Economics

Grid view List view Table view

Showing 1–36 of 66 results

23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism

No rating

Ha-Joon Chang’s 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism turns received economic wisdom on its head to show you how the world really works. In this revelatory book, Ha-Joon Chang destroys the biggest myths of our times and shows us an alternative view of the world, including: There’s no such thing as a ‘free’ market Globalization isn’t making the world richer We don’t live in a digital world – the washing machine has changed lives more than the internet Poor countries are more entrepreneurial than rich ones Higher paid managers don’t produce better results We don’t have to accept things as they are any longer. Ha-Joon Chang is here to show us there’s a better way. ‘Lively, accessible and provocative … read this book’ Sunday Times ‘A witty and timely debunking of some of the biggest myths surrounding the global economy’ Observer ‘The new kid on the economics block … Chang’s iconoclastic attitude has won him fans’ Independent on Sunday ‘Lucid … audacious … increasingly influential … will provoke physical symptoms of revulsion if you are in any way involved in high finance’ Guardian ‘Important … persuasive … an engaging case for a more caring era of globalization’ Financial Times ‘A must-read … incisive and entertaining’ New Statesman Books of the Year Ha-Joon Chang is a Reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge. He is author of Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective, which won the 2003 Gunnar Myrdal Prize, and Bad Samaritans: Rich Nations, Poor Policies and the Threat to the Developing World. Since the beginning of the 2008 economic crisis, he has been a regular contributor to the Guardian, and a vocal critic of the failures of our economic system. Author: Ha-Joon Chang ISBN:9780141047973

KES 1,450

After The Music Stopped

No rating

Alan S. Blinder-esteemed Princeton professor, Wall Street Journal columnist, and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board under Alan Greenspan-is one of our wisest and most clear-eyed economic thinkers. In After the Music Stopped, he delivers a masterful narrative of how the worst economic crisis in postwar American history happened, what the government did to fight it, and what we must do to recover from it. With bracing clarity, Blinder chronicles the perfect storm of events beginning in 2007, from the bursting of the housing bubble to the implosion of the bond bubble, and how events in the U.S. spread throughout the interconnected global economy. Truly comprehensive and eminently readable, After the Music Stopped is the essential book about the financial crisis. Author: Alan S Blinder ISBN:9780143124481

KES 1,590

ALCHEMISTS: INSIDE THE SECRET WORLD OF CENTRAL BANKERS

No rating

When the first rumblings of the coming financial crisis were heard in August 2007, three men who were never elected to public office suddenly became the most powerful men in the world. They were the leaders of the world’s three most important central banks: Ben Bernanke of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Mervyn King of the Bank of England, and Jean-Claude Trichet of the European Central Bank. Over the next five years, they and their fellow central bankers deployed trillions of dollars, pounds and euros to try and contain the waves of panic that threatened to bring down the global financial system. Neil Irwin’s The Alchemists is both a gripping account of the most intense exercise in economic crisis management we’ve ever seen, and an insightful examination of the role and power of the central bank. It begins in Stockholm, Sweden, in the seventeenth century, where central banking had its rocky birth, and then progresses through a brisk but dazzling tutorial on how the central banker came to exert such vast influence over our world. It is the story of how these figures and institutions became what they are – the possessors of extraordinary power over our collective fate. What they chose to do with those powers is the heart of the story Irwin tells. Irwin covered the financial crisis for the Washington Post, enjoying privileged access to leading central bankers and the people close to them. His account, based on reporting that took place in 27 cities in 11 countries, is the holistic, truly global story of the central bankers’ role in the world economy we have been missing. It is a landmark reckoning with central bankers and their power, with the great financial crisis of our time, and with the history of the relationship between capitalism and the state. Definitive, revelatory, and riveting, The Alchemists shows us where money comes from–and where it may well be going. Author: Neil Irwin ISBN:9780755362684

