Conversations on Growth, Stability and Trade: An Historical Perspective

This unique volume, now available in paperback, provides a comprehensive survey of the major economic issues that have helped shape the modern world. It includes discussions of the latest research findings in macroeconomics and scrutinizes some of the most important debates in economic history. The author examines the many controversies relating to the role of government in a modern economy, long-run growth and development, the spread of the Industrial Revolution, the causes and consequences of the ‘Great Depression’, the ‘Great Peacetime Inflation’, the conduct of stabilization policy, international economic integration and globalization.

To shed light on these major issues the volume contains interviews with ten leading economists who have each contributed extensively to the literature on macroeconomics, economic growth and development, international economics and economic history. A major theme which runs throughout the book is the conviction that economists can gain valuable insights concerning important contemporary policy issues from a knowledge of history, especially economic history.

The distinguished economists featured in this book are: Ben Bernanke, Jagdish Bhagwati, Alan Blinder, Nick Crafts, Bradford DeLong, Barry Eichengreen, Kevin Hoover, Charles Jones, Christina Romer and Joseph Stiglitz.

Containing an extensive and up-to-date list of references, the book provides a comprehensive guide to the modern literature on macroeconomics and related fields. It will be an essential reference for all scholars and students of economics, especially those with an interest in economic growth, business cycles, inflation, unemployment, trade and globalization.