'a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases'. BARACK OBAMA *the #1 Sunday Times bestseller * instant New York Times bestseller * an Observer 'best brainy book of the decade' * #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller * Irish Times bestseller * Audio bestseller * Guardian bestseller * ---Longlisted for the 2018 Financial Times /McKinsey Business Book of the Year--- 'One of the most important books I've ever read - an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.' BILL GATES 'Hans Rosling tells the story of "the secret silent miracle of human progress" as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.' MELINDA GATES Factfulnes s: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness , Professor of International Health and a man who can make data sing, Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens, and reveals the ten instincts that distort our perspective. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.
Lire la suite Fermer

'One of the most important books I've ever read - an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.' BILL GATES 'Hans Rosling tells the story of "the secret silent miracle of human progress" as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.' MELINDA GATES Factfulnes s: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends - why the world's population is increasing; how many young women go to school; how many of us live in poverty - we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness , Professor of International Health and a man who can make data sing, Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens, and reveals the ten instincts that distort our perspective. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world.
Lire la suite Fermer

FROM THE WINNERS OF THE 2019 NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS 'Wonderfully refreshing . . . A must read' Thomas Piketty In this revolutionary book, prize-winning economists Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo show how economics, when done right, can help us solve the thorniest social and political problems of our day. From immigration to inequality, slowing growth to accelerating climate change, we have the resources to address the challenges we face but we are so often blinded by ideology. Original, provocative and urgent, Good Economics for Hard Times offers the new thinking that we need. It builds on cutting-edge research in economics - and years of exploring the most effective solutions to alleviate extreme poverty - to make a persuasive case for an intelligent interventionism and a society built on compassion and respect. A much-needed antidote to polarized discourse, this book shines a light to help us appreciate and understand our precariously balanced world.
Lire la suite Fermer

The extraordinary efforts that took mankind to the moon 50 years ago were more than a scientific feat of aeronautics. They required new forms of collaboration between the public sector (notably, NASA) and private companies. This book asks: what if the same level of boldness - the boldness that set inspirational goals, took risks and explicitly recognized that this requires large spending but will be worthwhile in terms of long-term growth - was applied to the biggest problems of our time, climate change, disease and inequality, to name only a few? Mariana Mazzucato argues that applying innovation to societal goals and structuring government budgets more explicitly to the long-term, as the moon programme did, we can do government differently.>

We all have the sense that our economy tilts toward big business, but, as Joseph E. Stiglitz explains in People, Power, and Profits , a few corporations now dominate entire sectors, contributing to skyrocketing inequality and slow growth. This is how the financial industry has managed to write its own regulations, tech companies have accumulated reams of personal data without oversight, and the government has negotiated trade deals that fail to represent the interests of workers. Too many have made their wealth through exploitation of others rather than through wealth creation. New technologies may make matters worse, increasing inequality and unemployment. Stiglitz identifies the true sources of wealth and of increases in standards of living, based on learning, advances in science and technology, and the rule of law. He shows that the assault on the judiciary, universities, and the media undermines the very institutions that have long been the foundation of economic prosperity and democracy. He sets out the economic solutions which will exploit the benefits of markets while taming their excesses, and how a decent middle-class life can once again be attainable for all.
Lire la suite Fermer

In November 2018, the New York Times published a bombshell in-depth investigation that exposed, with disturbing insider detail, how leadership decisions at Facebook enabled, and then tried to cover up, massive privacy breaches and Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The story quickly shot to the top of the paper''s most emailed list. It would earn the team of Times reporters a prestigious Loeb award, the George Polk award, and a spot on the Pulitzer short list. But it only skimmed the surface. The investigation''s lead reporters, Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang, spent eighteen months piecing together the story of how one of the most powerful companies in the world tried to bury a damning truth-that Facebook has become a conduit for disinformation, hate speech, and political propaganda. The unrivalled sources of these two veteran journalists led them to perhaps the most recognizable names in the tech industry: Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Both have long existed as archetypes of uniquely 21st century executives-he, the tech "boy genius" turned billionaire, she, the ultimate woman in business, an inspiration to millions through her books and speeches. An Ugly Truth is the definitive story of Facebook''s fall from grace, following the embattled company from 2011, when its power and positive influence was undisputed, to 2020, when it will face its biggest test yet-the US presidential election. What are the ultimate ramifications when a few individuals are in charge of the technology used by half the world''s population? Can they control the technology they''ve unleashed into the world? And if not, can we, as individuals and as a society, control them?
Lire la suite Fermer

As seen on BBC Newsnight.

