The Antitrust Paradox

The Antitrust Paradox

Author: Robert Bork

Publisher:

Published: 2021-02-22

Total Pages: 536

ISBN-13: 9781736089712

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The most important book on antitrust ever written. It shows how antitrust suits adversely affect the consumer by encouraging a costly form of protection for inefficient and uncompetitive small businesses.


The Paradox of Choice

The Paradox of Choice

Author: Barry Schwartz

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2009-10-13

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 0061748994

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Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.


Scylla

Scylla

Author: Marianne Govers Hopman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-01-03

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1139851853

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What's in a name? Using the example of a famous monster from Greek myth, this book challenges the dominant view that a mythical symbol denotes a single, clear-cut 'figure' and proposes instead to define the name 'Scylla' as a combination of three concepts - sea, dog and woman - whose articulation changes over time. While archaic and classical Greek versions usually emphasize the metaphorical coherence of Scylla's components, the name is increasingly treated as a well-defined but also paradoxical construct from the late fourth century BCE onward. Proceeding through detailed analyses of Greek and Roman texts and images, Professor Hopman shows how the same name can variously express anxieties about the sea, dogs, aggressive women and shy maidens, thus offering an empirical response to the semiotic puzzle raised by non-referential proper names.


The Game's Afoot! Game Theory in Myth and Paradox

The Game's Afoot! Game Theory in Myth and Paradox

Author: Alexander Mehlmann

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 0821821210

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It all started with von Neumann and Morgenstern half a century ago. Their Theory of Games and Economic Behavior gave birth to a whole new area of mathematics concerned with the formal problems of rational decision as experienced by multiple agents. Now, game theory is all around us, making its way even into regular conversations. In the present book, Mehlmann presents mathematical foundations and concepts illustrated via social quandaries, mock political battles, evolutionary confrontations, economic struggles, and literary conflict. Most of the standard models - the prisoners' dilemma, the arms race, evolution, duels, the game of chicken, etc. - are here. Many non-standard examples are also here: the Legend of Faust, shootouts in the movies, the Madness of Odysseus, to name a few. The author uses familiar formulas, fables, and paradoxes to guide readers through what he calls the "hall of mirrors of strategic decision-making". His light-hearted excursion into the world of strategic calculation shows that even deep insights into the nature of strategic thought can be elucidated by games, puzzles and diversions. Originally written in German and published by Vieweg-Verlag, this AMS edition is a translation tailored for the English-speaking reader. It offers an intriguing look at myths and paradoxes through the lens of game theory, bringing the mathematics into sharper focus at the same time. This book is a must for those who wish to consider game theory from a different perspective: one that embraces science, literature, and real-life conflict. The Game's Afoot! would make an excellent book for an undergraduate course in game theory. It can also be used for independent study or as supplementary course reading. The connections to literature, films and everyday life also make it highly suitable as a text for a challenging course for non-majors. Its refreshing style and amusing combination of game theoretic analysis and cultural issues even make it appealing as recreational reading.


The Globalization Paradox

The Globalization Paradox

Author: Dani Rodrik

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2012-05-17

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 0191634255

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For a century, economists have driven forward the cause of globalization in financial institutions, labour markets, and trade. Yet there have been consistent warning signs that a global economy and free trade might not always be advantageous. Where are the pressure points? What could be done about them? Dani Rodrik examines the back-story from its seventeenth-century origins through the milestones of the gold standard, the Bretton Woods Agreement, and the Washington Consensus, to the present day. Although economic globalization has enabled unprecedented levels of prosperity in advanced countries and has been a boon to hundreds of millions of poor workers in China and elsewhere in Asia, it is a concept that rests on shaky pillars, he contends. Its long-term sustainability is not a given. The heart of Rodrik’s argument is a fundamental 'trilemma': that we cannot simultaneously pursue democracy, national self-determination, and economic globalization. Give too much power to governments, and you have protectionism. Give markets too much freedom, and you have an unstable world economy with little social and political support from those it is supposed to help. Rodrik argues for smart globalization, not maximum globalization.


