Book reviews
Book notes: The handbook of China’s financial system, edited by Marlene Amstad, Sun Guofeng and Xiong Wei
An important, comprehensive and informed overview of the current state of the Chinese financial system
Book notes: The political economy of bank regulation in developing countries, edited by Emily Jones
A pioneering academic – but reader-friendly – monograph on the response of peripheral countries to Basel standards
Book notes: Central banks as fiscal players, by Willem Buiter
Buiter puts a real economic problem into a convincing theoretical frame, and translates it into applicable policy advice
Book notes: Economic philosophies, by Alessandro Roselli
Roselli’s analytical and historical exploration is especially valuable now, writes Robert Pringle
Book notes: Capital and ideology, by Thomas Piketty
A political pamphlet like Milton’s ‘Areopagitica’, but longer
Book notes: Asset management at central banks and monetary authorities, edited by Jacob Bjorheim
This excellent book fills a critical gap existing since IMF guidelines on asset management were revised
Book notes: The political economy of the special relationship, by Jeremy Green
Unsatisfactory story about the decline and resurgence of the UK’s importance in the global financial system
Book notes: The currency cold war, by David Birch
Pleasant and interesting read on whether digital money will jeopardise the US dollar’s dominant role in global trade and finance
Book notes: The great demographic reversal, by Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan
An important book, predicting that powerful demographic forces will upend conventional thinking on macroeconomics and policy
Book notes: Austerity, by Alberto Alesina, Carlo Favero and Francesco Giavazzi
When it works and when it doesn’t; every chapter is thorough, informative and persuasive
Book notes: Money, by Geoffrey Ingham
The incompatible theories of money: Ingham reveals the fundamental clash of ideas that shape the environment in which all central banks operate
Book notes: Quest for restoring financial stability in India, by Viral Acharya
A definitive contribution to the political economy of central banking in emerging economies, but Acharya does not acknowledge the challenges moving forward
Book notes: The menace of fiscal QE, by George Selgin
Much of this book is even more relevant, thought-provoking and important following Covid-19
Book notes: Radical uncertainty, by Mervyn King and John Kay
The one certainty we have faced is that we have to confront uncertainty, which is precisely the point of this wonderful book
Book notes: The state of economics, the state of the world, edited by Basu, Rosenblatt and Sepúlveda
The 2016 contributions of Nobel Prize-winning economists and others remain relevant to today
Book notes: Stable banks in challenging times, by Andreas Dombret
Dombret’s stability and rule-based compass should be that for every aspiring central banker, worldwide
Book notes: Central banking before 1800, by Ulrich Bindseil
A new standard reference point for the history of central banking
Book notes: In the combat zone of finance, by Svein Harald Øygard
A fascinating and readable book for those charged with maintaining financial stability and interested in a new perspective on institutional efficiency
Book notes: Crisis spaces, by Costis Hadjimichalis
“Don’t buy this book, unless you are a dedicated Marxist”
Book notes: Renewing our monetary vows, by Richard Barwell and Jagjit Chadha
Open letters to the governor of the Bank of England, as new chief Andrew Bailey takes over
Book notes: The art of economic catch-up, by Keun Lee
Rather than merely catch-up, the book offers countries advice in making a sea change in their economic statuses
Book notes: After the crash, by Sharyn O’Halloran and Thomas Groll
The book seeks to identify seeds of the next crisis, and the overriding impression is a plea for more regulation
Book notes: The power of money, by Robert Pringle
Economists would benefit from reading this “remarkable” book, which contains “brilliantly written snapshots” about money’s historical and social roles
Book notes: The long journey of central bank communication, by Otmar Issing
This book is a “masterly exposition on central bank communication, its evolution and continuing challenges”, writes Anand Sinha