A detailed look at how economists shaped the world, and how thelegacy continues
Trillion Dollar Economists explores the prize-winningideas that have shaped business decisions, business models, andgovernment policies, expanding the popular idea of the economist'srole from one of forecaster to one of innovator. Written by theformer Director of Economic Research at Bloomberg Government, theKauffman Foundation and the Brookings Institution, this bookdescribes the ways in which economists have helped shape the world- in some cases, dramatically enough to be recognized with aNobel Prize or Clark Medal. Detailed discussion of how economiststhink about the world and the pace of future innovation leads to anexamination of the role, importance, and limits of the market, andeconomists' contributions to business and policy in the past,present, and future.
Few economists actually forecast the economy's performance.Instead, the bulk of the profession is concerned with how marketswork, and how they can be made more efficient and productive togenerate the things people want to buy for a better life. Full ofinterviews with leading economists and industry leaders,Trillion Dollar Economists showcases the innovations thathave built modern business and policy. Readers will:
* Review the basics of economics and the innovation ofeconomists, including market failures and the macro-microdistinction
* Discover the true power of economic ideas when used directly inbusiness, as exemplified by Priceline and Google
* Learn how economists contributed to policy platforms intransportation, energy, telecommunication, and more
* Explore the future of economics in business applications, andthe policy ideas, challenges, and implications
Economists have helped firms launch new businesses, establishednew ways of making money, and shaped government policy to createnew opportunities and a new landscape on which businesses compete.Trillion Dollar Economists provides a comprehensiveexploration of these contributions, and a detailed look atinnovation to come.
Robert Litan
Economics Economics Special Topics Spezialthemen Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre
"In his new book Trillion Dollar Economists, Robert Litan of the Brookings Institution argues that the economics profession has 'created trillions of dollars of income and wealth for the United States and the rest of the world.' That sounds like a nice contribution for a relatively small profession, especially if we do some simple arithmetic...The fun thing about Litan's book is that he details many clever little ideas about how to run businesses or to manage the economy better. They lie in the realm of optimal pricing and marketing mechanisms, regulation of monopolies, natural-resource management, public-goods provision, and finance."
--Robert J. Shiller, 2013 Nobel laureate and Yale Professor of Economics
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