KES 1,550

Another Economy is Possible

No rating

Throughout the Western world, governments and financial elites responded to the financial crisis of 2008 by trying to restore the conditions of business as usual, but the economic, social and human damage inflicted by the crisis has given rise to a reconsideration of the inevitability of unfettered capitalism as a fact of life. A number of economic practices and organizations emerged in Europe and the United States that embodied alternative values: the value of life over the value of money; the effectiveness of cooperation over cut-throat competition; the social responsibility of corporations and responsible regulation by governments over the short-term speculative strategies that brought the economy to the brink of catastrophe. This book examines the blossoming of innovative new experiments in organizing work and life that emerged in the wake of the financial crisis: cooperatives, barter networks, ethical banking, community currencies, shared time banks, solidarity networks, sharing of goods, non-monetary transactions, etc., experiments that paved the way for the emergence of a sharing economy in all domains of activity oriented toward the satisfaction of human needs. Other innovations included the creation of cryptographic virtual currencies, epitomized by bitcoin, which blended a libertarian, entrepreneurial spirit with information technology to provide an alternative to standard forms of currency. On the basis of a cross-cultural analysis of alternative economic practices, this book develops an important theoretical argument: that the economy, as a human practice, is shaped by culture, and that the diversity of cultures, as revealed in a time of crisis, implies the possibility of different economies depending on the values and power relations that define economic institutions. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in sociology, economics and the social sciences generally, and to anyone who wishes to understand how our societies and economies are changing today. (less) Author: Manuel Castlells ISBN:9781509517213

KES 2,390

Armchair Economist,The

No rating

Air bags cause accidents, because well-protected drivers take more risks. This well-documented truth comes as a surprise to most people, but not to economists, who have learned to take seriously the proposition that people respond to incentives. In The Armchair Economist, Steven E. Landsburg shows how the laws of economics reveal themselves in everyday experience and illuminate the entire range of human behavior. Why does popcorn cost so much at the cinema? The ‘obvious’ answer is that the owner has a monopoly, but if that were the whole story, there would also be a monopoly price to use the toilet. When a sudden frost destroys much of the Florida orange crop and prices skyrocket, journalists point to the ‘obvious’ exercise of monopoly power. Economists see just the opposite: If growers had monopoly power, they’d have raised prices before the frost. Why don’t concert promoters raise ticket prices even when they are sure they will sell out months in advance? Why are some goods sold at auction and others at pre-announced prices? Why do boxes at the football sell out before the standard seats do? Why are bank buildings fancier than supermarkets? Why do corporations confer huge pensions on failed executives? Why don’t firms require workers to buy their jobs? Landsburg explains why the obvious answers are wrong, reveals better answers, and illuminates the fundamental laws of human behavior along the way. This is a book of surprises: a guided tour of the familiar, filtered through a decidedly unfamiliar lens. This is economics for the sheer intellectual joy of it. Author: Steven Landsburg ISBN:9781471101311

KES 1,290

ASCENT OF MONEY, THE

No rating

Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of our financial system, from its genesis in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. What?s more, Ferguson reveals financial history as the essential backstory behind all history, arguing that the evolution of credit and debt was as important as any technological innovation in the rise of civilization. As Ferguson traces the crisis from ancient Egypt?s Memphis to today?s Chongqing, he offers bold and compelling new insights into the rise? and fall?of not just money but Western power as well. Author: Niall Ferguson ISBN:9780143116172

KES 1,550

Basic Economics

No rating

Basic Economicsis a citizen’s guide to economics, written for those who want to understand how the economy works but have no interest in jargon or equations. Bestselling economist Thomas Sowell explains the general principles underlying different economic systems: capitalist, socialist, feudal, and so on. In readable language, he shows how to critique economic policies in terms of the incentives they create, rather than the goals they proclaim. With clear explanations of the entire field, from rent control and the rise and fall of businesses to the international balance of payments, this is the first book for anyone who wishes to understand how the economy functions. This fifth edition includes a new chapter explaining the reasons for large differences of wealth and income between nations. Drawing on lively examples from around the world and from centuries of history, Sowell explains basic economic principles for the general public in plain English. Author: Thomas Sowell ISBN:9780465060733

KES 4,290

BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE WORLD ECONOMY,A

No rating

In a time of rapid change in the world economy, this fascinating, concise, and user-friendly primer is the most reliable tool for keeping track of what’s happening. What is the new economy? What is globalization? Is the euro the final seal on European Union? How is e-commerce transforming our world beyond economics? What is virtual money, and does it have real value? How do social concerns and societal ills (drugs, poverty, AIDS, endangered natural resources) play a part in the rapidly changing world economy? What are multinationals, and do they signal the end of nationalism? These and many other pertinent issues are addressed in an enlightening and entertaining handbook for those who want to be economically literate (and who doesn’t?). Author: Randy Charles Epping ISBN:9780375725791

