Knowledge that Transforms

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.”

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.

Vicki L. Bogan of Duke University reviews “Funding White Supremacy: Federal Wealth Policies and the Modern Racial Wealth Gap” by Robert B. Williams. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores why the racial wealth gap has been widening throughout the last half century, focusing on the current economic system that produces and reproduces racial hierarchy and domination.”

Joshua K. Hausman of University of Michigan reviews “False Dawn: The New Deal and the Promise of Recovery, 1933–1947” by George Selgin. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores how the United States recovered from the Great Depression and whether the New Deal helped or hindered that recovery, evaluating specific policies implemented during this period.”

Peter Cramton of University of Maryland reviews “Failure by Design: The California Energy Crisis and the Limits of Market Planning” by Georg Riling. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Develops a theoretical framework for studying designer markets as planned structures, considering what lessons can be drawn from California's energy crisis.”

Theodore Joyce of Baruch College, CUNY reviews “The Abortion Market: Buying and Selling Access in the Era Before Roe” by Katherine J. Parkin. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the ways that people bought and sold abortion access in the United States, focusing on the amount of money poured into laying the groundwork for that access, including its ultimate legalization with Roe v. Wade.”

Maximilian Kasy of Department of Economics, University of Oxford reviews “The Microeconomics of Artificial Intelligence” by Joshua Gans. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Addresses the economic impact of artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on providing identification strategies for analyzing markets where AI plays a significant role and a guidepost for theoretical developments and empirical hypotheses.”

David Robinson of Duke University and NBER reviews “How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation, and the Fate of Nations” by Carl Benedikt Frey. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the dynamic interaction between technological change and economic progress, highlighting the fragility of progress by means of a historical analysis of autocracies and liberal democracies alike.”

Willy C. Shih of Harvard Business School reviews “Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries” by Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Addresses industrial policy's underlying economic theory, its policy tools, and how these tools have been successfully and unsuccessfully deployed around the world, in the United States, and in several key industries.”