"McMillan's prose resembles single malt, going down easy as it stimulates."
Kenneth J. Arrow, 1972 Nobel Prize winner in Economics
"McMillan's rich knowledge of ... current economic theory and ... economies in transition is well embodied in this ... sophisticated survey."
Reed E. Hundt, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
"Required reading for anyone who wants to understand the "magic" of markets... Lucidly explained, brilliantly analyzed, and delightfully explored."
Hal R. Varian, author of Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy
"Lively [and] instructive... A colorful and authoritative look at how markets work and don't work in today's economy."
Peter L. Bernstein, author of Against the Gods
You may have heard that economics is the dismal science. Not in McMillan's hands. Here economics is fun, fascinating, ... fruitful.
Maggie McDonald, New Scientist
"[McMillan] sets out to show that markets are an inevitable and desirable part of life... An engrossing read."
Hal R. Varian, author of Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy
Lively [and] instructive... A colorful and authoritative look at how markets work and don't work in today's economy.
Reed E. Hundt, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
Required reading for anyone who wants to understand the "magic" of markets... Lucidly explained, brilliantly analyzed, and delightfully explored.
Kenneth J. Arrow, 1972 Nobel Prize winner in Economics
McMillan's rich knowledge of ... current economic theory and ... economies in transition is well embodied in this ... sophisticated survey.
Kirkus Reviews
McMillan's prose resembles single malt, going down easy as it stimulates.
Book Description
Clear, insightful, and nondogmatic, this book gives us a new appreciation for one of our most ubiquitous institutions.
From the wild swings of the stock market to the online auctions of eBay to the unexpected twists of the world's post-Communist economies, markets have suddenly become quite visible. We now have occasion to ask, "What makes these institutions work? How important are they? How can we improve them?"
Taking us on a lively tour of a world we once took for granted, John McMillan offers examples ranging from a camel trading fair in India to the $20 million per day Aalsmeer flower market in the Netherlands to the global trade in AIDS drugs. Eschewing ideology, he shows us that markets are neither magical nor immoral. Rather, they are powerful if imperfect tools, the best we've found for improving our living standards. A New York Times Notable Book.
Synopsis
Taking us on a tour of the world's markets, John McMillan ranges from a camel trading fair in India to the 20 millin dollar per day Aalsmeer flower market and the global trade in AIDS drugs. He shows markets as neither magical nor immoral, but imperfect tools to improve living standards.
About the Author
John McMillan is the Jonathan B. Lovelace Professor of Economics at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
