Economic sense and nonsense : reflections from Europe, 2008-2012 / Anthony de Jasay ; edited by Hartmut Kliemt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Jasay, Anthony, 1925- author.

Contributor:

Kliemt, Hartmut, 1949- editor.

Series:

Collected Papers of Anthony de Jasay

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Europe--Economic conditions--21st century.

Europe.

Europe--Economic policy--21st century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (311 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Indianapolis, Indiana : Liberty Fund, 2014.

Summary:

Economic Sense and Nonsense comprises a collection of sixty essays written by Anthony de Jasay for his monthly column "Reflections from Europe," on Liberty Fund's Library of Economics and Liberty website. The articles span the years 2008 to 2012 and focus on economic issues of topical concern in Europe. In this collection Jasay continues his explorations of a number of themes that he developed in his earlier articles, such as the importance of property rights, the role of contracts in economic activity, the proper limitations of the state, and the attitude of intellectuals concerning the regulation of the free market. With the outbreak of the economic crisis of mid-2008, Jasay spends considerable time discussing its origins, the reactions of governments in both Europe and the United States, and the ensuing euro crisis, thus adding another dimension to his analysis of the economic woes of the industrialized world. Anthony de Jasay is an independent theorist living in France. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon , Barnes and Noble , and iTunes .

Contents:

""Anthony de Jasay, Economic Sense and Nonsense ""; ""Front Matter ""; ""Title Page ""; ""Copyright Details ""; ""Table of Contents, p. vii ""; ""Preface, p. xi ""; ""Part I. To Spend or Not to Spend?, p. 1 ""; ""1. To Spend or Not To Spend?, p. 3 ""; ""2. Who is Afraid of the National Debt?, p. 8 ""; ""3. Two Cheers For Fiscal Austerity: Part I, p. 13 ""; ""4. Two Cheers For Fiscal Austerity: Part 2, p. 17 ""; ""5. What Became of the Liquidity Trap?, p. 22 ""; ""6. The Archbishop and the Accountants, p. 25 ""; ""7. Two Ways, But Where To?, p. 29 ""; ""8. The Platinum Rule, p. 34 ""

""9. A Fiscal Curb To Tame the State?, p. 40 """"10. Can Sovereign Borrowing Be A Criminal Offense?, p. 43 ""; ""Part 2. The Third Way to Stability?, p. 47 ""; ""1. Greed, Need, Risk, and Regulation, p. 49 ""; ""2. Trudging Down the Third Way, p. 59 ""; ""3. Open Season on the Capitalist Free-For-All, p. 63 ""; ""4. Collective Choice at Work, p. 66 ""; ""5. Instinctive Blunders: Job Protection and Redistribution, p. 70 ""; ""6. In Fantasyland: the Stressless Economy, p. 74 ""; ""7. They Wanted A New Order, p. 78 ""; ""Part 3: The United States of Europe and America, p. 83 ""

""1. The Foolish Quest For Stability, p. 85 """"2. Europeans Know Better: The Atlantic Cleavage on Financial Reform, p. 89 ""; ""3. Our Cherished Optimum Currency Area: Its Trials and Tribulations, p. 93 ""; ""4. Eurozone: It Seemed A Good Idea at the Time, p. 98 ""; ""5. Stone-Age Banking, Anti-Speculation, and Rescuing the Euro, p. 102 ""; ""6. Butcher, Brewer, Baker, Banker: All Must Work by the Golden Rule, p. 106 ""; ""7. Euramerica: A Safety-First Economy, p. 110 ""; ""8. Come and Get Caught in my Trap, p. 114 ""; ""9. The Use and Abuse of Taxes and Tax Havens, p. 118 ""

""10. Russia's Socialist Heritage, p. 122 """"11. Oil, Gas, and Bluster, p. 127 ""; ""Part 4. The Best of the Worst, p. 135 ""; ""1. The Best of the Worst: What Price Democracy?, p. 137 ""; ""2. Is Society a Great Big Insurance Company?, p. 142 ""; ""3. Incomes: Equalizing or Churning?, p. 147 ""; ""4. The Fat Cats, The Underdogs, and Social Justice, p. 151 ""; ""5. Equal, Poverty, Unequal, Affluence, p. 156 ""; ""6. Topping Up Welfare, p. 160 ""; ""7. Is Society A Great Big Credit Card? Part I, p. 164 ""; ""8. Is Society a Great Big Credit Card?, Part 2, p. 168 ""

""9. Class War By Judo, p. 171 """"Part 5. Risks' Return, p. 177 ""; ""1. Solvency and Liquidity: Some Financial ""Crises"" Are More Critical Than Others, p. 179 ""; ""2. A Trillion-Dollar ""Catastrophe""?, p. 184 ""; ""3. Bank, Debt, Sovereign Debt, and the Dogs That Did Not Bark, p. 188 ""; ""4. Is S&P A WMD?, p. 193 ""; ""5. Ned Ludd, Handloom Weaving, and Franco-German Moral Banking, p. 197 ""; ""6. Weeding Out the ""Socially Not Useful,"" p. 201 ""; ""Part 6. Cheap Talk as a Weapon of Mass Destruction, p. 205 ""

""1. Cheap Talk, A Weapon of Mass Destruction: Asset Values, Expectations, and the Apocalypse, p. 207 ""

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-61487-917-6

OCLC:

886540371