The Boom and The Bubble: The US in the World Economy

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Providing Perspective

Contrarian View of the Global Economy

Apocalpyse Now

Refreshing views, but a bit overwelming by details

The Boom and The Bubble: The US in the World Economy
Robert Brenner
Manufacturer: Verso
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1859844839

Book Description

Only a handful of years ago, the world economy seemed poised on the edge of catastrophe, as financial firestorms ripped through East Asia, Russia and Latin America. A sustained period of significant growth in the US, however, seemed to save the day against all the odds. So impressive was the surface appearance of this rescue mission that all manner of commentators proclaimed—once again—that a 'new economy' or 'new paradigm' of unlimited and harmonious growth had been forged. Today, as recession looms, the babble about Internet start-ups is exposed as vapid. Yet the pundits are no nearer an understanding of how or why the boom turned into a bubble, or why the bubble has burst.

In this crisp and far-sighted book, Robert Brenner demonstrates that the "New Economy" was always a fragile phenomenon that never broke free from fundamental problems continuing to afflict the global economy. Carefully dismantling the myths and hype that surround the US expansion, he shows that transcending economic stagnation in the near future is anything but a foregone conclusion.

Customer Reviews:

Providing Perspective.......2004-05-08

Picking up a book about economics is often like checking in with an accountant: it's no fun, but it may save trouble later on. Fortunately, Brenner's is a rewarding call to make. The text is accessible to the non-professional as well as the professional, although a familiarity with market fundamentals such as exchange rates, balance of payments, and other tools of the trade, is assumed. From the text, I gathered two key points that I believe can be capsulized. First, the so-called New Economy, touted by many stock market cheerleaders, was built on little more than old-fashioned market speculation plus timely intervention by central banker Greenspan. Moreover, the process was doomed once the disconnect between share prices and profit rates became too great, as it eventually did. Against this background, extravagant projections of New Economy iconoclasts like Newt Gingrich (Brenner himself names no names) should be measured, along with a stern warning for the future. Second, are two deeper, more ominous developments: namely, international overcapacity and falling profit rates, twin trends that have plagued industrial economies since the early 1970's. Against this backdrop, which Brenner also charts, longer-term prospects should be measured, even as international bankers tinker with short-term, burden-shifting measures like exchange rates. And though Brenner acknowledges the anodyne impact of military spending, he draws no conclusions about its future amidst a sagging GDP.Yes, the book is heavy with graphs, nonertheless the author can't be expected to substantiate his case without strong evidence. Moreover, Brenner's refreshing approach places the New Economy in a broader-than-usual context that furnishes the reader with an informed historical perspective. In most every respect, this is a check-in call worth making.

Contrarian View of the Global Economy.......2004-05-02

This book is a detailed history of the global economy during the last three decades of the 20th century, with a particular emphasis on the U.S. "boom" in the 1990s. The basic idea is that global manufacturing overcapacity has put downward pressure on profits and made it hard for the key manufacturing centers -- Europe, the U.S., Japan, and East Asia -- to prosper simultaneously. Instead, prosperity tends to shift from one center to the other in the wake of shifting exchange rates.

The U.S. had a good run after 1985, when manufacturing profitability was restored because of currency depreciation, tax cuts, stagnant wage growth, and the slaughter of high-cost producers by high interest rates and cheap imports after 1980. A dollar revaluation in 1995 squeezed American manufacturers all over again -- but consumption and investment kept booming for a few years because of a "wealth effect" caused by inflated stock prices. However, since profits were actually declining while the stock market was going into orbit, the good times couldn't last forever. The huge investment in telecom and IT turned out to be overinvestment, contributing to the problem of overcapacity and leading to the recession of 2002.

In all, Brenner's book is a fascinating, neo-Marxist view of the economy, which poses a deep challenge to the prevailing "triumphalist" view of markets. The focus on profits as the key driver of economic performance is refreshing and realistic. I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 only because the writing is unbelievably dry -- the book, basically, is a 300-page analysis of official statistics -- and because Brenner doesn't give provide much political context for his economic analysis.

Apocalpyse Now.......2002-11-19

Contrary to one reviewer, I found this book truly engrossing. Brenner powerfully summarizes how the rate of profit of world manufacturing fell (with its many implications). To rectify this problem, Greenspan made borrowing easier. As an aside, he notes how CEO's then used their corporations to borrow and buy the very stocks on which their options were based, thereby enriching themselves in a speculative frenzy. However, this is hardly the story: Brenner's analysis explains the crushing attacks on social spending as well as our current war drive--suggesting how this too will fail, leaving only the historic capitalist method for eliminating overcapacity, the elimination of enterprises by economic crisis.

