What Government Can Do: Dealing With Poverty and Inequality (American Politics and Political Economy)

Book Description

It is often said that the federal government cannot or should not attempt to address America's problems of poverty and inequality—because its bureaucracy is wasteful or its programs ineffective. But is this true? In this book, Benjamin I. Page and James R. Simmons examine a number of federal and local programs, detailing what government action already does for its citizens and assessing how efficient it is at solving the problems it seeks to address. Their conclusion, surprisingly, is the polar opposite of the prevailing rhetoric—What Government Can Do is an insightful and compelling argument that it both can and should do more.

Customer Reviews:

A must read for concerned citizens........2002-07-31

This book is very informative about a whole range of social issues. Although it specifically deals with the American social scene it has an universal appeal. It dissects problems and situations like poverty, income inequality, lack of a fair electoral system, prevailing taxation policies, basic needs and "rights" of people, educational opportunities, homelessness, etc., and proposes possible solutions for them. This book dispels many myths associated with the poor and the needy. This book was a very agreeable experience for me and I will be promoting it among my friends. This detailed and thoroughly researched book will delight you if you are for Justice, Fairness and Equality. The book has a Reference section that is a treasure for progressive thinkers. Enjoy this book.

Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe Vs. Liberal America

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Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe Vs. Liberal America
Jonas Pontusson
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Capitalism, Democracy, and Welfare (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)
Beyond Continuity: Institutional Change in Advanced Political Economies
Fighting Poverty in the US and Europe: A World of Difference (Rodolfo DeBenedetti Lectures)
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Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage

ASIN: 0801489709

Book Description

What are the relative merits of the American and European socioeconomic systems? Longstanding debates have heated up in recent years with the expansion of the European Union and increasingly sharp political and cultural differences between the United States and Europe. In Inequality and Prosperity, Jonas Pontusson provides a comparative overview of the two major models of labor markets and welfare systems in the advanced industrial world: the "liberal capitalist" system of the United States and Britain, and the "social market" capitalism of northern Europe. These two models balance concerns of efficiency and equity in fundamentally different ways. In the 1990s the much-heralded forces of globalization (together with demographic changes and attendant political pressures) seemed to threaten the very existence of the social-market economies of Europe. Were the social compacts of Sweden and Germany outmoded? Would varieties of capitalism remain possible, or were labor-market and social-welfare arrangements converging on the U.S. norm?

Pontusson opposes the notion of inevitable convergence: he believes that social-market economies can survive and indeed flourish in the contemporary world economy. He bases his argument on an enormous amount of highly specialized research on eighteen countries, using national-level data for the last thirty years. Among the areas he explores are labor-market dynamics, income distribution, employment performance, wage bargaining, firm-level performance, and the changing possibilities for the welfare state.

Naming the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy
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The "No Logo" of anti-capitalism

An accessible and serious economic presentation

Even economists smoke crack

But, some of my best friends are economists

I am not an economist, but some of my best friends are

Naming the System: Inequality and Work in the Global Economy
Michael D. Yates
Manufacturer: Monthly Review Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

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The Working Class Majority: America's Best Kept Secret (ILR Press Book)

Cheap Motels and a Hot Plate: An Economist's Travelogue

ASIN: 1583670807
Release Date: 2003-03-01

Book Description

The economic boom of the 1990s created huge wealth for the bosses, but benefited workers hardly at all. At the same time, the bosses were able to take the political initiative and even the moral high ground, while workers were often divided against each other. This new book by leading labor analyst Michael D. Yates seeks to explain how this happened, and what can be done about it.

Essential to both tasks is "naming the system" the system that ensures that those who do the work do not benefit from the wealth they produce. Yates draws on recent data to show that the growing inequality globally, and within the United States is a necessary consequence of capitalism, and not an unfortunate side-effect that can be remedied by technical measures. To defend working people against ongoing attacks on their working conditions, their living standards, and their future and that of their children and to challenge inequality, it is necessary to understand capitalism as a system and for labor to challenge the political dominance of capitalist interests.

Naming the System examines contemporary trends in employment and unemployment, in hours of work, and in the nature of jobs. It shows how working life is being reconfigured today, and how the effects of this are masked by mainstream economic theories. It uses numerous concrete examples to relate larger theoretical issues to everyday experience of the present-day economy. And it sets out the strategic options for organized labor in the current political context, in which the U.S.-led war on terrorism threatens to eclipse the anti-globalization movement.

