Nothing is Sacred: Economic Ideas for the New Millennium

Book Description

Since the 1970s, Robert Barro's academic research has significantly influenced macroeconomic theory. For more than a decade, his writing has also enlivened the pages of publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Business Week. In Nothing Is Sacred, Barro applies his well-honed free market arguments to a remarkably diverse range of issues. These include global problems such as growth and debt, as well as social issues such as the predictive value of SAT scores, drug legalization, the economics of beauty, and the relationship between abortion rights and crime reduction.

The book opens with a series of essays on famous economists, past and present, and other prominent figures whose work has economic implications, including Joe DiMaggio and Bono. In the book's second part, Barro discusses the economics of social issues. In the third part, he considers democracy, growth, and international policy, and in the final part he examines fiscal policy, monetary policy, and the macroeconomy. Throughout, he shows that even the most widely held beliefs are not sacred truths but are open to analysis.

Customer Reviews:

social gossip and poorly integrated.......2006-01-22

Vanity, Napoleon said, caused the French Revolution. Vanity also prompted Barro to write this small book. Its self-absorbed nature monopolizes the first 70 pages of 168 though those of us who love gossip and insights into the discussions and habits of those influencing economic policy will find exposure of Gary Becker's tennis playing and Robert Lucas' addiction to smoking and sharing of his Nobel prize with his wife intriguing. Barro exposes a lot of personal anecdotes with these and others like Friedman, Galbraith, Mundell and Stigler.

The subtitle is "Economic Ideas for the New Millennium" and the question immediately arises how such personal anecdotes presented in a haphazard and disjointed way can serve or are even remotely connected to serving as economic ideas for this century, not to speak at all of an arrogant and unscholarly time span a "millennium". They serve to satisfy high-faluting gossip but not economic policy formulation.
Once he does enter serious economic discussion of various nations, he continues the disjointed and poorly integrated analysis. His observations range from Africa, Latin America to the problems of German unification and then finally zero in on fiscal and monetary issues of the U.S. But even then, he commits serious conceptual errors when he cites a study correlating the Presidents with the performance of the economy. As all famous scholars have done so far, he, too, anthropomorphizes the economy into the Presidents, forgetting in the process that the Presidents merely propose but Congress disposes. Congress can accept, reject, modify and initiate economic policy and, therefore, whatever impacts on the economy comes from Congress and not the Presidents and, for this reason, should be termed "Congressnomics" rather than the widespread use of meaningless terms such as Nixonomics, Reaganomics, Clintonomics, etc. though Barro does not use them. To anthropomorphize the economy is to succumb to a primitive form of atavistic pseudoanalysis.

In spite of this, Barro has some original observations and suggestions. He belongs to the conservative elements of Friedman, Becker, Lucas, et al. but, as is the case with almost all of our more prominent economists, he misses the single most important element in contemporary economic analysis of the U.S. and that is the continuing impoverization of the masses of the U.S. in spite of a growing GDP. This is due to the fact that the GDP measures only 40 percent of what transpires in the economy and this wealth is primarily benefiting bureaucracies which have for decades massively accumulated wealth and shifted it from benefiting families and individuals to themselves, be they political, military, educational, medical, etc. bureaucracies.

Barro also missed the massive institutionalized theft on Wall Street that took hundreds of billions of dollars from millions of Americans---amazing how economists cannot grasp this enormous and unparalleled economic fact that is one of several elements denying Americans a living standard commensurate with vast resources. It is as if scholars like Barro never examine and compare the run down squalor of thousands of towns and cities in the U.S. and the ever increasing number of gated and securitized communities into which the wealthy retreat (while making money from products that do not necessarily benefit that much the masses) in a strong vote of no confidence in the overall economic development while most towns and cities in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, etc. are noticeably wealthier and more attractive with substantially well-maintained infrastructures while ours are in the advanced stages of decay and strongly resembling much less developed economies.

Barro, like all major economists, also misses the enormous collectivism-socialism in the presumed capitalistic private sector of the U.S. economy which ranges from the dreary collectivism of chain motels, chain fast food, chain stores, etc. to "free" medical services and the collectivism-socialism inherent in mandatory insurance. This private sector collectivism-socialism is not nearly as extensive in the EU economies and thus we have the never admitted fact that those economies, in spite of public sector collectivism-socialism, are actually far less collectivistic-socialistic than ours and this also shows up in the fact that they channel vast resources into maintaining beautiful homes in sharp contrast to the ever growing squalor of America's giant tragedy of trailer homes, hovels, shacks and other forms of slums and the general run-down state of human habitation from coast to coast. So, back to the drawing board for Barro.

