Peddling Prosperity

Paul KrugmanCITIC Press2010

Chapters

19

Series

Peddling Prosperity is a work of economic commentary written in 1994 by Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, originally published in English as Peddling Prosperity: Economic Sense and Nonsense in an Age of Diminished Expectations; the Chinese edition was translated by Liu Bo and published by CITIC Press. Centered on U.S. economic policy debates from the 1970s through the 1990s, the book pursues one core question: why, in an era of slowing growth, stagnant productivity, and worsening income distribution, do all manner of "miracle cures" always find a market? The book falls roughly into three parts. Part One traces the rise of conservative economics: the monetarist and rational-expectations attacks on Keynesianism, supply-side claims about tax cuts and growth, and the debates over taxes, regulation, and the productivity slowdown. Part Two examines the economic record of conservative governments: growth performance, income distribution, budget deficits, and conservative experiments in Britain and elsewhere. Part Three turns to "the pendulum swings left," discussing why Keynesianism endures, how path dependence and QWERTY-style historical accidents shape industrial advantage, and how strategic trade theorists challenge the free-trade orthodoxy. Krugman calls the economic ideas produced to meet political demand the wares of "policy entrepreneurs," noting that the marketplace of ideas has supply and demand: politicians need theories that justify their positions, while scholars need influence and audiences. He argues that serious economic analysis, though plain and unglamorous, comes closer to the truth than elegantly packaged empty talk. Written with a sharp pen and almost no mathematics, the book is a classic primer for understanding contemporary macroeconomic thought and public policy debate.

ISBN

9787508619224