Refreshing views, but a bit overwelming by details.......2002-07-31

The book gives good insight in US economic and financial development during the 1990-ies. Brenner argues well for his criticism of the uniqueness of the so called New Economy, of which he must be regarded as a great disbeliever. It is also refreshing to read a well documented criticism of US monetary policy under Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, whom Brenner sees as a player with heavy responsibility of the unprecedented inflation of US equity prices in the last half of the 1990-ies. Unfortunately Brenner's prose is rather dry and his text is accompanied by a high density of numbers. This documents his arguments well but demands great patience from the lay reader.
The book went to the press in mid 2001 which naturally leaves out the market turbulence July 2002. Nevertheless his analysis gives the patient reader a solid background for understanding the recent developments in US financial markets. And what may be in store...

Book Description

This book provides unique insight into the use of intranets and extranets. Corporate intranets and the use of internet technology are relatively recent phenomena and the development of these technologies is now fuelling the most significant changes in corporate infrastructure since the development of the PC. The impact is likely to be even greater and is heralding radical changes in the way organizations operate.

Book Description

In Dreamers and Defenders Douglas H. Strong relates the triumphs and defeats of twelve environmentalists from Henry David Thoreau to Barry Commoner. Their biographies form the dramatic and ongoing story of the conservation movement in America. Beginning with Thoreau, Frederick Law Olmsted, and George Perkins Marsh, Strong shows that conservation enjoyed the support of a few writers and scientists even in the heyday of land development in the mid-nineteenth century. Later chapters are devoted to John Wesley Powell, who after the Civil War attempted to introduce enlightened land policies in the arid West; Gifford Pinchot, Theodore Roosevelt's chief forester; ]ohn Muir, who popularized the gospel of wilderness preservation; Stephen Mather, who launched the National Park Service; and Aldo Leopold, advocate of an ethical attitude toward the land. Other chapters deal with Harold Ickes, who as Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretary of the interior spurred conservation efforts and encouraged economic recovery from the Great Depression; David Brower, the controversial executive director of the Sierra Club; and Rachel Carson and Barry Commoner, who alerted Americans to the dangers of an environment increasingly polluted by toxic chemicals. Douglas H. Strong, a professor of history at San Diego State University, is the author of Tahoe: An Environmental History (Nebraska).

DREAMERS & DEFENDERS American Conservationists

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DREAMERS & DEFENDERS American Conservationists
Douglas H. Strong
Manufacturer: University Of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NVYOCG

Book Description

In World War II, aboard the aircraft carrier Saratoga, Captain Robert Beebe dreamed of one day retiring and cruising the world in a small boat. At that time world cruisers voyaged exclusively in sailboats. But sailboats are confined to narrow lanes of predominantly favorable winds, which can be unpredictable and difficult. Beebe wanted to arrive at distant ports relaxed and on time, not battered and two months late. He wanted to voyage under power.

Back in the 1940s, no suitable long-distance powerboats existed. Beebe literally had to invent modern powerboat voyaging from scratch. The design parameters he developed for long-distance powerboats are still in use by naval architects today. The resulting boat, Passagemaker, was home to the Beebes for many years and more than 60,000 ocean-crossing miles. What Beebe learned in those years of voyaging became, in 1974, Now, under the able pen of world cruiser Jim Leishman, Beebe's classic Voyaging Under Power has received its first complete overhaul. The core of the book is vintage Beebe; his designs, his research, and his wonderful cruising stories remain intact. What's new are details of the advances of the intervening years: electronic wizardry for navigation and communication; efficient new engines that wring more miles out of a gallon of diesel fuel; active roll-prevention devices that virtually eliminate seasickness; propeller nozzles and bow thrusters that improve maneuverability and ease handling for short-handed crews; bulbous bow extensions that improve speed, fuel economy, and sea-keeping ability. There's an all-new section featuring the work of other designers, including George Buehler, Jay Benford, James Krogan, Jeff Leishman, Nils Lucander, Charles Neville, and Steven Seaton. Mrs. Beebe has thoroughly revised her original chapter on provisioning the long-distance galley, and there are several new chapters, including Inland Voyaging, which covers long-distance cruising on American inland waterways; Watch-Standing; and A Passagemaker's Machinery.

