While many authors have
documented empires maintained through military
strength, power derived solely from economic
might is a more modern phenomenon. The root of
power differs little in one important
characteristic, though. There is a certain
inevitability to the decline of either form. And
there are lessons to learn from each as well.
Just as earlier empires based
on military or colonial power have experienced
spectacular ascendancies and subsequent
declines, modern economic empires are no less
fragile over time. The overextension,
overconfidence, and underinvestment that leads
to the demise of military or colonial empires
have their analogies in economic empires. An
economic superpower grows based on its strengths
and is fueled by its successes, and declines as
its values are transformed and economic
arrogance dilutes its hegemonic powers.
Colin Read describes the
various factors that give rise to economic
empires, and documents how these same forces
eventually lead to their downfall. By analyzing
the successes of each factor and the reasons why
they falter, he offers insights into ways to
sustain economic relevancy. He also offer
lessons to aspiring economies so that they may
best leverage and manage their growth and avoid
the problems that beset less carefully designed
economies.
In doing so, Read gives us an
interesting and provocative glimpse into the
current global dynamic in which the United
States, the world’s first true economic empire,
struggles to maintain its global economic
supremacy in the face of a rapidly growing China
that shall soon challenge it as the world’s
largest economy.
Also by Colin Read ...
How We Can Avoid the Next Economic Crisis
Colin Read explores the intricacies of modern financial
markets and explains in easy to understand terms the reasons for
global financial unrest arising from the sub-prime mortgage
crisis and global economic meltdowns. He proposes that a well
educated economic citizen is our most effective tool to prevent
future financial collapses, like the one witnessed in 2007-2008.
He walks us through a number of topics in economics, and
connects these topics to real world financial problems. He then
leaves us with a series of recommendations that can strengthen
the economy and leave it less prone to manipulation. Throughout,
he describes the role of globalization and the expected profound
impact countries like India and China will have on our economic
future.
Available in English and Chinese
Table of Contents
Introduction * SECTION I: EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN ECONOMIC
SYSTEM * SECTION II: CREATION OF THE CONSUMER-INVESTOR * SECTION III: AN
EMERGING NEW WORLD * SECTION IV: BANKS AND CENTRAL BANKING
* SECTION V: FINANCIAL FAILURES * SECTION VI: POLITICS AND
PERCEPTIONS * Conclusions * Epilogue * Index
Praise
"Colin Read has presented a useful account of the modern
financial system and the pitfalls of the current regulatory
structure. This book will be very helpful to those trying to
make sense of the current financial crisis"--Dean Baker,
Co-Director, Center for Economic Policy Research, Washington,
D.C.
"Professor Read adroitly straddles the divide between arcane
economic reasoning and the layperson's appetite for
understanding the intricacies of the modern financial system.
The book presumes some basic knowledge of economics in its
coverage of a rather extensive landscape of topics. At the same
time, it eschews heavy theoretical exposition in favor of a
conversational approach with moorings at key points in history
and a blend of social commentary. Professor Read is thoughtful
and provocative in building toward his global prescriptions for
a better economic future."--Wade Thomas, Professor of Economics,
State University of New York College at Oneonta
5.0 out of
5 starsEconomic
Theory and
Practice,
April 1,
2009
"Colin Read pulls no punches in
identifying what led us to our
current financial crisis. He has
a great knack of easily
explaining some complex economic
theories and some of the
different factors that brought
our global economy into its
current state of distress. Yet
rather than just harping on the
problems, Dr. Read ends the book
with "innovations" that our
leaders could implement towards
developing economic policy that
would help get our financial
markets on the right course. He
brings a positive attitude
towards the potential of
developing a more cooperative
and stable, global economic
policy. It is rare to find an
economist with the sense of
humor and optimistic enthusiasm
that Dr. Read brings to "Global
Financial Meltdown." This is an
enjoyable book that accepts the
reality of our crisis, yet
offers hope for a better
tomorrow." Rick Leibowitz
5.0 out of
5 starsA lively
introduction to
economics and
its excesses,
June 29,
2009
"Author Colin Read writes that
the purpose of his book is "to
provide an economic education
for the educated reader who does
not have a college major or
minor in economics." The book
goes a good distance toward
achieving that admirable goal.
This broad survey of important
economic ideas has a minimum of
jargon. As its hopeful subtitle
suggests, the book's major
emphasis is how to avoid another
global financial crisis. It is
especially timely as people all
over the world are trying to
understand the reasons for the
crisis and the roles of the
different players. While it
seems to have been proofread in
haste, getAbstract recommends
this readable book to anyone who
wants a firmer, basic
understanding of economics
without having to get a degree
in the subject." Rolf Dobelli of
getabstracts.com
-
What Happens
When Fear Grips Wall Street
English and Chinese
The science behind and economic consequences of fear are
explained by demonstrating how fear can drive markets to disastrous lows and how
the financial industry profits most when fear and volatility are highest. The
reader is offered recommendations to resolve market fears and bolster world
economies.
