Skip to content

Book Reviews

CEME reviews a wide range of books — from economic history and management practices to theology and business ethics — including both recent publications and older works we think should not be forgotten. Our reviews are written for the serious non-specialist.

Filter by subject

Search all reviews

The Wealth of a Nation

'The Wealth of a Nation' by Geoffrey Hodgson

Review by Gordon Bannerman
Gordon Bannerman reviews an interdisciplinary assessment of the fundamental importance of legal and financial institutions in the development of capitalism in England between 1300 and 1820.
Ethics for capitalists

'Ethics for Capitalists' by Joseph Heath

Review by Richard Godden
Richard Godden reviews a book that provides much to think about in its argument that business ethics must be assessed in the context of our existing economic system – the market economy.
Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World

'Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World' by Dani Rodrik

Review by Anne R. Bradley
Anne R. Bradley agrees with the major political and economic challenges for the 21st century identified in Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World, but suggests that the proposed solutions invite technocracy, autocracy and other unintended consequences.
Austrian Economics: An Introduction

‘Austrian Economics: An Introduction’ by Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail R. Hall

Review by Caleb S. Fuller
Caleb S. Fuller reviews an elegant introduction to Austrian economics with a clarity of prose that does credit to the important ideas it contains.
The Last Human Job

'The Last Human Job' by Allison Pugh

Review by Stephanie MacGillivray
Stephanie MacGillivray reviews an argument for the importance of connective labour and the centrality to work of human relations at a time of increasing depersonalisation.
Business Ethics for Better Behavior

'Business Ethics for Better Behavior' by Jason Brennan et al.

Review by Billy Christmas
Billy Christmas comments on a refreshing ethics textbook that offers an appreciative treatment of business and market institutions, and appears to have a genuine interest in helping people to be more ethical.
The Triumph of Economic Freedom

'The Triumph of Economic Freedom' by Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux

Review by Andrew Lilico
Andrew Lilico reviews The Triumph of Economic Freedom by Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux, which sets out to debunk seven widely held myths about the record of American capitalism.
Merchant Saint

Merchant Saint by Donald Prudlo and Paul J. Voss

Review by Jan Bentz
Jan Bentz reviews a biography of the first layman canonised by the Church, which offers a striking meditation on whether economic life can itself be a genuine sphere of Christian virtue.
Can't We Just Print More Money

Can’t We Just Print More Money? by Rupal Patel and Jack Meaning

Review by Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan reviews Can’t We Just Print More Money?, an engaging, accessible and well-illustrated book, written by economists at the Bank of England, that assists the public in understanding economics and major economic matters.
The Permanent Problem

'The Permanent Problem' by Brink Lindsey

Review by Graeme Leach
Graeme Leach reviews a new book arguing that capitalism has solved scarcity but not yet delivered genuine human flourishing.