Well-Written, interesting, but also a bit narcissistic.......2004-08-29

Barro writes well, Barro has a lot of interesting things to say, but before you get to the interesting part, which consists of Barro's enlightened and reasonable views on various economic topics, you must hack through the self-serving, and in some cases embarrassingly self-serving, first third of the book.

In the first third of the book, Barro shares his personal experiences with several eminent economists, along with a couple of not-so-eminent economists, such as Bono and Joe DiMaggio. We learn, for example, that no one except Bob Lucas is allowed to smoke in Barro's university office. And we learn that Lucas' ex-wife was able to collect half his Nobel winnings.

Interesting, perhaps, but not welcome in a book sub-titled "Economic Ideas for the New Millennium", especially when such 'insights' take up many, many pages of the book.

Some of Lucas' stories unintentionally (I think!) characterize their subjects as selfish and conceited. In another story about Bob Lucas, we learn that the famed economist had promised to speak at one of Barro's seminars but then called him the night before to say he couldn't make it because all of the smoking seats in the coach section of the plane were taken. Lucas agreed to come only when Barro gave him more money to ride first-class. It's ironic that Lucas was quoted earlier in the book as saying "a deal's a deal" - unless it's not, I guess.

Consider all these stories and reminiscences in the first third of the book as your rite of passage to the far superior remainder of the book, where Barro writes about various social and fiscal issues through the lens of his free-market economic theory. These 100 or so pages somewhat make up for the vapidness of the previous 70 pages.

I'm glad I bought the book and read it, but it's really not worth the cover price for just 100 pages of good stuff.

Worth enduring the smoke. (Book Reviews).(Nothing Is Sacred: Economic Ideas for the New Millennium)(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Finance & Development

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Worth enduring the smoke. (Book Reviews).(Nothing Is Sacred: Economic Ideas for the New Millennium)(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Finance & Development
Prakash Loungani
Manufacturer: International Monetary Fund
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Finance & Development, published by International Monetary Fund on December 1, 2002. The length of the article is 609 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: Worth enduring the smoke. (Book Reviews).(Nothing Is Sacred: Economic Ideas for the New Millennium)(Book Review) (book review)
Author: Prakash Loungani
Publication: Finance & Development (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2002
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Volume: 39 Issue: 4 Page: 54(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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Nothing is Sacred: Economic Ideas for the New Millennium

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Nothing is Sacred: Economic Ideas for the New Millennium
Robert J. Barro
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQS8Y0

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Preparing Your Family Business for Strategic Change (Family business leadership series)
Craig E Aronoff
Manufacturer: Business Owner Resources
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Family Business Succession: The Final Test of Greatness, Second Edition

ASIN: 0965101193

Book Description

Strategies for family firms, unlike those of other businesses, can and should incorporate family factors. Responsible and disciplined strategic integration of family and business goals, strengths and values produces powerful results. Growth, market and technological advances, and increased competition have made strategic planning a much more crucial process for family firms. Particularly critical during generation transitions, significant strategic change is now likely to be required as many as five times during the tenure of new family business leaders. In Preparing Your Family Business For Strategic Change, you'll learn: * How to reach your family business's strategic potential * How to ensure that your family enterprise stays strategically fresh * How to demystify past success * How to make change your tradition * How to prevent past successes from limiting future ones * How family values and passions can promote strategic business strengths * How to recognize and use your family business's advantages * How to overcome family business disadvantages * How to depersonalize successes to benefit the business and the family * How to create a strategic culture Creating and implementing successful family business strategy is no abstract planning process. It requires family business leaders to understand the real reasons for success, to create a culture of change, and to manage incremental strategic experiments in ways that consistently stimulate strategic thinking. Preparing Your Family Business For Strategic Change shows you how.

Book Description

Since the "pioneering" time of the mid-1980s, the rate of adoption of in situ bioremediation strategies has been stagnating. To paraphrase Mark Twain, however, news of the demise of bioremediation may have been exaggerated; there is still a widespread belief that bioremediation remains a viable and promising technology.