Table of Contents
Introduction * PART I: THE NATURE OF RISK * The Biology and
Psychology of Fear * An Economic Definition of Fear and Risk * PART II: THE
SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF LOANABLE FUNDS * The Demand Side * The Supply Side *
Balance of Capital * PART III: MEASUREMENT OF RISK * The Risk Premium - How Risk
Affects Expected Returns * The Fear Premium * The Demographics of Risk and Fear
* The Microeconomics of Risk Aversion * PART IV: THE PROBLEMS WITH RISK * Moral
Hazard * Privatized Gains and Socialized Losses * Adverse Selection and
Imperfect Information * Risk, Uncertainty, Fear, and Gambling * PART V: RISK AND
THE MARKET * Market Volatility and Returns * Fear, Panic, and Market Returns *
The Fear Factor * PART VI: A HISTORY OF PANICS * A Brief History of the Fear
Gripped Market * The Roaring Twenties and the Great Crash * The
Depression-Gripped Economy * Along Comes Keynes * PART VII: COORDINATION
FAILURES * The Market for Lemmings, or Tale of Two Cultures * The Role of
Machines and Programmed trading * The Ratings Agencies - More Perfect
Information? * PART VIII: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS AN ANTIDOTE TO FEAR * Where
Were the Regulators * Ethics and Social Responsibility * Wall Street, Main
Street, and the Social Contract * PART IX: INSTITUTIONS THE AMELIORATE OR
AMPLIFY FEAR * The Media as an Antidote to Fear * Politics That Fan the Flames
of Fear * Is There More to Fear than Fear Itself? * PART X: SOLUTIONS AND
CONCLUSIONS * Economic Leadership as an Antidote to Fear * A Dozen Prescriptions
to Take Back the Markets * Conclusions
International
Taxation Handbook
Policy, Practice, Standards, and Regulations
Edited By Greg Gregoriou, Professor
of Finance, School of Business and Economics, State University of New York
Plattsburgh Colin Read, Dean,
School of Business and Economics, State University of New York, Plattsburgh
Description
International taxation is evolving in response to globalization, capital
mobility, and the increased trade in services, and introduces international tax
practitioner, student and researcher to the theory, practice, and international
examples of the changing landscape. Models of tax competition in a flat and
connected world are very different than those necessary to ensure compliance in
a world dominated by cross-border flows of goods and repatriation of profits.
Taxes on consumption, e-commerce, and services are looming innovations in future
of international taxation. Tax coordination and standardization are immense
challenges in a world in which the movement of value is increasingly subtle and
hard to detect. And as corporations and individuals become more sophisticated in
the internationalization of flows of capital, our models must become more
sophisticated in their scope and inclusion. In the era when trade was dominated
by the exchange of manufactured goods, international taxation was designed to
protect domestic industries, create tax revenue, prevent evasion, and promote
compliance. The traditional toolbox of customs duties, tariffs, and taxes on
repatriated profits must be augmented as the movement of goods across borders
represents a much smaller fraction of trade and as international taxation policy
is increasingly used to attract foreign corporations rather than discourage
branch offices. International taxation models that can better tax services,
track international flows of capital, and allow a nation to compete in a world
market for capital formation are the tools of the modern tax practitioner.
International tax policy is now viewed as an integral part of economic policy.
This approach is bound to accelerate as the world becomes increasingly flat and
better connected. Economic progress is more and more influenced by the movement
of services and information, movements that are no longer through ports but
through fiber optic lines. This book contributes to the growing literature on
international taxation by bringing together theory and experience, current
practices and innovation, and our current understanding of some of the
challenges now facing and arguably frustrating current international taxation
policy. The book will create new avenues of research for scholars, a new
awareness for students of International Taxation, and new possibilities for
international tax practitioners. The models and examples presented here suggest
that there are serious problems with measurability of flows of services and
information, and points to an increasingly need for greater harmonization of
international taxation, perhaps through coordinated consumption-tax oriented
approaches.
Table of Contents
Section 1 - International Taxation Theory; The evolution of
international taxation; Summary, description and extensions of the capital
income effective tax rate literature; Empirical modeling of spatial
interdependence in tax competition; Labor mobility and income tax competition;
Section 2 - Optimal International Taxation in Practice-Innovations and the EU;
Taxable asset sales in securitization; Globalization, multinationals and tax
base allocation: advance pricing agreements as shifts in international
taxation?; Documentation of transfer pricing: on the nature of arm's length
analysis; Corporate tax competition and coordination in the European Union: What
do we know? Where do we stand?; Corporate taxation in Europe: competitive
pressure and cooperative targets; The economics of taxing cross-border savings
income: an application to the EU savings tax; Tax misery and tax happiness: a
comparative study of selected Asian countries; Section 3 - Global Challenges and
Global Innovations; The ethics of tax evasion: lessons for transitional
economies; Money laundering: every financial transaction leaves a paper trail;
Tax effects in the valuation of multinational corporations: the Brazilian
experience; The economic impacts of trade agreements and tax reforms in Brazil:
some implications for accounting research
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