front cover of The ABCs of Political Economy
The ABCs of Political Economy
A Modern Approach
Robin Hahnel
Pluto Press, 2014
In the wake of the economic disasters of the past decade, perhaps we could all use a refresher course in economics to help us understand. The ABCs of Political Economy provides a lively and accessible introduction to modern political economy. In this compelling book, informed by the work of such eminent economic philosophers as Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, Michal Kalecki, Joan Robinson, and Hyman Minksy, Robin Hahnel provides the essential tools to comprehend today’s economic crises.
            Hahnel explains the origins of the financial crisis of 2008, the ensuing “Great Recession,” and why government policies in Europe and North America over the past six years have failed to improve matters for the majority of their citizens. It also helps explain the economic causes of climate change and what will be required if it is to be resolved effectively and fairly. The ABCs of Political Economy is perfect for anyone who wants to equip themselves with the ability to grasp as well as challenge existing preconceptions of political economy.
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front cover of The ABCs of RBCs
The ABCs of RBCs
An Introduction to Dynamic Macroeconomic Models
George McCandless
Harvard University Press, 2008

The ABCs of RBCs is the first book to provide a basic introduction to Real Business Cycle (RBC) and New-Keynesian models. These models argue that random shocks—new inventions, droughts, and wars, in the case of pure RBC models, and monetary and fiscal policy and international investor risk aversion, in more open interpretations—can trigger booms and recessions and can account for much of observed output volatility.

George McCandless works through a sequence of these Real Business Cycle and New-Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models in fine detail, showing how to solve them, and how to add important extensions to the basic model, such as money, price and wage rigidities, financial markets, and an open economy. The impulse response functions of each new model show how the added feature changes the dynamics.

The ABCs of RBCs is designed to teach the economic practitioner or student how to build simple RBC models. Matlab code for solving many of the models is provided, and careful readers should be able to construct, solve, and use their own models.

In the tradition of the “freshwater” economic schools of Chicago and Minnesota, McCandless enhances the methods and sophistication of current macroeconomic modeling.

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