KES 1,550

Big Debt Crises

No rating

“Ray Dalio’s excellent study provides an innovative way of thinking about debt crises and the policy response.” – Ben Bernanke “Ray Dalio’s book is must reading for anyone who aspires to prevent or manage through the next financial crisis.” – Larry Summers “A terrific piece of work from one of the world’s top investors who has devoted his life to understanding markets and demonstrated that understanding by navigating the 2008 financial crisis well.” – Hank Paulson “An outstanding history of financial crises, including the devastating crisis of 2008, with a very valuable framework for understanding why the engine of the financial system occasionally breaks down, and what types of policy actions by central banks and governments are necessary to resolve systemic financial crises. This should serve as a play book for future policy makers, with practical guidance about what to do and what not to do.” – Tim Geithner “Dalio’s approach, as in his investment management, is to synthesize information, and to convert a sprawling and multi-faceted issue into a clear-cut process of cause and effect. Critically, he simplifies without over-simplifying.” – Financial Times For the 10th anniversary of the 2008 financial crisis, one of the world’s most successful investors, Ray Dalio, shares his unique template for how debt crises work and principles for dealing with them well. This template allowed his firm, Bridgewater Associates, to anticipate events and navigate them well while others struggled badly. As he explained in his #1 New York Times Bestseller, Principles: Life & Work, Dalio believes that most everything happens over and over again through time so that by studying their patterns one can understand the cause-effect relationships behind them and develop principles for dealing with them well. In this 3-part research series, he does that for big debt crises and shares his template in the hopes reducing the chances of big debt crises happening and helping them be better managed in the future. The template comes in three parts provided in three books: 1) The Archetypal Big Debt Cycle (which explains the template), 2) 3 Detailed Cases (which examines in depth the 2008 financial crisis, the 1930’s Great Depression, and the 1920’s inflationary depression of Germany’s Weimar Republic), and 3) Compendium of 48 Cases (which is a compendium of charts and brief descriptions of the worst debt crises of the last 100 years). Whether you’re an investor, a policy maker, or are simply interested, the unconventional perspective of one of the few people who navigated the crises successfully, Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises will help you understand the economy and markets in revealing new ways. Author: Ray Dalio ISBN:9781732689800

KES 6,190

Blue Economy 3.0, The

No rating

The Blue Economy cites a new business model in China where novel paper production turns crushed rocks, including mining waste that has piled up over centuries into sheets for printing, writing and packaging without the use of water, without cutting down a tree, and recyclable forever. It details how thistles, considered a weed, is turned into a plastic, a lubricant and a herbicide converting an old petrochemical plant into a biorefinery. Author: Gunter Pauli ISBN:9781524521066

KES 3,090

Capitalism and Freedom: 40th Anniv Ed

No rating

Selected by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the “hundred most influential books since the war” How can we benefit from the promise of government while avoiding the threat it poses to individual freedom? In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom. The result is an accessible text that has sold well over half a million copies in English, has been translated into eighteen languages, and shows every sign of becoming more and more influential as time goes on. Author:Milton Friedman ISBN:9780226264219

KES 2,600

COURAGE TO ACT, THE

No rating

In 2006, Ben S. Bernanke was appointed chair of the Federal Reserve, capping a meteoric trajectory from a rural South Carolina childhood to professorships at Stanford and Princeton, to public service in Washington’s halls of power. There would be no time to celebrate, however-the burst of the housing bubble in 2007 set off a domino effect that would bring the global financial system to the brink of meltdown. In The Courage to Act, Ben Bernanke pulls back the curtain on the tireless and ultimately successful efforts to prevent a mass economic failure. Working with two U.S. presidents and two Treasury secretaries, Dr. Bernanke and his colleagues used every Fed capability, no matter how arcane, to keep the U.S. economy afloat. From his arrival in Washington in 2002 and his experiences before the crisis, to the intense days and weeks of the crisis itself, and through the Great Recession that followed, Dr. Bernanke gives readers an unequaled perspective on the American economy. This narrative will reveal for the first time how the creativity and decisiveness of a few key leaders prevented an economic collapse of unimaginable scale. Author:Ben S Bernanke ISBN:9780393353990

KES 2,400

COURAGE TO ACT,THE H/C

No rating

In 2006, Ben S. Bernanke was appointed chair of the Federal Reserve, capping a meteoric trajectory from a rural South Carolina childhood to professorships at Stanford and Princeton, to public service in Washington’s halls of power. There would be no time to celebrate, however-the burst of the housing bubble in 2007 set off a domino effect that would bring the global financial system to the brink of meltdown. In The Courage to Act, Ben Bernanke pulls back the curtain on the tireless and ultimately successful efforts to prevent a mass economic failure. Working with two U.S. presidents and two Treasury secretaries, Dr. Bernanke and his colleagues used every Fed capability, no matter how arcane, to keep the U.S. economy afloat. From his arrival in Washington in 2002 and his experiences before the crisis, to the intense days and weeks of the crisis itself, and through the Great Recession that followed, Dr. Bernanke gives readers an unequaled perspective on the American economy. This narrative will reveal for the first time how the creativity and decisiveness of a few key leaders prevented an economic collapse of unimaginable scale. Author:Ben S Bernanke ISBN:9780393353990

