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Edward Carter: “Global Business” by Mahesh Joshi & J R Klein

This book is a concise attempt to grapple with the subject of the global economy, especially in the light of events such as the Brexit decision and the election of Donald Trump. Written by two business practitioners, it has a clear and slightly breathless style – one might almost say, (...)

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Richard Godden: “Global Poverty: A Theological Guide” by Justin Thacker

  Dr Justin Thacker describes Global Poverty: A Theological Guide as “In essence … a systematic theology of global poverty” (page 2). He explains that, in terms of the public apologetic content of the book, he has two primary aims: first, to issue a “plea for a reformed capitalism” and, (...)

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After Piketty Review

Richard Godden: “After Piketty”, edited by Heather Boushey et al.

Thomas Piketty’s Capital in The Twenty-First Century, published in 2013 (English edition, 2014), is the economics equivalent of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time: it is a technical book that has secured mass sales, over two and a quarter million copies having been sold worldwide. One may wonder how (...)

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The Ethical Capitalist

Georgina Bishop: “The Ethical Capitalist” by Julian Richer

As an economic system, unfettered capitalism in the post-recession era has come under considerable scrutiny. Reports of business scandals and misdealings, as well as serious social inequalities, are but a few of the most cited examples. In the face of these criticisms, proponents of capitalism have come to its defence. (...)

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Edward Carter: “Theology for Changing Times”, edited by Chris Baker & Elaine Graham

  Theology for Changing Times is a diverse collection of essays by different authors, all responding to a greater or lesser extent to the work of John Atherton, who died in 2016. Atherton was one of the leading practitioners of his generation when it came to Anglican ‘public theology’, part (...)

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Trey Dimsdale: “Missional Economics – Biblical Justice and Christian Formation” by Michael Barram

Some of the most important conversations in Christianity today involve questions of justice and how Christians should not only respond as individuals and as members of the “holy catholic church” to injustice, but also be positive catalyst of just societies and social institutions.  It is heartbreaking for those of us (...)

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Richard Godden: “Quakers, Business and Corporate Responsibility”, Nicholas Burton and Richard Turnbull (Editors)

Many books about business management or corporate responsibility use historical situations to illustrate or, at least to the satisfaction of their authors, prove their theories. Quakers, Business and Corporate Responsibility adopts the opposite approach: it examines a particular historical model of business management and corporate responsibility (that of the Quakers) (...)

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Colin Mayer

Brian Griffiths: “Prosperity: Better Business Makes The Greater Good” by Prof. Colin Mayer

In Prosperity, Colin Mayer presents an ambitious case for redefining the corporation to focus on social purpose, yet his proposals risk undermining the property rights and market discipline essential to long-term economic success.

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Richard Godden: “The Community of Advantage” by Robert Sugden

Neoclassical normative economics seeks to avoid state paternalism. On the assumption that human beings display “integrated preferences” (i.e. preferences that are stable, context-independent and internally consistent), this objective may be secured by public policy objectives being based on “preference-satisfaction”. However, psychological experiments over the past 30 years have demonstrated that (...)

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Richard Godden: “Humanomics: Moral Sentiments and the Wealth of Nations for the Twenty-First Century” by Vernon L. Smith and Bart J. Wilson

  Economics is a social science. It relates to the behaviour of human beings and its success as a science turns to a considerable extent upon its ability credibly to model that behaviour in such a way as to enable reliable predictions to be made. Neoclassical economists have focused on (...)

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Andrei Rogobete: “The Populist Temptation” by Barry Eichengreen

  Populism seems to have taken centre stage in today’s public discourse. Whether it’s the election of Donald Trump or Brexit, media outlets, academics, and indeed, the politicians themselves seem to be pointing the finger towards populism. Yet what exactly is populism? Which social and/or economic conditions might give rise (...)

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