[.ca] Return Of Depression Economics (ISBN 0393320367)

From Amazon.com:
What do babysitting coops and liquidity traps have in common? Lots, according to Paul Krugman. In The Return of Depression Economics, the MIT professor looks at the alarming string of financial crises that plagued various economies around the globe in the 1990s, especially the Asian contagion, and sees an "eerie resemblance to the Great Depression." Instead of the "new world order" promised by the triumph of capitalism over socialism, "the world economy has turned out to be a much more dangerous place than we imagined." Krugman uses the example of a Washington, D.C., babysitting coop to explain the dynamics of recession and inflation. He examines the remarkable emergence of Asia and the precursors to the Asian mess--the Tequila Effect of the mid-'90s that began in Mexico and Japan's fall in the early '90s into an economic malaise. He then analyzes the underlying reasons for the collapse of the Thai baht and other Asian currencies as well as the subsequent actions of the IMF and the murky role of hedge funds. In the end, Krugman sees the return of depression economics, which "means that for the first time in two generations, failures on the demand side of the economy--insufficient private spending to make use of the available productive capacity--have become the clear and present limitation on prosperity for a large part of the world." It's the same problem that was at the root of the 1930s depression. And while it took a world war to solve that problem, Krugman sees solutions that are far less dramatic but that do require a willingness to chuck obsolete doctrines and think about old problems in new ways. Over the years, Krugman has earned a well-deserved reputation for translating the jargon that economists speak into something that anyone with an interest--not necessarily a Ph.D.--can understand. The Return of Depression Economics is another timely testament to Krugman's ability to read and interpret the tea leaves of today's global economy. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards

Zzzzzzzzz:
I love Paul Krugman's column in the NY Times, but this book is a bore.

Krugman is not really fameous:
The reviewer ahead of me convered almost everything as to why this guy is horrible. He basically promotes big government----which fail every time------never forget that Bill Clinton did nothing but cause massive massive infaltion by raising taxes to historic levels. Look at home prices vs real income. Every "economist" that reccomends raising taxes is simply not an economist. Economics clearly reccomends lowering taxes to extreme lower elvels as well as the other hidden taxes such as regulation compliance, laws enforcing unions, and publci services from a to z such as tax paid educaiton which is failing and no one can "opt out of". The Perilous Rebirth of JM Keynes, June 23, 1999 Reviewer: A reader For one reason or another, John Maynard Keynes is still revered as the economist par excellance of the twentieth century, even though his policies of interventionism have been thoroughly discredited. Krugman nevertheless carries Keynes's interventionist torch (a bad metaphor, I know) and advocates a rational economic order. When will clearly smart people realize -- not the least of which Krugman -- that a centrally planned economy can only work during wartime? The benefits of spontaneous market economies, as espoused by Hayek and Von Mises (two of the most obscenely overlooked and underrated minds of the 20th century), have been empirically proven again and again. Krugman makes me believe that we are again, sadly, on the Road to Serfdom. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

Excellent Open Economy Macro reading:
Anyone who wants to understand international macroeconomics must read this book. The intuition is superb and the case study approach makes it an exciting read. However, to better appreciate the brilliance of the book, I recommend reading "World Trade and Payments" by Caves, Frankel and Jones. The exposition of the Mundell-Fleming model under various exchange rate regimes and capital control regimes in that book are excellent. Paul Krugman's book reinforces those concepts with case studies.

Emerging Market Meltdown:
Written with clarity, Paul Krugman shows how the economics textbooks went right out the window as soon as the crisis hit Asia. He also describes how any countries may be vulnerable to what economists call "self-fulfilling speculative attacks". Most of all, Paul Krugman makes the topics under discussion accessible even for college student like me. Any economic student that wants to learn more about international financial crises should own this book.

Depression Economics?:
Krugman's book was one I terribly enjoyed. Having had to read it for my International Economics class I found it fascinating and it really opened my eyes to some of the shocking realities around me. Having grown up in the 90's when the economy was chugging along, I never expected it to stop. I grew up in a microcosm of excess. Never would I wince at dropping $80 for a pair a jeans I had in several other finishes. I attended a pretigious university at the tune of $30,000 per year without hesitation, thinking the drop in the economy was surely short term and I would be in no tough spot to find a high paying job upon my graduation. Now I have begun to understand that may not be the case, and the economy really never was as great as everyone thought. I think this book is an excellent piece for my generation to examine.