KES 4,500

Crunch, The

No rating

On 9 August 2007 France’s largest bank announced that it had had to suspend trading in two huge investment funds it controlled. The same day three German banks revealed that they were close to collapse. A few days later came the first run on a British bank since the 1860s as vast queues of worried investors besieged Northern Rock. Within weeks, the Government were being forced to bail out this previously little-known bank to the tune of £30 billion, share prices in other mortgage lenders were plummeting, and alarming news about the state of several of the biggest US banks was crossing the Atlantic. What lay behind this series of crippling disasters? In The Crunch, award-winning journalist Alex Brummer painstakingly traces the course of the crisis from its origins in the US ‘subprime’ market to its explosion on to the international scene. It’s a story of greed, mismanagement and dithering in which bankers seeking to make a quick buck, regulators engaged in turf wars and blame-avoidance, and governments paralysed by the sheer scale of the problem all conspired to bring the banking system almost to its knees. It’s also a story of victims: the millions of people in the US who have already been thrown out of their houses, the entire population of the UK who have been co-opted to guarantee Northern Rock with £30 billion of public money, borrowers everywhere who are now finding credit more expensive and harder to get. And, as Alex Brummer convincingly argues, now that recession looms, this is only the beginning. Author: Alex Brummer ISBN:9781847940094

KES 990

CURRENCY WARS:MAKING OF THE NEXT GLOBAL CRISIS

No rating

In 1971, President Nixon imposed national price controls and took the United States off the gold standard, an extreme measure intended to end an ongoing currency war that had destroyed faith in the U.S. dollar. Today we are engaged in a new currency war, and this time the consequences will be far worse than those that confronted Nixon.Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics. At best, they offer the sorry spectacle of countries’ stealing growth from their trading partners. At worst, they degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation, and sometimes actual violence. Left unchecked, the next currency war could lead to a crisis worse than the panic of 2008. Currency wars have happened before-twice in the last century alone-and they always end badly. Time and again, paper currencies have collapsed, assets have been frozen, gold has been confiscated, and capital controls have been imposed. And the next crash is overdue. Recent headlines about the debasement of the dollar, bailouts in Greece and Ireland, and Chinese currency manipulation are all indicators of the growing conflict. As James Rickards argues in Currency Wars, this is more than just a concern for economists and investors. The United States is facing serious threats to its national security, from clandestine gold purchases by China to the hidden agendas of sovereign wealth funds. Greater than any single threat is the very real danger of the collapse of the dollar itself. Baffling to many observers is the rank failure of economists to foresee or prevent the economic catastrophes of recent years. Not only have their theories failed to prevent calamity, they are making the currency wars worse. The U. S. Federal Reserve has engaged in the greatest gamble in the history of finance, a sustained effort to stimulate the economy by printing money on a trillion-dollar scale. Its solutions present hidden new dangers while resolving none of the current dilemmas. While the outcome of the new currency war is not yet certain, some version of the worst-case scenario is almost inevitable if U.S. and world economic leaders fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. Rickards untangles the web of failed paradigms, wishful thinking, and arrogance driving current public policy and points the way toward a more informed and effective course of action. Author: James Rickards ISBN:9781591845560

KES 1,790

Damned Nations

No rating

In 1995, twenty-five-year-old Samantha Nutt, a recent medical-school graduate and a field volunteer for UNICEF, touched down in Baidoa, Somalia, the “City of Death.” What she saw there would spur her on to a lifetime of passionate advocacy for children and families in war-torn areas around the world. Damned Nations is the brilliant distillation of Dr. Nutt’s observations over the course of fifteen years providing hands-on care in some of the world’s most violent flashpoints, all the while building the world class non-profit War Child North America. Combining original research with her personal story, it is a deeply thoughtful meditation on war as it is being waged around the world against millions of civilians — primarily women and children. Nutt’s boundless energy, dedication, and compassion shine through on every page as she lays out real, lasting solutions to these problems and shows how to move beyond outdated notions of charity towards a more progressive, inclusive, and respectful world view. Author: Samantha Nutt ISBN:9780771051463