The Myth of Capitalism

The Myth of Capitalism

Author: Jonathan Tepper

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2023-04-25

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 1394184069

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The Myth of Capitalism tells the story of how America has gone from an open, competitive marketplace to an economy where a few very powerful companies dominate key industries that affect our daily lives. Digital monopolies like Google, Facebook and Amazon act as gatekeepers to the digital world. Amazon is capturing almost all online shopping dollars. We have the illusion of choice, but for most critical decisions, we have only one or two companies, when it comes to high speed Internet, health insurance, medical care, mortgage title insurance, social networks, Internet searches, or even consumer goods like toothpaste. Every day, the average American transfers a little of their pay check to monopolists and oligopolists. The solution is vigorous anti-trust enforcement to return America to a period where competition created higher economic growth, more jobs, higher wages and a level playing field for all. The Myth of Capitalism is the story of industrial concentration, but it matters to everyone, because the stakes could not be higher. It tackles the big questions of: why is the US becoming a more unequal society, why is economic growth anemic despite trillions of dollars of federal debt and money printing, why the number of start-ups has declined, and why are workers losing out.


Clean Brexit

Clean Brexit

Author: Liam Halligan

Publisher: Biteback Publishing

Published: 2018-08-16

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 1785902598

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UPDATED FOREWORD BY GISELA STUART AND UPDATED AFTERWORD BY JACOB REES-MOGG On 23 June 2016, in the biggest ever vote in British history, 17.4 million people chose to leave the EU. So what does the future now hold after this momentous decision? What will life be like in Britain after we end our European marriage? Will Brexit precipitate the doom and gloom that many predict? Drawing on years of experience at the cutting edge of economic, business and policy issues, plus extensive discussions with leading politicians and diplomats across the UK, Europe and the world, Clean Brexit answers these questions and more. Authors and economists Liam Halligan and Gerard Lyons believe great days lie ahead. Brexit is an opportunity to strike deals with the world's fastest-growing economies, boosting British trade and job prospects. Freed from the EU's regulatory stranglehold, the UK can thrive, spreading wealth throughout the whole of the country. Directly elected MPs will once again have the final say over our laws, borders, taxes and trade negotiations. Important, balanced and accessible, Clean Brexit is the ultimate guide to making a success of Britain's divorce from the EU and a source of strength for voters elsewhere in Europe who have long demanded EU reform, but have been rebuffed.


Energy and Economic Myths

Energy and Economic Myths

Author: Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2014-05-18

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1483187969

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Energy and Economic Myths: Institutional and Analytical Economic Essays is a collection of materials that deal with various issues and concerns in economics. The title aims to clarify the misconception in economics. The first part of the text deals with the issues in natural resources and the economics of production. Next, the selection tackles the problems in institutional economics. Part III covers the epistemological and methodological concerns in economics. The title also talks about economic theories. The book will be of great interest to economists and readers who want to enhance their understanding of economic concepts.


Wellbeing Economy

Wellbeing Economy

Author: Lorenzo Fioramonti

Publisher: Pan Macmillan South africa

Published: 2017-08-04

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1770105182

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Economic growth is a constant mantra of politicians, economists and the media. Few understand what it is, but they love and follow it blindly. The reality is that since the global financial crisis, growth has vanished in the more industrialised economies and in the so-called developing countries. Politicians may be panicking, but is this really a bad thing? Using real-life examples and innovative research, acclaimed political economist Lorenzo Fioramonti lays bare society’s perverse obsession with economic growth by showing its many flaws, paradoxes and inconsistencies. He argues that the pursuit of growth often results in more losses than gains and in damage, inequalities and conflicts. By breaking free from the growth mantra, we can build a better society that puts the wellbeing of all at its centre. A wellbeing economy would have tremendous impact on everything we do, boosting small businesses and empowering citizens as the collective leaders of tomorrow. Wellbeing Economy is a manifesto for radical change in South Africa and beyond.