The Economists' Hour

Binyamin Appelbaum has written a powerful must-read for all those interested in reinvigorating the credibility of economics, especially in policymaking circles. -- Mohamed A. El-Erian An entertaining and well-written look at how market-oriented ideas rose from the academy and transformed nations. -- Tyler Cowen Writing in accessible language of thorny fiscal matters, the author ventures into oddly fascinating corners of recent economic history . . . Anyone who wonders why government officials still take the Laffer curve seriously need go no further than this lucid book. * Kirkus * Lively and entertaining . . . The Economists' Hour is a reminder of the power of ideas to shape the course of history. -- Liaquat Ahamed * New Yorker * The New York Times financial writer maps the advance of economists-from the Kennedy administration onward-out of the academy and into government, elevating free markets in the sausage-making of public policy and sparking the inequity that plagues us today. * O Magazine * The wider story of the market-centric worldview provides the meat of Appelbaum's narrative . . . The fact that such sophisticated people presided over a dangerous build-up in financial risk suggests that something larger was at work than a naive faith in markets. Appelbaum's strength is that he generally acknowledges these complexities. * Atlantic * This thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and critical account of the economic philosophies that have reigned for the past half century powerfully indicts them. * Publisher Weekly (starred) *