KES 1,790

Debts,Deficits, And Dilemmas

No rating

This short guide brings together five crucial Economist briefs on aspects of the financial crisis and its consequences into a single, easily-digestible volume. With an introduction by the Economist’s Editor-in-Chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, this is an essential read for anyone interested in the financial crisis and its global repercussions. A free companion work-ebook for teachers and students is available, to extend the discussions raised by the book’s varied topics, which include: Zanny Minton Beddoes’ Introduction. Minton Beddoes explains the significance of the financial crisis for the current state of the global economy and its prospects. The origins of the financial crisis. The effects of the financial crisis are still being felt five years on. What were its causes? The dangers of debt. The role debt and deleveraging have played in the turmoil. Monetary policy after the crash. The unconventional methods central bankers have adopted to stimulate growth in the wake of the crisis. Stimulus v. austerity. The surge in public debt and the debate about how quickly governments should cut back. Making banks safe. The best way to make banks safer without killing lending. Author: Zanny Minton-Beddoes ISBN:9781781253786

KES 1,050

DEVELOPMENT AS FREEDOM

No rating

By the winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Economics, an essential and paradigm-altering framework for understanding economic development–for both rich and poor–in the twenty-first century. Freedom, Sen argues, is both the end and most efficient means of sustaining economic life and the key to securing the general welfare of the world’s entire population. Releasing the idea of individual freedom from association with any particular historical, intellectual, political, or religious tradition, Sen clearly demonstrates its current applicability and possibilities. In the new global economy, where, despite unprecedented increases in overall opulence, the contemporary world denies elementary freedoms to vast numbers–perhaps even the majority of people–he concludes, it is still possible to practically and optimistically restain a sense of social accountability. Development as Freedom is essential reading. Author: Amartya Sen ISBN:9780385720274

KES 1,750

ECONOMICS BOOK, THE

No rating

The Economics Book clearly and simply explains more than one hundred groundbreaking ideas in economics, from the earliest experiences of trade to global economic crises. Using easy-to-follow graphics and artworks, succinct quotations, and thoroughly accessible text, The Economics Book makes abstract concepts of money and trade concrete. The Economics Book includes innovative ideas from the history of economics, from Thomas Aquinas’ rules of markets and morality to Jeffrey Sachs’ theories on international debt relief. Learn about the earliest ideas in economics, such as property rights and the function of money, and progress to present-day economic thought, from explanations on economic bubbles to the relationship between economics and the environment. The Economics Book includes: – More than 100 key ideas and principles in economic thought, from antiquity to present day – Brief biographies and context boxes to give the full historical context of each idea – A reference section with a glossary of economic terms and a directory of economic thinkers The clear and concise summaries, graphics, and quotations in The Economics Book will help even the complete novice understand the fascinating world of economic thought. Author: Niall Kishtainy ISBN:9781409376415

KES 2,750

Economics In One Lesson

No rating

With over a million copies sold, Economics in One Lesson is an essential guide to the basics of economic theory. A fundamental influence on modern libertarianism, Hazlitt defends capitalism and the free market from economic myths that persist to this day. Considered among the leading economic thinkers of the “Austrian School,” which includes Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich (F.A.) Hayek, and others, Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993), was a libertarian philosopher, an economist, and a journalist. He was the founding vice-president of the Foundation for Economic Education and an early editor of The Freeman magazine, an influential libertarian publication. Hazlitt wrote Economics in One Lesson, his seminal work, in 1946. Concise and instructive, it is also deceptively prescient and far-reaching in its efforts to dissemble economic fallacies that are so prevalent they have almost become a new orthodoxy. Economic commentators across the political spectrum have credited Hazlitt with foreseeing the collapse of the global economy which occurred more than 50 years after the initial publication of Economics in One Lesson. Hazlitt’s focus on non-governmental solutions, strong — and strongly reasoned — anti-deficit position, and general emphasis on free markets, economic liberty of individuals, and the dangers of government intervention make Economics in One Lesson every bit as relevant and valuable today as it has been since publication. Author: Henry Hazlitt ISBN:9780517548233

KES 1,650

Economics PB

No rating

Almost everyone appreciates that economics is important. Promises are constantly made which relate to economic outcomes – ‘no more boom and bust’ was one from the last government – but rarely do things turn out as expected. Whether things go right or wrong, the consequences affect all of us. A proper understanding of the subject is essential to making our society successful. Readers are introduced to the essential building blocks of economic thinking through the exploration of real world economic issues. Crucially, Forder goes beyond a basics presentation of what economists say, and asks what economics is, what it does, and when it is useful. Author: James Forder ISBN:9781780746395

KES 1,450

ELEMENTS OF MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS

No rating

Elements of Mathematical Economics is a comprehensive course for beginners in Economics at the University level and equivalent institutions. The textbook presents the essential principles of the subject in a particularly clear and easy to follow format – each chapter discusses a set of mathematical tools, demonstrating the economic application of such loots. In all instances there are numerous illustrative examples and solutions to problems. This simple approach is intended to advantage students with little or no background in either Mathematics or Economics. Commerce, Economics, Engineering, Education students pursuing studies in Mathematical Economics will find this edition valuable in developing necessary computational skills in their areas of specialisation. Author: M.S. Mukras ISBN:9789966447647

