Library Logo
Normal view MARC view ISBD view

Peddling prosperity : economic sense and nonsense in the age of diminished expectations /

by Krugman, Paul R.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: New York : W.W. Norton, c1994Description: xv, 303 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.ISBN: 0393036022; 0393312925.Subject(s): Keynesian economics | Supply-side economics | Economics -- Political aspectsSummary: The past twenty years have been an era of economic disappointment in the United States. They have also been a time of intense economic debate, as rival ideologies contend for policy influence. Above all, they have been the age of the policy entrepreneur -the economic snake-oil salesman, right or left, who offers easy answers to hard problems. It started with the conservative economists - Milton Friedman at their head - who made powerful arguments against activist government that had liberals on the defensive for many years. Yet when Ronald Reagan brought conservatism to power, it was in the name not of serious thinkers but of the supply-siders, whose ideas were cartoon-like in their simplicity. And when the dust settled, it was clear that the supply-side treatment not only had cured nothing, but had left behind a $3 trillion bill.Summary: Meanwhile, the intellectual pendulum had swung. In the 1980s, even while conservatives ruled in Washington, economic ideas that justified government activism were experiencing a strong revival. But the liberals, it turns out, have their own supply-siders: the strategic traders, whose simplistic vision of a U.S. economy locked in win-lose competition with other countries proved far more appealing to politicians than less-dramatic truth.
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Add tag(s)
Log in to add tags.
    average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
Item type Current location Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Books Books Dhaka University Library
General Stacks
Non Fiction 330.156 KRP (Browse shelf) 1 Available 442633

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The past twenty years have been an era of economic disappointment in the United States. They have also been a time of intense economic debate, as rival ideologies contend for policy influence. Above all, they have been the age of the policy entrepreneur -the economic snake-oil salesman, right or left, who offers easy answers to hard problems. It started with the conservative economists - Milton Friedman at their head - who made powerful arguments against activist government that had liberals on the defensive for many years. Yet when Ronald Reagan brought conservatism to power, it was in the name not of serious thinkers but of the supply-siders, whose ideas were cartoon-like in their simplicity. And when the dust settled, it was clear that the supply-side treatment not only had cured nothing, but had left behind a $3 trillion bill.

Meanwhile, the intellectual pendulum had swung. In the 1980s, even while conservatives ruled in Washington, economic ideas that justified government activism were experiencing a strong revival. But the liberals, it turns out, have their own supply-siders: the strategic traders, whose simplistic vision of a U.S. economy locked in win-lose competition with other countries proved far more appealing to politicians than less-dramatic truth.

There are no comments for this item.

Log in to your account to post a comment.
Last Updated on September 15, 2019
© Dhaka University Library. All Rights Reserved|Staff Login