124 books match the query 'Macroeconomics' and 3 start with l

cover of Labyrinths of Prosperity: Economic Follies, Democratic Remedies

Labyrinths of Prosperity

Economic Follies, Democratic Remedies

Reuven Brenner

University of Michigan Press, 1994

Labyrinths of Prosperity: Economic Follies, Democratic Remedies by Reuven Brenner explores the cyclical shifts in economic thought, specifically focusing on the myths of macroeconomics and their impact on policy-making and prosperity. Brenner questions the scientific legitimacy of macroeconomic theories, highlighting their contradictions and the misleading confidence with which they are presented. He critiques the use of national statistics and macroeconomic aggregates—such as the GDP and unemployment rates—as unreliable bases for policy-making due to their frequent revisions and inherent inaccuracies. The book argues that true prosperity emanates from trade and financial practices that allow individuals to take risks and leverage opportunities, rather than from macroeconomic policies that claim to fine-tune economies around aggregated statistics. Brenner suggests that public policy should shift towards fostering environments where entrepreneurial endeavors can thrive, through mechanisms such as referenda and direct political engagement, to prevent policy errors from persisting unchallenged. By advocating for decentralization, Brenner assigns the responsibility of curbing government excess and sustaining prosperity to the ingenuity and innovation of individuals, thus promoting a political climate that encourages adaptation and economic freedom over rigid statutory prescriptions.
[more]
cover of Latin American Macroeconomic Reforms: The Second Stage

Latin American Macroeconomic Reforms

The Second Stage

Edited by José Antonio González, Vittorio Corbo, Anne O. Krueger, and Aaron Tornell

University of Chicago Press, 2003

Hidden behind a number of economic crises in the mid- to late 1990s-including Argentina's headline-grabbing monetary and political upheaval-is that fact that Latin American economies have, generally speaking, improved dramatically in recent years. Their success has been due, in large part, to macroeconomic reforms, and this book brings together prominent economists and policymakers to assess a decade of such policy shifts, highlighting both the many success stories and the areas in which further work is needed. Contributors offer both case studies of individual countries and regional overviews, covering monetary, financial, and fiscal policy.

Contributors also work to identify future concerns and erect clear signposts for future reforms. For instance, now that inflation rates have been stabilized, one suggested "second stage" monetary reform would be to focus on reducing rates from high to low single digits. Financial sector reforms, it is suggested, should center on improving regulation and supervision. And, contributors argue, since fiscal stability has already been achieved in most countries, new fiscal reforms need to concentrate on institutionalizing fiscal discipline, improving the efficiency and equity of tax collection, and modifying institutional arrangements to deal with increasingly decentralized federal systems.

The analysis and commentary in this volume-authored not only by academic observers but by key Latin American policymakers with decades of firsthand experience-will prove important to anyone with an interest in the future of Latin American's continuing economic development and reform.

Contributors to this volume:

José Antonio González, Stanford University
Anne O. Krueger, International Monetary Fund
Vittorio Corbo, Pontifical Catholic University, Chile
Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, Central Bank of Chile
Alejandro Werner, Bank of Mexico
Márcio G. P. Garcia, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio
Tatiana Didier, World Bank
Gustavo H. B. Franco, former president, Central Bank of Brazil
Francisco Gil Díaz, Minister of the Treasury, Mexico
Roberto Zahler, former governor, Central Bank of Chile
Ricardo J. Caballero, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Philip L. Brock, University of Washington
Stephen Haber, Stanford University
Pablo E. Guidotti, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires
Vito Tanzi, International Monetary Fund
Enrique Dávila, Ministry of Finance, Mexico
Santiago Levy, Mexican Social Security Institute
Ricardo Fenochietto, private consultant, Buenos Aires
Rogério L. F. Werneck, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio
Carola Pessino, Universidad Torcuato di Tella, Buenos Aires
Michael Michaely, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
[more]
cover of Leveraged: The New Economics of Debt and Financial Fragility

Leveraged

The New Economics of Debt and Financial Fragility

Edited by Moritz Schularick

University of Chicago Press, 2022

An authoritative guide to the new economics of our crisis-filled century. Published in collaboration with the Institute for New Economic Thinking.

The 2008 financial crisis was a seismic event that laid bare how financial institutions’ instabilities can have devastating effects on societies and economies. COVID-19 brought similar financial devastation at the beginning of 2020 and once more massive interventions by central banks were needed to heed off the collapse of the financial system. All of which begs the question: why is our financial system so fragile and vulnerable that it needs government support so often? 

For a generation of economists who have risen to prominence since 2008, these events have defined not only how they view financial instability, but financial markets more broadly. Leveraged brings together these voices to take stock of what we have learned about the costs and causes of financial fragility and to offer a new canonical framework for understanding it. Their message: the origins of financial instability in modern economies run deeper than the technical debates around banking regulation, countercyclical capital buffers, or living wills for financial institutions. Leveraged offers a fundamentally new picture of how financial institutions and societies coexist, for better or worse.  

The essays here mark a new starting point for research in financial economics. As we muddle through the effects of a second financial crisis in this young century, Leveraged provides a road map and a research agenda for the future.
[more]