Voyaging Under Power is the definitive guide for those who yearn to expand their cruising horizons, and cross oceans with speed and comfort.

Customer Reviews:

Out There.......2007-03-29

This book is a good read even if you are not venturing far. The update has been well done although has come in for some flak from the purists. It gives a snapshot into how far technolgy has come in the 40 or so years since Beebe started writing.

Voyaging Under Power.......2007-03-14

Very interesting especially from a technical standpoint. A little dry at times and I would have liked a little more personal experience sections. However, I am not finished with it yet, other problems having erupted.

Beebe is the original long distance power boat guru.......2006-11-18

Beebe is the grandaddy of long range power boating. Once he retired from the navy, he had it in his mind to pack up his wife and some friends and see the world in a small boat. When he originally planned this, he had intended to sail, but he came to realize that a round-bottom hull, combined with a small diesel engine was actually *more* economical than attempting to sail long distance. Sailcloth deteriorates faster than you can burn the equivalent of diesel fuel in an efficient motorboat. This book contains many interesting technical graphs and suchlike from which a builder can design a craft capable of world travel. It also goes over essential equipment, layout and other things a squid like me would never think of. The modern revisions, unfortunately, reflect a slightly different philosophy from the original: with a heavier emphasis on buying fat, expensive turnkey systems with elaborate onboard electrical systems (electric air conditioning, electric hot and cold runnig water, electric winches, electric blah blah blah). Trawler Yachts, basically: the guy who did the rewrite of the original book (written in the 1960s) operates the Nordhaven company, which makes such $700k pleasure boats.

A great refernce.......2006-11-10

This book is a great reference in trawler boats and crossing ocean reference. I really recomend this book for someone who is envolve in boat building, trawlering and voayge over oceans;

Ulysses in a world cruising power boat.......2006-05-02

Although I have never ventured beyond the horizon -- fish for blues out to 25 miles offshore--- I have been fascinated with the modern equivalents of Homer's fabled voyager. This book brings Homer's world-travelling explorer into the 21st century. Make no mistake, this is not a tale of imaginary voyages, but an eminently practical guide for those who would cross oceans
in engine powered craft to experience exotic and beautiful vistas. Of course you need upwards of half a million bucks to spend on a world-cruising seaworthy vessel. Beebe never envisioned the exorbitant cost of the trawler market when he designed his original passagemaker. He did lay out some very methodical formulae and building guides for follow-up vessels. The epitome of the lessons from
the first edition were realized by Jim Leishman, author/editor of the revised edition. His Nordhavn 46, and better, his Nordhavn 62, design are the fulfillment of Beebe's directives.
Unlike another reviewer, I did not find that his revisions smacked of a Nordhavn commercial. He included many other contemporary builders' designs and was fair in his assessments of these boats. All in all, the book is THE bible of offshore and trans-oceanic power cruising. The practical aspects of buying and fitting out a vessel, provisioning it for the voyage, and navigating in mid-ocean as well as in shoal waters, are set out in a lively and clear manner.

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Voyaging Under Power : Third Edition
revised by James Leishman Capt. Robert Beebe
Manufacturer: International Marine Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KERL1C

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Voyaging Under Power
revised by James Leishman Capt. Robert Beebe
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OG9DB2

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Book Description

Offers board members a clear understanding of the concepts and principles that are at the very heart of John Carver's innovative Policy Governance model. Presents the guidelines needed to transform your board members into a unified group that consistently makes powerful contributions to its organization.

Customer Reviews:

Carver guides are very god for the non profit board.......2005-07-20

This is the secong not-for-profit organization that I have directed. I have used this guide and the subsequent Carver guides to help with organizing and direction setting. Volunteer board members always respond well to the material. It is easy to understand yet the Carver model is very comprehensive. I would recommend this to any organization that is engaged in charitable work.

Excellent overview of Carver's Policy Governance theory ........1998-10-30

This first in a 12-part series of general guides on Policy Governance is a great introduction to author John Carver's new approach to nonprofit board development. Basically, this approach clearly separates the roles of board and staff as they go about their separate but related jobs of organizational governance and management. Policy Governance clarifies these roles through policy development and permits the board---governing as a body---to control the management and direction of the organization in a global policy approach. This guide is a good start in grasping the concepts of the approach.

Customer Reviews:

This book was great........1998-07-28

I really,really like this book.It is the 1st best book I have read so far.I hope you will to. For all of the other people who haven't read this book you will really like it.It was really,really,really great.I really hope you really like this book just as much as I do.I also hope you like the other CLUELESS books.Dude with a Tude is one of the best Clueless books.It is so good.