KES 1,550

EMERGING MARKETS CENTURY, THE

No rating

Understanding how they have become world-class market leaders, and where they are taking the world economy, is crucial to understanding not only the future of globalization, but the future of Western competitiveness. Each year we are buying more planes from Brazil’s Embraer, refrigerators from China’s Haier appliance maker, smart cell phones from Taiwan’s HTC, and gas from Russia’s Gazprom. How have these relative unknowns come so far in the world markets so fast? What are they doing right that their Western competitors are doing wrong, and how can Western companies face the intensifying challenges and survive? With in-depth, inside knowledge of these emerging powerhouses that’s based on his thirty years of working, traveling, and investing in emerging markets and his extraordinary access to the leading companies, van Agtmael trains his experienced analyst’s eye on twenty-five of the top emerging giants, taking readers into the executive suites and labs where Author: Antoine van Agtmael ISBN:9781847370310

KES 2,150

ERRORNOMICS

No rating

How did security staff at LA International Airport miss 75% of bomb-making materials that went through screening? Which way should you turn before joining a supermarket queue? Why should a woman hope it was a man who witnessed her bag being snatched? And what possessed Burt Reynolds to punch a guy with no legs? Author: Joseph T Hallinan ISBN:9780091932633

KES 1,450

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

No rating

WINNER OF THE 2017 PULITZER PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION* ‘Beautifully written, thought-provoking, and unforgettable … If you want a good understanding of how the issues that cause poverty are intertwined, you should read this book’ Bill Gates, Best Books of 2017 Arleen spends nearly all her money on rent but is kicked out with her kids in Milwaukee’s coldest winter for years. Doreen’s home is so filthy her family call it ‘the rat hole’. Lamar, a wheelchair-bound ex-soldier, tries to work his way out of debt for his boys. Scott, a nurse turned addict, lives in a gutted-out trailer. This is their world. And this is the twenty-first century: where fewer and fewer people can afford a simple roof over their head. ‘Essential. A compelling and damning exploration of the abuse of one of our basic human rights: shelter.’ Owen Jones ‘If I could require the president to read one book it would be Evicted’ Zadie Smith Author: Matthew Desmond ISBN:9780141983318

KES 1,550

Fair Shot: Rethinking Inequality and How We Earn

No rating

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes argues that the best way to fight income inequality is with a radically simple idea: a guaranteed income for working people, paid for by the one percent. The first half of Chris Hughes’s life played like a movie reel right out of the “American Dream.” He grew up in a small town in North Carolina. His parents were people of modest means, but he was accepted into an elite boarding school and then Harvard, both on scholarship. There, he met Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz and became one of the co-founders of Facebook. In telling his story, Hughes demonstrates the powerful role fortune and luck play in today’s economy. Through the rocket ship rise of Facebook, Hughes came to understand how a select few can become ultra-wealthy nearly overnight. He believes the same forces that made Facebook possible have made it harder for everyone else in America to make ends meet. To help people who are struggling, Hughes proposes a simple, bold solution: a guaranteed income for working people, including unpaid caregivers and students, paid for by the one percent. The way Hughes sees it, a guaranteed income is the most powerful tool we have to combat poverty and stabilize America’s middle class. Money—cold hard cash with no strings attached—gives people freedom, dignity, and the ability to climb the economic ladder. A guaranteed income for working people is the big idea that’s missing in the national conversation. This book, grounded in Hughes’s personal experience, will start a frank conversation about how we earn in modern America, how we can combat income inequality, and ultimately, how we can give everyone a fair shot. Author: Chris Hughes ISBN:9781408899809

KES 1,590

Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy

No rating

Based on the series produced for the BBC World Service Who thought up paper money? How did the contraceptive pill change the face of the legal profession? Why was the horse collar as important for human progress as the steam engine? How did the humble spreadsheet turn the world of finance upside-down? The world economy defies comprehension. A continuously-changing system of immense complexity, it offers over ten billion distinct products and services, doubles in size every fifteen years, and links almost every one of the planet’s seven billion people. It delivers astonishing luxury to hundreds of millions. It also leaves hundreds of millions behind, puts tremendous strains on the ecosystem, and has an alarming habit of stalling. Nobody is in charge of it. Indeed, no individual understands more than a fraction of what’s going on. How can we make sense of this bewildering system on which our lives depend? From the tally-stick to Bitcoin, the canal lock to the jumbo jet, each invention in Tim Harford’s fascinating new book has its own curious, surprising and memorable story, a vignette against a grand backdrop. Step by step, readers will start to understand where we are, how we got here, and where we might be going next. Hidden connections will be laid bare: how the barcode undermined family corner shops; why the gramophone widened inequality; how barbed wire shaped America. We’ll meet the characters who developed some of these inventions, profited from them, or were ruined by them. We’ll trace the economic principles that help to explain their transformative effects. And we’ll ask what lessons we can learn to make wise use of future inventions, in a world where the pace of innovation will only accelerate. Author: Tim Harford ISBN:9781408709115