Among the many topics addressed in this book, three are of particular significance. The first concerns the development of suitable toxicological tests to be used in conjunction with bioremediation strategies. Traditional reliance on chemical analysis to understand the direction and extent of treatment in a bioremediation process has been found to be inadequate. Whereas the goal of bioremediation is toxicity reduction, few direct, reliable measures of this process are as yet available. Another area of intense discussion is the assessment of market forces contributing to the acceptability of bioremediation. Finally, another important component is a series of lectures and lively exchanges devoted to practical applications of different bioremediation technologies. The range of subjects covers a wide spectrum, encompassing emerging technologies as well as actual, full-scale operations. Examples discussed include landfarming, biopiling, composting, phytoremediation and mycoremediation. Each technology is explored for its utility and capability to provide desired treatment goals.

Advantages and limitations of each technology are discussed. The concept of natural attenuation is also critically evaluated since in some cases where time to remediation is not a significant factor, it may be an alternative to active bioremediation operations.

Book Description

Microarray technology is arguably the most important recent breakthrough in molecular biology. It enables researchers to obtain snapshots of gene expression for all the genes in a genome in a single experiment. Microarray experiments generate massive amounts of data that can be analysed to extract new knowledge about the underlying biological processes.This guide covers aspects of designing microarray experiments and analysing the data generated, and includes information on some of the tools that are available from non-commercial sources. Concepts and principles underpinning gene expression analysis are emphasised, and wherever possible the mathematics has been simplified. The guide is intended for use by graduates and researchers in bioinformatics and the life sciences and is also suitable for statisticians who are interested in the approaches currently used to study gene expression.

Customer Reviews:

A good introduction to the topic .......2007-05-20

Microarrays are a tool for monitoring gene expression levels for thousands of genes in parallel. This technology is very useful since patterns in the gene expression can be used for molecular characterization of phenomena that range from disease states and response to stimuli to the differences between cells of different types. The amount of information obtained from one microarray experiment can be large. These large amounts of information present new challenges in the areas of data storage, management, and analysis by biologists who are not accustomed to dealing with this much data. Also, the software used for data analysis is usually written by mathematicians and statisticians that have a minimum of training in biology.

This book addresses some of the issues faced by researchers who are beginning their first microarray experiments. It covers various aspects of designing and analyzing the results of microarray experiments. Microarrays are not limited to the study of gene expression, but this remains the most common use of the technology and therefore is the only use of arrays discussed here. This book attempts to explain the underlying concepts and principles routinely used in analysis of gene expression data. The book should be accessible by statisticians, computer scientists, and students of bioinformatics who want a grounding in the types of analysis currently used to study microarray data.

The book begins with an introductory chapter which is followed by three major chapters. As with any technology that has the capacity to detect small changes in a highly dynamic system, the underlying experimental design and the manner in which an experiment is conducted is critical for obtaining high quality data. Chapter two addresses these issues. The raw data from microarray experiments are images that must be transformed and organized into gene expression matrices. These transformations are the subject of chapter 3. Finally, in chapter 4, the common methods used for analyzing gene expression data matrices with the goal of obtaining new insights into biology are discussed. The book does a pretty good job of providing the reader with a general understanding of the nature of microarray data and how it can be analyzed. It was never meant to be a reference book or a comprehensive review, just a gentle introduction.

Well written, short explanations but nevertheless understandable.......2005-07-06

Certainly, this book can not give a complete description of microarrays, neither from an experimental nor a theoretical side. Nevertheless, the issues presented and discussed provide the reader with a solid basis for more advanced studies.

In my opinion, this book is well written, the explanations given are descriptive and understandable and its overall organization is plausible. I recommend this book as an introduction for the analysis of microarray data, because it provides a good overview of existing methods in this field. A warning: This does not mean, that all these methods are thorougly expained! It just provides an overview!! If you want to learn, e.g., clustering methods, you should consult another book (probably no other book about microarrays but a decent book dealing only with data analysis in general or clustering methods...)

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A Beginner's Guide to Microarrays

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1402074727

Book Description

Microarray technology is more accessible than ever, and an ever-widening field of scientists is using this technology. However, the manufacture, experimental design, and analysis of microarrays are not always straightforward, and researchers new to the field run into technical and theoretical roadblocks that can hinder progress with this powerful new technology.
A Beginner's Guide to Microarrays addresses two audiences - the core facility manager who produces, hybridizes, and scans arrays, and the basic research scientist who will be performing the analysis and interpreting the results. User friendly coverage and detailed protocols are provided for the technical steps and procedures involved in many facets of microarray technology, including:

-Cleaning and coating glass slides,
-Designing oligonucleotide probes,
-Constructing arrays for the detection and quantification of different bacterial species,
-Preparing spotting solutions,
-Troubleshooting spotting problems,
-Setting up and running a core facility,
-Normalizing background signal and controlling for systematic variance,
-Designing experiments for maximum effect,
-Analyzing data with statistical procedures,
-Clustering data with machine-learning protocols.