Book Description

This book fills the huge gap between what companies and clients expect from coaching and what it actually does for them. Zeroing in on this popular technique to develop today's leaders, improve performance, and facilitate change, the book shows how to deliver coaching that helps anyone achieve extraordinary results.

Customer Reviews:

Best Coaching Book I've Read.......2005-08-03

What I like about this book are the concrete examples they give of "almost" coaching and best coaching. The best coaching book I've read. Recommended it to all laypeople looking to be better coaches.

Research-Based Approach Raises Coaching to a New Level.......2003-10-13

Over the past decade, the concept of coaching in the business world has become so ingrained that it's part of the landscape. A wide range of conversations, methods of feedback delivery, and relationships have been accepted as coaching in a rather loose collection of techniques...and results. As we move into an increasingly challenging period for employers, leaders must become substantially more effective at this process we describe as coaching. A whole new generation of leaders must be taught, coached, and brought to a higher level of performance.

Bacon and Spears, experienced in coaching more than 2,000 individual clients in Fortune 500 companies, share their knowledge and experience. Their researched-based approach emphasizes the skills needed by coaches and that coaching styles must be adapted to what the client needs. The eight styles they identify are directive (teacher, parent, manager, philosopher) and non-directive (facilitator, counselor, colleague, mentor). This model alone will expand, deepen, and enrich the work done by the vast majority of coaches in the corporate world.

The book offers even more, delivering checklists, assessment tools, tips and tools, and a wealth of sample coach-client dialogues. Recognizing the special opportunities the future will hold, the authors include insights into coaching across cultures, across generations, as well as coaching women, minorities, and C-level executives.

An epilogue with even more perspectives adds value to this volume, as do the reference section and comprehensive index. This is not a book for readers who simply want to gain a few insights into improving their coaching effectiveness. You'll learn, but you'll be overwhelmed. Adaptive Coaching is like a college textbook on the topic. It's a heavy, deep, and thorough treatment with relatively small type. The $39.95 price suggests that this is more than the average airplane reading management book...and it is. If you're serious about the critical and fine art of coaching in the complicated corporate environment, you'll gain considerable knowledge, insight, and growth from this book.

Side note: I am the author of Impending Crisis: Too Many Jobs, Too Few People. As a workforce futurist, I see what's coming... including a dangerous dearth of leadership. Application of the principles in this book will help today's leaders strengthen each other and the next generation of leaders.

Book Description

Between 1977 and 1997, there was a precipitous decline in the proportion of workers with median education (12 years or less) who were represented by a labor union, from 29 to 14 percent ; unionization proportions declined much less among workers with above-median education (19 to 13 percent). The union wage premium also declined for basically-educated workers, from 58 to 51 percent, whereas it rose slightly for better educated unionists, from 18 to 19 percent. Thus, whatever safety net that American unions provide was disproportionately lost by the less-educated workers who arguably need it most.

In this study, Robert E. Baldwin investigates the role of changes in U.S. imports and exports in explaining this dramatic decline. The main analysis (which includes workers in manufacturing as well as service sectors) relates changes in the number of union workers across industries to changes in domestic spending, imports, exports, and the intensity in which labor is used across these industries for both union and nonunion workers. Baldwin finds that although globalization (in the sense of increased trade) seems to have contributed only modestly to the general decline in unionization, it has, more importantly, contributed to the decline of unionization among workers with less education. The study concludes with a discussion of the implication of this and the other findings for governmental policy and for the policy position of unions toward globalization.

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The Decline of U.S. Labor Unions and the Role of Trade.(Book Review) : An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Dell Champlin
Manufacturer: Association for Evolutionary Economics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0009GTQHI
Release Date: 2005-08-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Association for Evolutionary Economics on December 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1995 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Decline of U.S. Labor Unions and the Role of Trade.(Book Review)
Author: Dell Champlin
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2004
Publisher: Association for Evolutionary Economics
Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Page: 1087(5)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Ultimate directory for conducting export-import operations in the country. Largest exporters and importers, strategic government and business contacts, selected export-import regulations and more

Turkmenistan Industrial And Business Directory (World Business, Investment and Government Library)

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Turkmenistan Industrial And Business Directory (World Business, Investment and Government Library)
USA International Business Publications
Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0739705431

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This law handbook contains information on basic business legislation, laws and regulatoins affecting export-import, business, foreign investments, property rights, taxation and banking.

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