KES 2,690

Fourth Industrial Revolution, The

No rating

The founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum on how the impending technological revolution will change our lives We are on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And this one will be unlike any other in human history. Characterized by new technologies fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will impact all disciplines, economies and industries – and it will do so at an unprecedented rate. World Economic Forum data predicts that by 2025 we will see: commercial use of nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than human hair; the first transplant of a 3D-printed liver; 10% of all cars on US roads being driverless; and much more besides. In The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Schwab outlines the key technologies driving this revolution, discusses the major impacts on governments, businesses, civil society and individuals, and offers bold ideas for what can be done to shape a better future for all. Author: Klaus Shwab ISBN:9780241300756

KES 2,150

FREAKONOMICS

No rating

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime? Freakonomics will literally redefine the way we view the modern world. These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life — from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing — and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics. Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives — how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of … well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan. What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and — if the right questions are asked — is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter. Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world. Author: Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner ISBN:9780141030081

KES 850

Free

No rating

What happens when advances in technology allow many things to be produced for more or less nothing? And what happens when those things are then made available to the consumer for free? In his groundbreaking new book, The Long Tail author Chris Anderson considers a brave new world where the old economic certainties are being undermined by a growing flood of free goods – newspapers, DVDs, T-shirts, phones, even holiday flights. He explains why this has become possible – why new technologies, particularly the Internet, have caused production and distribution costs in many sectors to plummet to an extent unthinkable even a decade ago. He shows how the flexibility provided by the online world allows producers to trade ever more creatively, offering items for free to make real or perceived gains elsewhere. He pinpoints the winners and the losers in the Free universe. And he demonstrates the ways in which, as an increasing number of things become available for free, our decisions to make use of them will be determined by two resources far more valuable than money: the popular reputation of what is on offer and the time we have available for it. In the future, he argues, when we talk of the ‘money economy’ we will talk of the ‘reputation economy’ and the ‘time economy’ in the same breath, and our world will never be the same again. Author: Chris Anderson ISBN:9781905211494

KES 1,400

FREE TRADE

No rating

In this book Australian economist, Graham Dunkley, explains and critiques the crucial concept of free trade. A policy of free trade is central to today’s world-dominating globalization project. The more euphoric globalists uncritically assume that it has universal and unequivocal benefits for all people and countries. And the perpetual negotiations of the World Trade Organization are wholly based on this presumption. Graham Dunkley shows, however, that leading economists have always been more sceptical about free trade doctrine than the dogmatic globalizers realize. There are more holes in free trade theory than its advocates grasp. And the benefits of free trade in practice are more limited and contingent than they acknowledge. He also argues that the World Bank’s long-time push for export-led development is misguided. A more democratic world trading order is necessary and possible. And more interventionist, self-reliant trade policies are feasible, especially if a more holistic view of economic development goals is adopted. Author: Graham Dunkley ISBN:9781856498630

KES 1,790

Freefall: Free Markets and the Sinking of the Global Economy

No rating

This devastating and inspiring book, by one of the world’s leading economic thinkers, lays out not only the course of the financial crisis which began in 2007, but its underlying causes, and shows why much more radical reforms are needed than are currently being contemplated if we are to avoid similar ‘systemic’ crises in the future. It shows why the bailout has been only marginally effective and how it could have been much more so, and outlines the enormous opportunity – not yet taken – to design a new global financial architecture. It is highly critical of many of the actions not only of George Bush’s administration, but also of Barack Obama’s. It shows why the bulk of the cost of recovery should be borne by those in the financial sector – not just for reasons of natural justice, but for compelling economic reasons also. More than any of this, it reminds readers to think constantly about what economies are for, and the human purposes they serve. Freefall is an instant classic, combining an enthralling whodunit account of the current crisis with a bracing discussion of the broader economic issues at stake. About the Author: Joseph Stiglitz Joseph Stiglitz was Chief Economist at the World Bank until January 2000. He is currently University Professor of the Columbia Business School and Chair of the Management Board and Director of Graduate Summer Programs, Brooks World Poverty Institute, University of Manchester. He won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001 and is the author of the best-selling Globalization and Its Discontents, The Roaring Nineties, and Making Globalization Work. Author: Joseph Stiglitz ISBN:9780141045122