Economics is broken, and the planet is paying the price.

Unforeseen financial crises. Extreme wealth inequality. Relentless pressure on the environment. Can we go on like this? Is there an alternative?

In Doughnut Economics, Oxford academic Kate Raworth lays out the seven deadly mistakes of economics and offers a radical re-envisioning of the system that has brought us to the point of ruin. Moving beyond the myths of 'rational economic man' and unlimited growth, Doughnut Economics zeroes in on the sweet spot: a system that meets all our needs without exhausting the planet.

The demands of the 21st century require a new shape of economics. This might just be it.
/>
*The Sunday Times Bestseller* *A Financial Times and Forbes Book of the Year* *Winner of the Transmission Prize 2018* *Longlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2017* 'The John Maynard Keynes of the 21st century.' George Monbiot, Guardian 'This is sharp, significant scholarship . . . Thrilling.' Times Higher Education 'Raworth's magnum opus . . . A fascinating reminder to business leaders and economists alike to stand back at a distance to examine our modern economics.' Books of the Year, Forbes 'There are some really important economic and political thinkers around at the moment - such as Kate Raworth's Doughnut Economics.' Andrew Marr, Guardian 'An admirable attempt to broaden the horizons of economic thinking.' Martin Wolf, Books of the Year, Financial Times 'A compelling and timely intervention.' Caroline Lucas MP, Books of the Year, The Ecologist
Lire la suite Fermer

Examines how the wealthy classes have contributed to growing inequality in society and explains how the quest to increase wealth has hindered the country's economic growth as well as its efforts to solve its most pressing economic problems.

Tim Harford's incredibly successful radio programme, podcast and book is now back for an extra fifty things. From the QWERTY keyboard and the humble brick to the bicycle, the beehive and the spreadsheet, this ingenious format once again allows Tim to explore surprising and eye-opening connections between ideas.

B>The story of the economists who championed the rise of free markets and fundamentally reshaped the modern world./b>As the post-World War II economic boom began to falter in the late 1960s, a new breed of economists gained in influence and power. Over time, their ideas curbed governments, unleashed corporations and hastened globalization.Their fundamental belief? That governments should stop trying to manage the economy.Their guiding principle? That markets would deliver steady growth and broad prosperity.But the economists' hour failed to deliver on its premise. The single-minded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, of the health of liberal democracy, and of future generations. Across the world, from both right and left, the assumptions of the once-dominant school of free-market economic thought are being challenged, as we count the costs as well as the gains of its influence.Both accessible and authoritative, exploring the impact of both ideas and individuals, Binyamin Appelbaum's The Economists' Hour provides both a reckoning with the past and a call fora different future.
Lire la suite Fermer

Why is the city-state better than the nation-state, and why is what we call "efficient" is not efficient at all? Why should you write your resignation letter before starting on the job? How did the sinking of the Titanic save lives? This title shows us that improbable and unpredictable events underlie everything about our world.

How can your name affect how well you do in life? What do estate agents and the Ku Klux Klan have in common? Why do drug dealers live with their mothers?The answer: Freakonomics. Its at the heart of everything we do and the things that affect us daily: from sex to crime, parenting to politics, fat to cheating, fear to traffic jams. And we can use it to get to the heart of whats really happening under the surface of everyday life. This cult bestseller will show you how, by unravelling your lifes secret codes, you can discover a totally new way of seeing the world.>

What would a fair and equal society look like? The world-renowned economist and bestselling author Yanis Varoufakis presents his radical and subversive answer. Imagine it is 2025 and that years earlier, in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, a global uprising had birthed a post-Capitalist world in which democracy, equality and justice are truly served. In a thought-experiment of startling originality, world-famous economist Yanis Varoufakis blends an ancient form - the Platonic dialogue - with speculative fiction to offer a glimpse of this alternative reality. Through the eyes of three characters - a liberal ex-banker, a radical feminist and a maverick technologist - we see what would be needed to forge such a world, one without commercial banks or stock markets, where companies are collectively owned and housing and income are guaranteed, but also at what cost. How to balance freedom with fairness? How to generate wealth while protecting the planet? How to encourage the best of humanity without unleashing the worst? As radical in its form as in its vision, Another Now shows how our answers to these questions shape our society, helping us confront the one question that underpins them all: how far are we willing to go in pursuit of our ideals?
Lire la suite Fermer

Why are some nations more prosperous than others? This book sets out to answer this question, with a compelling and elegantly argued new theory: that it is not down to climate, geography or culture, but because of institutions. It explains why the world is divided into nations with wildly differing levels of prosperity.