This book is addressed to researchers using microarrays for the first time. One faces a myriad of problems at the outset of such a task, and there is no need to 'reinvent the wheel' for each scientist that runs into these problems. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of microarrays before research begins can save time, money, and resources.

Book Description

Gale proudly presents the completely revised and updated version of the acclaimed â€œGrzimek's Animal Life Encyclopediaâ€ set. Hailed by many as the best reference work on animals ever published, a legacy left to us by famed zoologist and animal lover Bernhard Grzimek, this set is renowned for its scientific reporting and coverage, and serves as a major point of reference for researchers, students, and those hoping to satisfy their curiosity about the animal kingdom. Information can be found on life cycles, predators, food systems, overall ecology and much more. Staying true to the original scientific pedigree, Gale enlisted prominent advisors and contributors from the international scientific community to incorporate recent developments in our knowledge of the animal world.

Blattodea: An entry from Thomson Gale's
<i>Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia</i>

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Blattodea: An entry from Thomson Gale's Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia
Louis M., PhD Roth
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Veterinary | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000M59P7M

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Expert advice for rock and mountain climbing

Expanded and updated

Speed Climbing!, 2nd: How to Climb Faster and Better (How To Climb Series)
Hans Florine , and Bill Wright
Manufacturer: Falcon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

This is a complete introduction to the techniques of speed climbing, including training, soloing, simul-climbing, passing, equipment, and more. Also includes a history of speed climbing and compiles speed-climbing records.

Customer Reviews:

Expert advice for rock and mountain climbing.......2004-11-29

In this second edition, the professional climber and record-holder Florine and the experienced amateur Wright add refinements to their combined, incomparable knowledge about rock and mountain climbing. There's instruction and techniques for "simul-climbing" (climbing with a partner) and solo climbing. Illustrations vary from photographs of climbers enjoying the sport to detailed diagrams of crucial aspects of techniques and safety measures. The two authors bring in the challenges and exhilarations of climbing while also pointing out its hazards and stressing precautions to follow for safety. An expert manual by experienced climbers.

Expanded and updated.......2004-11-03

I'm one of the authors and I want to explain the changes in this new edition. This book is about 25 pages longer, has an expanded history section, more general and global speed records, and all new speed climbing vignettes. In addition the book has expanded and updated information and some minor typographical errors corrected. A new detailed speed climbing topo is included as well. Oh, and it has a much better cover photo: Hans on the Nose. There are also some new photos in the book.

When I wrote the first version of this book, I was only speed climbing shorter, easy routes. Since then I've used mine book to raise the bar and in 2002 I climbed the Nose on El Capitan in just under 22 hours. This stuff really works, but much more important, it can be very fun and reasonably safe.

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berlitz did good job.

Excellent value with easy-to-read fonts

Berlitz Pocket Dictionary Chinese-English English-Chinese (Berlitz Dictionaries)
Inc. Berlitz International
Manufacturer: Berlitz Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Berlitz Mass Market Chinese Dictionary features thousands of entries, precise grammar and pronunciation guide, and an appendix loaded with helpful cultural and language information, these handy bilingual dictionaries are ideal for school, office, home, or travel.

Customer Reviews:

berlitz did good job........2005-10-09

One of the most practical for the money.It even has slangs with it. It has same presentation and words as the Insight-pocket-travel-dictionary and Langenscheidt's-dictionary but with Larger prints. The only improvement I suggest would be the soft cover. It should have been more flexible that would help readers open it FLAT easily.

Excellent value with easy-to-read fonts.......2004-04-25

This compact paperback is the best value simplified Chinese-English dictionary that I have found. It has 40,000 entries, which covers most words in everyday use.

The English-Chinese section has the pinyin transliteration for each word. (Pinyin is the Romanized written version of Chinese that uses accents to indicate the correct tones). Where a word can have a different translation depending on the context, this is clearly indicated.

The Chinese-English section is ordered alphabetically, English-style, according to its pinyin pronunciation. There is a list of radicals at the front of the book for when you don't know the correct mainland Mandarin pronunciation.

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