KES 1,450

Future of Capitalism: Facing the New Anxieties

No rating

Deep new rifts are tearing apart the fabric of Britain and other Western societies: thriving cities versus the provinces, the highly skilled elite versus the less educated, wealthy versus developing countries. As these divides deepen, we have lost the sense of ethical obligation to others that was crucial to the rise of post-war social democracy. So far these rifts have been answered only by the revivalist ideologies of populism and socialism, leading to the seismic upheavals of Trump, Brexit and the return of the far right in Germany. We have heard many critiques of capitalism but no one has laid out a realistic way to fix it, until now. In a passionate and polemical book, celebrated economist Paul Collier outlines brilliantly original and ethical ways of healing these rifts – economic, social and cultural – with the cool head of pragmatism, rather than the fervour of ideological revivalism. He reveals how he has personally lived across these three divides, moving from working-class Sheffield to hyper-competitive Oxford, and working between Britain and Africa, and acknowledges some of the failings of his profession. Drawing on his own solutions as well as ideas from some of the world’s most distinguished social scientists, he shows us how to save capitalism from itself – and free ourselves from the intellectual baggage of the 20th century. Author: Paul Collier ISBN:9780241333884

KES 2,890

GLOBAL MINOTAUR,THE

No rating

The emerging rock-star of Europe’s anti-austerity uprising.’ Daily Telegraph ‘A spirited book.’ New Yorker In this remarkable and provocative book, Yanis Varoufakis, former finance minister of Greece, explodes the myth that financialisation, ineffectual regulation of banks, greed and globalisation were the root causes of both the Eurozone crisis and the global economic crisis. Rather, they are symptoms of a much deeper malaise which can be traced all the way back to the Great Crash of 1929, then on through to the 1970s: the time when a Global Minotaur was born. Today’s deepening crisis in Europe is just one of the inevitable symptoms of the weakening Minotaur; of a global system which is now as unsustainable as it is imbalanced. Going beyond this, Varoufakis reveals how we might reintroduce a modicum of reason into what has become a perniciously irrational economic order. An essential account of the socio-economic events and hidden histories that have shaped the world as we now know it. Author: Yanis Varoufakis ISBN:9781780324500

KES 1,790

GLOBAL TRADE: PAST MISTAKES, FUTURE CHOICES

No rating

Trade, along with the free movement of capital, is at the heart of today’s international economy. But international trade is an intensely political and contested subject. In this book, Greg Buckman details possible future directions in global energy supplies and balance-of-payments imbalances. He argues that, just as current trading arrangements have been the product of past decisions emerging out of apparently unrelated considerations, so factors like future fossil fuel costs, global warming, and the economic imbalances between North and South are likely to impel a radical reshaping of the WTO and the principles enshrined in its agreements as well as the global trading system in general. A key contribution to thinking about possible trade policy reforms are the reforms and alternatives – themselves not always agreed or sufficiently thought through — advocated by the global justice movement. This book outlines these diverse proposals to make global trade more sustainable in some detail. This book has been written to be both informative and empowering. It is an important contribution to clearer thinking, more effective campaigning, and fundamental policy reform in the field of international trade. Author: Greg Buckman ISBN:9781842775790

KES 1,790

GRAND PURSUIT

No rating

From the bestselling author of A Beautiful Mind, a brilliant new approach to the story of modern economics and to understanding how we got into today’s financial mess. As the twenty-first century faces new and ever more daunting economic obstacles, Sylvia Nasar tells the story of how our financial world came to function as it does today, and how a handful of men and women would change the lives of every person on the planet. Economics was not always associated with bankers and excess, or with recessions and bailouts. Economics, as we know it, was born in the nineteenth century when Charles Dickens and Henry Mayhew chronicled the destitution in London’s slums and wanted to turn money into a force for social good. Man’s material fate would be placed in his own hands, rather than left to destiny. The torch would be carried on by everyone from Marx and Engels to Keynes and Friedman, with revolutionary results. Filled with the stories of colourful lives and visions of the characters who shaped modern economics, Grand Pursuit is a fascinating history of the determining force of the past century, and a vital insight into how our world works now. ‘A history of economics which is full of flesh, bloom and warmth’ The Economist Author: Slyvia Nasar ISBN:9781841154565

KES 1,390

Showing 1–36 of 66 results