THE TOP TEN BESTSELLER From the bestselling author of The Black Swan , a bold book that challenges many of our long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility Why should we never listen to people who explain rather than do? Why do companies go bust? How is it that we have more slaves today than in Roman times? Why does imposing democracy on other countries never work? The answer: too many people running the world don't have skin in the game. In his inimitable, pugnacious style, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows that skin in the game applies to all aspects of our lives. It's about having something to lose and taking a risk. Citizens, lab experimenters, artisans, political activists and hedge fund traders all have skin in the game. Policy wonks, corporate executives, theoreticians, bankers and most journalists don't. As Taleb says, "The symmetry of skin in the game is a simple rule that's necessary for fairness and justice, and the ultimate BS-buster," and "Never trust anyone who doesn't have skin in the game. Without it, fools and crooks will benefit, and their mistakes will never come back to haunt them".
Lire la suite Fermer

Capitalism has co-existed with many different kinds of states, from Victorian Britain to republican France and confederate Switzerland, from Fascist and Nazi regimes to post-war European democracies, from post-Meiji Japan to south-east Asian and Latin American dictatorships, communist China and even Russia. Today, the march of capitalism appears inexorable - but it was not always so. In this riveting account of the rise of global capitalism from the 1880s until 1914, Donald Sassoon describes how after industrialization swept the world in the early nineteenth century the modernization of society and global capitalism followed. With capitalism, Sassoon argues, for the first time in the history of humanity, there was a social system able to provide a high level of consumption for the majority of those who lived within its bounds; its only rival, communism, was to fail miserably. But, in time, capitalism proved a devastating force in need of regulation, whose inbuilt traits were anxiety and crisis. With astonishing breadth of vision and scholarship, Sassoon encompasses the first great modern economic globalization, forerunner to today's consumer society, in this original and compelling book.
Lire la suite Fermer

From New York Times business reporter Nelson D. Schwartz comes a bold and urgent investigation of division between the wealthy and the middle class n every arena of American life. In nearly every realm of daily life--from health care to education, highways to home security--there is an invisible velvet rope that divides how Americans live. On one side of the rope, for a price, red tape is cut, lines are jumped, appointments are secured, and doors are opened. On the other side, middle- and working-class Americans fight to find an empty seat on the plane, a place in line with their kids at the amusement park, a college acceptance, or a hospital bed. We are all aware of the gap between the rich and everyone else, but when we weren''t looking, business innovators stepped in to exploit it, shifting services away from the masses and finding new ways to profit by serving the privileged. And as decision-makers and corporate leaders increasingly live on the friction-free side of the velvet rope, they are less inclined to change--or even notice--the obstacles everyone else must contend with. Schwartz''s "must read" book takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of this new reality and shows the toll the velvet rope divide takes on society.
Lire la suite Fermer

For fans of The Big Short , the story of a trading prodigy who amassed $70 million from his childhood bedroom-until the US government accused him of helping trigger an unprecedented market collapse On May 6, 2010, financial markets around the world tumbled simultaneously and without warning. In the span of five minutes, a trillion dollars of valuation was lost. The Flash Crash, as it became known, represented the fastest drop in market history. When share values rebounded less than half an hour later, experts around the globe were left perplexed. What had they just witnessed? Navinder Singh Sarao hardly seemed like a man who would shake the world's financial markets to their core. Raised in a working-class neighborhood in West London, Nav was a preternaturally gifted trader who played the markets like a computer game. By the age of thirty, he had left behind London's "trading arcades," working instead out of his childhood home. For years the money poured in. But when lightning-fast electronic traders infiltrated markets and started eating into his profits, Nav built a system of his own to fight back. It worked-until 2015, when the FBI arrived at his door. Depending on whom you ask, Sarao was a scourge, a symbol of a financial system run horribly amok, or a folk hero-an outsider who took on the tyranny of Wall Street and the high-frequency traders. A real-life financial thriller, Flash Crash uncovers the remarkable, behind-the-scenes narrative of a mystifying market crash, a globe-spanning investigation into international fraud, and the man at the center of them both.
Lire la suite Fermer