A lacuna da teoria econômica

"Samuelson's project to correct, clarify and broaden the theory brought into focus its strengths; but also its limitations: It abstracted from the distinctive character of the modern economy--the endemic uncertainty, ambiguity, diversity of beliefs, specialization of knowledge and problem solving. As a result it could not capture, or endogenize, the observable phenomena that are endemic to the modern economy--innovation, waves of rapid growth, big swings in business activity, disequilibria, intense employee engagement and workers' intellectual development. The best and brightest of the neoclassicals saw these defects but lacked a micro-theory to address them."
Edmund Phelps

A pretensão de conhecimento

O banco central americano sob a maldição da pretensão de conhecimento
Antony Mueller: Trouble at the Fed
Mais artigos do Antony veja http://www.continentaleconomics.com/
Recursos em Português incluindo audios de aulas veja: http://continentaleconomics.com/AudioPodcastsemPortugues.html

A ilusão de seguridade ou estabilidade

Ludwig von Mises: "There are in this world no such things as stability and security and no human endeavors are powerful enough to bring them about. There is in the social system of the market society no other means of acquiring wealth and of preserving it than successful service to the consumers." -
Ludwig von Mises: Human Action

Einstein sobre metodologia

"There is no inductive method which could lead to the fundamental concepts of physics … in error are those theorists who believe that theory comes inductively from experience."
– Albert Einstein, The Method of Theoretical Physics, Oxford, 1933

A ascensão da classe criativa

Richard Florida, an academic whose field is regional economic development, explains the rise of a new social class that he labels the creative class. Members include scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists, and entertainers. He defines this class as those whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology, and new creative content. In general this group shares common characteristics, such as creativity, individuality, diversity, and merit. The author estimates that this group has 38 million members, constitutes more than 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, and profoundly influences work and lifestyle issues. The purpose of this book is to examine how and why we value creativity more highly than ever and cultivate it more intensely. He concludes that it is time for the creative class to grow up--boomers and Xers, liberals and conservatives, urbanites and suburbanites--and evolve from an amorphous group of self-directed while high-achieving individuals into a responsible, more cohesive group interested in the common good.

Leia mais: http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Creative-Class-Transforming-Community/dp/0465024777

Inovação, propriedade intelectual e crescimento econômico

What drives innovation? How does it contribute to the growth of firms, industries, and economies? And do intellectual property rights help or hurt innovation and growth? Uniquely combining microeconomics, macroeconomics, and theory with empirical analysis drawn from the United States and Europe, this book introduces graduate students and advanced undergraduates to the complex process of innovation. By addressing all the major dimensions of innovation in a single text, Christine Greenhalgh and Mark Rogers are able to show how outcomes at the microlevel feed through to the macro-outcomes that in turn determine personal incomes and job opportunities.

In four sections, this textbook comprehensively addresses the nature of innovation and intellectual property, the microeconomics and macroeconomics of innovation, and economic policy at the firm and macroeconomic levels. Among the topics fully explored are the role of intellectual property in creating incentives to innovate; the social returns of innovation; the creation and destruction of jobs by innovation; whether more or fewer intellectual property rights would give firms better incentives to innovate; and the contentious issues surrounding international treaties on intellectual property.
Leia mais: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9221.html

Lições dos pobres

LESSONS FROM THE POOR
Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Edited by Alvaro Vargas Llosa
Foreword by James D. Gwartney

Half the people in the world live on two dollars or less per day and roughly 600 million live on no more than one dollar per day. With thousands of international relief organizations, strategic government programs, and billions of dollars in foreign aid, why do so many underdeveloped countries remain unable to grow their economies beyond mere survival? It is this issue that internationally acclaimed political analyst Alvaro Vargas Llosa and a select group of economists examine in a series of case studies from around the world. These studies reveal that entrepreneurial energy can be a persistent catalyst for change. But unfortunately in societies dominated by political corruption and unnecessary regulation, men and women seeking to innovate must hurdle a series of challenges. Wealth transfer, favoritism, excessive taxation, and lack of institutional security all conspire against progress. Our contributors examine real world examples of entrepreneurship and argue that instead of redistributing existing wealth, developing countries should start working to create it. Detailed Summary