Simon Johnson

History contains useful warnings and lessons and today’s economic policymakers would do well to heed them, says the IMF’s former chief economist, Simon Johnson. He recommends books showing why economic history matters.

The US, the UK and many other countries around the globe have become far less equal over the past 30 years. It’s important we understand how and why this happened, and what it means for our societies, says Daron Acemoglu, a professor of economics at MIT. He recommends the best books to get a better understanding of inequality.

The author of “The End of History” says the financial crisis revealed a great deal about the nature of America’s political and economic system. The shame, he says, is that opportunities to change it are now being ignored.