Globalisation is a popular topic at Five Books, and we've proud to have reading lists on it from extremely eminent economists, such as Dani Rodrik and Larry Summers of Harvard. In this section, we explore both globalisation and some of the issues that go with it, like the economic effects of immigration. Inequality is another side-effect of globalisation, as some people are able to capitalize and make the most of the global market, and others lose their jobs and are left behind by the economic changes it wreaks. Our interviews with Daron Acemoglu of MIT on and Branko Milanovic on inequality have been some of the most popular reading lists to appear on the site.
What to do about inequality is a separate issue. Australian economist John Quiggin suggests it's time for the left to come up with a new 'utopia', some vision of how we'd like the world to be that we can work towards. Former US labour secretary (turned academic and political commentator) Robert Reich recommends some books showing how previous generations dealt with inequality crises.
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The New Division of Labor: How Computers Are Creating the Next Job Market
by Frank Levy & Richard J Murnane -
2
The Race between Education and Technology
by Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F Katz -
3
Essays in Persuasion
by John Maynard Keynes -
4
Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by Tech
by Jamie Susskind -
5
Marienthal: The Sociography of an Unemployed Community
by Hans Zeisel, Marie Jahoda & Paul F Lazarsfeld
The Best Books on the Future of Work, recommended by Daniel Susskind
The Best Books on the Future of Work, recommended by Daniel Susskind
For many us, work is not only a vital source of income, but also an important part of our identity. As computers become ever better at doing jobs that used to be the exclusive preserve of humans, the work available to us and the rewards for doing it will change dramatically. As economist Daniel Susskind explains, these developments are going to force us to rethink how society as a whole works at a very fundamental level, changing the role of the state, the way we think about how individuals contribute to society and how they can, or should, be rewarded.
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The Great Demarcation: The French Revolution and the Invention of Modern Property
by Rafe Blaufarb -
2
Gold and Freedom: The Political Economy of Reconstruction
by Nicolas Barreyre -
3
Citizenship between Empire and Nation: Remaking France and French Africa, 1945-1960
by Frederick Cooper -
4
Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India
by Nicholas B. Dirks -
5
The Emergence of Globalism: Visions of World Order in Britain and the United States, 1939–1950
by Or Rosenboim
The best books on Historical Change and Economic Ideology, recommended by Thomas Piketty
The best books on Historical Change and Economic Ideology, recommended by Thomas Piketty
Throughout history, social and economic inequalities have been fueled and justified by different ideologies. French economist Thomas Piketty’s latest book, Capital and Ideology, looks at the advent and fall of these ideologies, and how they could evolve in the future. He recommends five great books to better understand these complex and always-evolving ideas, and their consequences for the world.
Peter Temin on An Economic Historian’s Favourite Books
Distinguished economic historian, Peter Temin, talks us through some of his favourite books. His own latest book, The Vanishing Middle Class, charts America’s regression towards a pre-industrial society: with many poor, a few rich, and not much in between.
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The Race between Education and Technology
by Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F Katz -
2
Top Incomes in the Long Run of History
by Emmanuel Saez, Thomas Piketty & Tony Atkinson -
3
Why Nations Fail
by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson -
4
Unequal Democracy
by Larry M Bartels -
5
13 Bankers
by Simon Johnson & Simon Johnson and James Kwak
The best books on Inequality, recommended by Daron Acemoglu
The best books on Inequality, recommended by Daron Acemoglu
The US, the UK and many other countries have become far less equal over the past 30 years. The MIT economics professor Daron Acemoglu recommends inequality books and reading because he says it’s important we understand how and why this happened, and what it means for our societies.
The best books on Globalization, recommended by Larry Summers
Globalization benefits mankind and we are learning how better to deal with the disruption it causes. But one thing is for sure, the laws of economics are no more escapable than the laws of physics. Harvard professor and former US Treasury secretary, Larry Summers, recommends the best books on globalization.
The best books on Inequality, recommended by Danny Dorling
‘When it comes to human happiness the inequalities which matter most aren’t financial. They are in terms of health or education. When it really comes down to it, what matters most is that are you well, that you are going to live a long life, that your children are going to live a long life.’
The best books on Saving Capitalism and Democracy, recommended by Robert Reich
It’s not the first period in history that American society has suffered from a crisis of inequality. Former labour secretary, Robert Reich, recommends books to help us understand the response of previous generations to the same kinds of challenges we now face.
The best books on Economic Inequality Between Nations and Peoples, recommended by Branko Milanovic
World Bank economist and author of The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Short and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality discusses global economic inequality and says internal issues of inequality breed aggressive foreign policy
The best books on Economic Development, recommended by Pranab Bardhan
What is economic development? What does it take to make it happen? What can we learn from the days Britain was still a developing country? Eminent Indian economist, Pranab Bardhan, recommends the best books to better understand economic development.