Customer Reviews:

The "No Logo" of anti-capitalism.......2006-05-08

Yates' book "Naming the System" is a valiant attempt to explain the failures, contradictions and problems of modern globalized capitalism in terms understandable to every layman. By and large, he has succeeded, though there are some flaws.

His strongest point is reconciling the arguments against the orthodox neoclassical theory of "more free markets = better" with the 'facts on the ground', in the form of valuable statistics and examples from practical experience. He enthousiastically destroys the reformist view of capitalism as followed by many social-democrats and current-day labor union leaders just as much as the libertarian approach. In addition to that, he gives a worthwhile overview of the Marxist interpretation of capitalism and why it is better able to explain certain commonplace phenomena in firm practice than the neoclassicals. Finally, he gives a non-too-critical overview of the great variety of leftist anti-capitalist movements in the world today and some general perspectives on their success, though all this is very vague.

The books great benefits are the easy to understand ways in which he shows the workings of capitalism in the many kinds of injustice felt by (young) leftist-inclined people, giving them a more solid ground for their critiques. However, this accessible approach is also the big downside to Yates' work: "Naming the System" is not in-depth at all, its wording is a little simplistic and childish sometimes, and it is virtually useless to those who already have a basic Marxist understanding of the capitalist world. Nevertheless, the book is worth four stars for its excellent utility as an education book on the Marxist approach for young people (high school and students), much like Naomi Klein's book was for the anti-branding movement.

An accessible and serious economic presentation.......2003-10-19

Leading labor analyst Michael Yates successfully strives to explain why the economic boom of the 1990s benefitted the wealthiest segment of business and society while doing little for the hard-working masses in Naming The System: Inequality And Work In The Global Economy. Aptly discussing a series of related issues including the inequalities that riddle the economic system of capitalism by its very nature (both within and between nations); unemployment and underemployment; contradictions within capitalism; and means for social change that battle for a better world, Naming The System is an accessible and serious economic presentation which has self-evidently been deftly researched and is skillfully argued. A welcome addition to personal and academic Economics Studies reference collections and reading lists, Naming The System is especially recommended to the attention of anyone wanting to understand the rationale behind the importance of placing limits and regulations to ensure a prosperous future for labor and management alike.

Even economists smoke crack.......2003-09-16

This man lives in a world od distorted reality. Economic equality and poverty is bound to exist reguardless of the mode of production. Capitalism allows democracy, which is the most important issue to me. He talks about Cuba in this book... The have to give up freedom and live in poverty, but their literacy level is the same as our's; which system sounds better? Tjis was a well written book wth ample information, so I probably should have rated it better. However, I hate the message that it sends.

But, some of my best friends are economists.......2003-08-16

I am not an economist, but some of my best friends are. And much of my work as a labor law professor, has involved dealing with ideas couched in economic terms. Even so, there is a lot about economics as it is really practiced, that comes as a surprise. Several years, when the news was full of predictions from leading economists about the effects of a new policy on the economy, I asked a group of economists whether these sorts of predictions were based on studies of effects in the world. The economists told me that these predictions none of these predictions were ever tested. All that was ever done was to create simplified theories about how the economy worked and then use those theories to make predictions. No one ever checked to make certain those theories were valid.
Imagine what healthcare would be like if doctors and scientists operated this way. Actually, we don't have to imagine. This is how life was in the Middle Ages when doctors tried to balance the body's four humors, and everyone knew the sun revolved around the earth. The models got more and more complex as reality did not jibe with theory.
So all of us have our fates determined by economists whose methods are no more up to date than the 16th century. Consider Alan Greenspan, the hero of the Fed. He and his colleagues for years were convinced that the only way to fight inflation - and inflation had to be fought at all costs - was to raise interest rates any time unemployment fell below 5.8%. The effect was that higher interest rates increased unemployment. In the early 1990's, unemployment began to fall below this danger level, but no inflation appeared. Pressure was put on the Fed not to raise interest rates, enough pressure that they held off. Unemployment plunged ever lower with no inflation. Did the economists admit that their theory had to be discarded based on the evidence/ Of course not. They responded that they needed to refine the theory to account for this aberration from the theory, but the theory was still solid.
Michael Yates does a much better job at leading the reader through classic economic theory and exploring the many ways in which those theories stand unproven - and yet they still rule the world. Yates provides a fair and balanced look at the claims of classic economics for economies and for global trade and demonstrates that there is no evidence to support those claims.
There is no question that Michael Yates is passionate and has strong opinions. He does nothing to hide his views and is fair and open with the reader as he presents his arguments against classical economics and his ideas as to what should replace those disproven theories. I won't even try to summarize the. Yates deserves to be read and his arguments digested in full.
Yates is a wonderful writer and educator. He should be. He had a long teaching career at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, among prisoners, and with unionists. He is clear without ever talking down to his audiences. Over the years he has opened up the world of economics to many of us, and through this book will reach even more. I recommend it strongly.

