Harvard University Press - BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

Selling Sounds

Sun, 31 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

David Suisman
From Tin Pan Alley to grand opera, player-pianos to phonograph records, David Suisman’s Selling Sounds explores the rise of music as big business and the creation of a radically new musical culture. Provocative, original, and lucidly written, Selling Sounds reveals the commercial architecture of America’s musical life.
Hardcover May 2009

A Failure of Capitalism

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Richard A. Posner
The financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 is the most alarming of our lifetime because of the warp-speed at which it is occurring. Richard Posner presents a concise and non-technical examination of this mother of all financial disasters and of the, as yet, stumbling efforts to cope with it. No previous acquaintance on the part of the reader with macroeconomics or the theory of finance is presupposed. This is a book for intelligent generalists that will interest specialists as well.
Hardcover May 2009

Starved for Science

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Robert Paarlberg
Foreword by Norman Borlaug
Foreword by Jimmy Carter
In Starved for Science Paarlberg explains why poor African farmers are denied access to productive technologies, particularly genetically engineered seeds with improved resistance to insects and drought. He traces this obstacle to the current opposition to farm science in prosperous countries.
Paperback May 2009

To Serve God and Wal-Mart

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Bethany Moreton
In the decades after World War II, evangelical Christianity nourished America’s devotion to free markets, free trade, and free enterprise. The history of Wal-Mart uncovers a complex network that united Sun Belt entrepreneurs, evangelical employees, Christian business students, overseas missionaries, and free-market activists. Through the stories of people linked by the world’s largest corporation, Bethany Moreton shows how a Christian service ethos powered capitalism at home and abroad.
Hardcover May 2009

Worst-Case Scenarios

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Cass R. Sunstein
Nuclear bombs in suitcases, anthrax bacilli in ventilators, tsunamis and meteors, avian flu, scorchingly hot temperatures: nightmares that were once the plot of Hollywood movies are now frighteningly real possibilities. Sunstein explores these and other worst-case scenarios and how we might best prevent them in this vivid, illuminating, and highly original analysis.
Paperback May 2009

A Nation of Counterfeiters

Fri, 1 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Stephen Mihm
Prior to the Civil War, the United States did not have a single, national currency. Counterfeiters flourished amid this anarchy, putting vast quantities of bogus bills into circulation. Their success, Mihm reveals, is more than an entertaining tale of criminal enterprise: it is the story of the rise of a country defined by freewheeling capitalism and little government control. Mihm shows how eventually the older monetary system was dismantled, along with the counterfeit economy it sustained.
Paperback May 2009

Indian Work

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Daniel H. Usner
Representations of Indian economic life have played an integral role in discourses about poverty, social policy, and cultural difference but have received surprisingly little attention. Daniel Usner dismantles ideological characterizations of Indian livelihood to reveal the intricacy of economic adaptations in American Indian history.
Hardcover April 2009

Republic of Debtors

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Bruce H. Mann
Debt was an inescapable fact of life in early America. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, its sinfulness was preached by ministers and the right to imprison debtors was unquestioned. By 1800, imprisonment for debt was under attack and insolvency was no longer seen as a moral failure, merely an economic setback. In Republic of Debtors, Bruce H. Mann illuminates this crucial transformation in early American society.
Paperback April 2009

Shaping the Industrial Century

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Alfred D. Chandler
The dean of business historians continues his masterful chronicle of the transforming revolutions of the twentieth century. He argues that only with consistent attention to research and development and an emphasis on long-term corporate strategies could firms remain successful over time. He details these processes for nearly every major chemical and pharmaceutical firm, demonstrating why some companies forged ahead while others failed.
Paperback April 2009

Access

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Laura Frost
Michael R. Reich
Foreword by Tadataka Yamada
Many people in developing countries lack access to health technologies, even basic ones. Why do these problems in access persist? What can be done to improve access to good health technologies, especially for poor people in poor countries? This book answers those questions by developing a comprehensive analytical framework for access and examining six case studies to explain why some health technologies achieved more access than others.
Paperback March 2009

Beyond Facts

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Edited by Inter-Amer Dev Bank
Traditionally, the concept of quality of life has been viewed through objective indicators of living conditions, basic needs, or capabilities. In Beyond Facts, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) looks at quality of life through the perceptions of millions of Latin Americans. Using an enhanced version of the recently created Gallup World Poll that incorporates Latin America–specific questions, the IDB surveyed people from throughout the region and found that reality and perceptions of quality of life are often very different. Beyond Facts attempts to explain these differences and consider their implications for both politics and policy.
Hardcover March 2009

A Line Drawn in the Sand

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Phyllis J. Kanki
Richard G. Marlink
A Line Drawn in the Sand captures the determination of several African nations, including Botswana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania, in providing lifesaving antiretroviral therapies to their citizens. By emphasizing the dramatic results that investments in AIDS treatments in Africa can bring, the book provides lessons to nations about scaling up their own treatment responses, hope to individuals and communities confronted with the often devastating impact of AIDS, and inspiration to the international HIV/AIDS community.
Paperback March 2009

Unclogging the Arteries

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Mauricio Mesquita Moreira
Christian Volpe
Juan Blyde
This book explores the impact of transport costs on trade in Latin America and the Caribbean, and argues that transport costs have assumed an unprecedented strategic importance to the region. It concludes that a broader and more balanced trade agenda would bring the long-neglected issue of transport costs to the center of the policy debate.
Paperback March 2009

Government by Contract

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Edited by Jody Freeman
Edited by Martha Minow
Explains the phenomenon and scope of government outsourcing and sets an agenda for future research attentive to workforce capacities as well as legal, economic, and political concerns.
Hardcover February 2009

