Ross B. Emmett of Arizona State University reviews “Just Price in the Markets: A History” by Charles R. Geisst. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Traces the historical development of price theory, focusing on debates about the role of equity and morals in society from the time of Aristotle to the emergence of the law of one price.”

Charles Shapiro of University of California, Berkeley reviews “Rethinking Merger Analysis” by Louis Kaplow. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores major questions relevant to the analysis of horizontal mergers, assessing the appropriate way to set research agendas, formulate policy, and determine how best to analyze proposed mergers.”

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.”

Russell Golman of Carnegie Mellon University and Silvia Saccardo of Carnegie Mellon University review “May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do about It” by Alex Edmans. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores how one might separate myth from reality, providing a practical guide to help people think more critically about topics including how to run a company and invest money, what drives global warming and the spread of pandemics, and which policies lawmakers should pass and voters should support.”

Robert F. Bruner of University of Virginia reviews “Busting the Bankers' Club: Finance for the Rest of Us” by Gerald Epstein. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Considers the financial crisis of 2007-09 and the financial reform response, promoting the argument that the source of both the intensity of the crisis and the weakness of the response was the power of a collection of big financial institutions and their supporters that acquired a huge amount of political power.”