I am not an economist, but some of my best friends are.......2003-08-11

Several years, when the news was full of predictions from leading economists about the effects of a new policy on the economy, I asked a group of economists whether these sorts of predictions were based on studies of effects in the world. The economists told me that these predictions none of these predictions were ever tested. All that was ever done was to create simplified theories about how the economy worked and then use those theories to make predictions. No one ever checked to make certain those theories were valid.

Imagine what healthcare would be like if doctors and scientists operated this way. Actually, we don't have to imagine. This is how life was in the Middle Ages when doctors tried to balance the body's four humors, and everyone knew the sun revolved around the earth. The models got more and more complex as reality did not jibe with theory.

So all of us have our fates determined by economists whose methods are no more up to date than the 16th century. Consider Alan Greenspan, the hero of the Fed. He and his colleagues for years were convinced that the only way to fight inflation - and inflation had to be fought at all costs - was to raise interest rates any time unemployment fell below 5.8%. The effect was that higher interest rates increased unemployment. In the early 1990's, unemployment began to fall below this danger level, but no inflation appeared. Pressure was put on the Fed not to raise interest rates, enough pressure that they held off. Unemployment plunged ever lower with no inflation. Did the economists admit that their theory had to be discarded based on the evidence/ Of course not. They responded that they needed to refine the theory to account for this aberration from the theory, but the theory was still solid.

Michael Yates does a much better job at leading the reader through classic economic theory and exploring the many ways in which those theories stand unproven - and yet they still rule the world. Yates provides a fair and balanced look at the claims of classic economics for economies and for global trade and demonstrates that there is no evidence to support those claims.

There is no question that Michael Yates is passionate and has strong opinions. He does nothing to hide his views and is fair and open with the reader as he presents his arguments against classical economics and his ideas as to what should replace those disproven theories. I won't even try to summarize the. Yates deserves to be read and his arguments digested in full.

Book Description

Includes the Second Discourse (complete with the author's extensive notes), contemporary critiques by Voltaire, Diderot, Bonnet, and LeRoy, Rousseau's replies (some never before translated), and Political Economy, which first outlined principles that were to become famous in the Social Contract. This is the first time that the works of 1755 and 1756 have been combined with careful commentary to show the coherence of Rousseau's "political system." The Second Discourse examines man in the true "state of nature," prior to the formation of the first human societies, tracing the "hypothetical history" of political society and social inequality as they developed out of natural equality and independence.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2000-11-09

Excellent discourse. This book discusses some of the rudiments of the history of inequality and how its self supporting and ever existing in human nature. I recommend this book for those readers who either want to increase their knowledge on Jean-Jacques Rousseau or historical development of inequality

Book Description

Articulate and provocative, Richardo Ffrench-Davis offers the most comprehensive and timely assessment available of Chilean economic reform, from the military dictatorship of Pinochet in the 1970s up to the "reforms of reforms" made by the democratic governments in the 1990s.

Written in accessible and readable prose, Economic Reforms in Chile begins with an overview of the Chilean economy during the last fifty years. This historical time frame is divided into three periods of economic reform. The first period covers the Pinochet regime, during which the more orthodox neoliberalism was implemented. The second period includes the Pinochet dictatorship, during which economic policy shifted toward pragmatism, particularly in the areas of trade and finance; it also includes the crisis of 1982 and its effects. The third period begins in 1990 with the return to democratic elections and the significant reforms to prior reforms. This section also examines the search for growth-with-equity, success in investment and growth performance, macroeconomic sustainability, and the reduction of poverty. Ffrench-Davis addresses several "paradoxes," or results that defy the expectations of policymakers, in order to analyze the significance of comprehensive macroeconomic equilibrium and its implications for sustainable stability, growth, and equity.