The Origins of Europe's New Stock Markets

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Elliot Posner
Posner explores the causes of Europe’s emergence as a global financial power, addressing classic and new questions about the origins of markets and their relationship to politics and bureaucracy.
Hardcover February 2009

Capitalists, Workers, and Fiscal Policy

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

Thomas R. Michl
Drawing on the work of the classical-Marxian economists and their modern successors, this book sets forth a new model of economic growth and distribution, and applies it to two major policy issues: public debt and social security.
Hardcover January 2009

Institutional Foundations of Public Finance

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

Edited by Alan J. Auerbach
Edited by Daniel N. Shaviro
Auerbach integrates economic and legal perspectives on taxation and fiscal policy, offering a provocative assessment of the most important issues in public finance today.
Hardcover January 2009

Tapping the Riches of Science

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

Roger L. Geiger
Creso M. Sá
American universities are under increasing pressure to maximize their economic contributions. This book offers a rigorous and far-sighted explanation of this controversial and little-understood movement.
Hardcover January 2009

Governing Nonprofit Organizations

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Marion R. Fremont-Smith
Fremont-Smith argues that the rules that govern how nonprofits operate are inadequate, and the regulatory mechanisms designed to enforce the rules need improvement. Despite repeated instances of negligent management, self-interest at the expense of the charity, and outright fraud, nonprofits continue to receive minimal government regulation.
Paperback December 2008

Horses at Work

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Ann Norton Greene
Greene argues for recognition of horses’ critical contribution to the history of American energy and the rise of American industrial power, and a new understanding of the reasons for their replacement as prime movers.
Hardcover November 2008

The Organization of Firms in a Global Economy

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Edited by Elhanan Helpman
Edited by Dalia Marin
Edited by Thierry Verdier
Presents a new research program that is transforming the study of international trade. Until a few years ago, models of international trade did not recognize the heterogeneity of firms and exporters, and could not provide good explanations of international production networks. Now such models exist and are explored in this volume.
Hardcover November 2008

Practical Idealists

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Alissa Wilson
Ann Barham
John Hammock
This book will help you make the choices that matter and live your life as a practical idealist. Through examples and exercises, this book explores how to clarify your values and passions, gain relevant skills, find work, use college and graduate school effectively, manage finances, and build a community of support.
Paperback November 2008

The Economic Structure of International Law

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Joel P. Trachtman
This book presents policymakers and scholars with an over-arching analytical model of international law, one that demonstrates the potential of international law, but also explains how policymakers should choose among different international legal structures.
Hardcover November 2008

Institutions and Economic Performance

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Edited by Elhanan Helpman
Explores the question of why income per capita varies so greatly across countries. This book is unique in its melding of economics, political science, history, and sociology to address its central question.
Hardcover November 2008

Killing for Coal

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Thomas G. Andrews
This book offers a bold and original perspective on the 1914 Ludlow Massacre and the “Great Coalfield War.” In a story of transformation, Andrews illuminates the causes and consequences of the militancy that erupted in colliers’ strikes over the course of nearly half a century.
Hardcover October 2008

Total Cure

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Harold S. Luft
Proposals to reform the health care system typically focus on either increasing private insurance or expanding government-sponsored plans. Guaranteeing that everyone is insured, however, does not create a system with the quality of care patients want, the flexibility clinicians need, and the internal dynamics to continually improve the value of health care. Luft presents a comprehensive new proposal, SecureChoice, which does all that while providing affordable health insurance for every American.
Hardcover October 2008

Governing the Metropolis

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Edited by Eduardo Rojas
Edited by Juan R. Cuadrado-Roura
Edited by Jose Miguel Fernandez Guell
Translated by Sarah Schineller
This book explores key metropolitan management issues, presents practical principles of good governance as they apply to the metropolis, and unfolds cases of institutional and programmatic arrangements to tackle such issues.
Paperback September 2008

Taxation and Latin American Integration

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Edited by Vito Tanzi
Edited by Luiz Villela
Edited by Alberto Barreix
In South and Central America, a movement toward further economic integration has begun. In the hope of helping to make the process smoother, and to foster a better understanding of the policy actions required, the Inter-American Development Bank studied the impact of trade integration on taxes. Twelve of these studies are collected here in this book.
Paperback September 2008

Innovation Corrupted

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Malcolm S. Salter
In contrast to the time-line narratives of previous books on Enron that offer interesting but largely unsystematic insight into individual actions and organizational processes, Innovation Corrupted pursues a more methodical analysis of the causes and lessons of Enron’s collapse.
Hardcover June 2008

The Race between Education and Technology

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Claudia Goldin
Lawrence F. Katz
This book provides a careful historical analysis of the co-evolution of educational attainment and the wage structure in the United States through the twentieth century. During the first eight decades of the twentieth century, the increase of educated workers was higher than the demand for them. This boosted income for most people and lowered inequality. However, the reverse has been true since about 1980. The authors discuss the complex reasons for this educational slow-down and what might be done to ameliorate it.
Hardcover June 2008

Free Riding

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Richard Tuck
A proposition of contemporary economics and political science is that it would be an exercise of reason, not a failure of it, not to contribute to a collective project if the contribution is negligible, but to benefit from it nonetheless.Tuck makes careful distinctions between the prisoner’s dilemma problem, threshold phenomena such as voting, and free riding. He analyzes the notion of negligibility, and shows some of the logical difficulties in the idea—and how the ancient paradox of the sorites illustrates the difficulties.
Hardcover June 2008