Economic Reforms in Chile will be of interest to economists, political scientists, and policymakers involved with the economies of emerging and developing countries.

Ricardo Ffrench-Davis is Principal Regional Advisor, ECLAC, Santiago, and Professor of Economics, University of Chile.

Global Political Economy in the Information Age: Power and Inequality (RIPE Series in Global Political Economy)

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Global Political Economy in the Information Age: Power and Inequality (RIPE Series in Global Political Economy)
Youngs
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415384079

The Political Economy of Inequality (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought)

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The Political Economy of Inequality (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought)

Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Theory | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1559637986

Book Description

The disparity in wealth both within and between nations has grown rapidly in recent years, and is becoming an increasingly significant issue in attempts to deal with environmental problems - from international negotiations over climate change to local concerns about environmental justice.

The Political Economy of Inequality offers an in-depth examination of the economic theory behind the causes, consequences, and cures for inequality. The volume brings together disparate analyses of inequality in economic and related fields, identifies areas where more work is most needed, and lays the groundwork for an integrated understanding of the causes and consequences of inequality in the United States and the world.

Sections cover:

the distribution of earnings
the distribution of wealth
celebrity and CEO incomes
the effects of corporate power
poverty, inequality, and power
household roles and family structure
skills, technology, and education
categorical inequalities, such as those based on race, gender, or ethnicity
inequality on a global scale
the welfare state

The book is the fifth in the six-volume Frontier Issues in Economic Thought series. Each volume offers two- to three-page summaries of the most notable articles and chapters in a "frontier" area where important new work is being done but has not yet been incorporated into the standard definition of economics. Introductory essays by the editors review the field, cite other literature that was not summarized, and situate the summarized articles within an overview of the subject.

Book Description

Providing an original perspective on world cities and the impact of globalization upon them, leading authorities contribute to this dedicated study of major cities in countries outside the industrialized West: Bangkok, Mumbai, Cairo, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore. All play important global and regional roles, and the contributors compare their historical paths to their present world positions and problems.

The Political Economy of Social Inequalities: Consequences for Health and Quality of Life (Policy, Politics, Health, and Medicine Series (Unnumbered).)

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The Political Economy of Social Inequalities: Consequences for Health and Quality of Life (Policy, Politics, Health, and Medicine Series (Unnumbered).)

Manufacturer: Baywood Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Poverty and Development: Into the 21st Century
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Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice

ASIN: 089503252X

Book Description

In the last two decades of the 20th century, we witnessed a dramatic growth in social inequalities within and among countries. This has had a most negative impact on the health and quality of life of large sectors of the populations in the developed and underdeveloped world. This volume analyzes the reasons for this increase in inequalities and its consequences for the well-being of populations. Scholars from a variety of disciplines and countries analyze the different dimensions of this topic.

Part I of this volume reviews the historical evolution of the political context in which scientific studies on social inequalities have evolved.

Part II examines the causes for the growing inequalities, questioning economic determinist explanations (such as attributing the growth to economic globalization) and technological determinist explanations (such as attributing the growth to the requirements of the New Economy). These chapters show, instead, how the growth of inequalities is rooted in power relations within and among countries and their reproduction through the state. The enormous economic and political power of the financial and entrepreneurial establishments and their related social classes is responsible for neoliberal public policies characterized by increased transfer of funds from labor to capital, further deregulation of labor markets, and declining redistribution through the welfare state.

Part III then analyzes how the World Bank, IMF, WHO, and other international agencies are reproducing these neoliberal policies.

Part IV addresses how privatization of the welfare state and resulting inequalities are negatively affecting the quality of life of populations.

Part V presents one of today's major debates (the Wilkinson-Muntaner debate) in the scientific literature on the relationship between inequalities and health, contrasting different conceptions (one based on Weber, the other on Marx) of the pathways between inequalities and health.

In Part VI, the contributors critically analyze some proposed solutions for reducing inequalities and provide alternative proposals rooted in the need to broaden the meaning of politics, democracy, and quality of life, and to intervene actively in political life on the side of those who question power relations within and among countries.

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