The Great Economists

Are you looking to learn about the very greatest economists of all time? Linda Yueh’s book is the best place to start, a modern-day version of Robert Heilbroner’s classic The Worldly Philosophers. – Tyler Cowen, the Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University, and author of The Complacent Class and The Great StagnationEconomics students are not taught the history of economic thought. They, like others, can learn a lot from this book: some of the great economists of the past had insights that could have saved the subject from its recent embarrassments. – Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Oxford UniversityNot only a great way to learn in an easily readable manner about some of the greatest economic influences of the past, but also a good way to test your own a priori assumptions about some of the big challenges of our time. – Lord Jim O’Neill, former Chairman at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, former UK Treasury Minister, and author of The Growth MapA fascinating event for anyone interested in economics. For this is a book which, as the title suggests, champions the value of studying the leading economic thinkers of the past … As an Oxford don and a professor at London Business School, Yueh undoubtedly knows her stuff; and as a former chief business correspondent for the BBC and economics editor at Bloomberg TV, she is a well-known and skilful communicator … The achievements of modern, scientific economics are significant, and the reader who wants a slick and well-curated tour of its current policy recommendations will profit greatly from Yueh’s enjoyable and up-to-date book. – Felix Martin * New Statesman *An extremely engaging survey of the lifetimes and ideas of the great thinkers of economic history, woven together with fascinating and useful discussions of how their ideas still shape economic policy today. Yueh’s book is reminiscent of Heilbroner’s marvellous classic The Wordly Philosophers, but more focused on contemporary debates on inequality, trade and productivity. Although targeted at readers interested in economic issues, this book would also make an excellent supplementary reading for undergraduate courses in economics, politics and social studies. – Kenneth Rogoff, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics at Harvard University, author of The Curse of Cash and co-author of This Time is DifferentLinda Yueh has had the brilliant idea of, not just describing the theories of each great thinker, but linking each one to a particular problem of today … I am sure Linda Yueh’s original approach will deepen students’ understanding of the Great Economists. * Lord Lamont, former Chancellor of the Exchequer *What would the great economists of the past make of today’s problems? Linda Yueh takes on this ambitious task in this engaging book, introducing us to the work of each economist and conjecturing how they might have advised us. This book is a very readable introduction to the lives and thinking of the greats, and reminds us that policymakers continue to be, as Keynes wrote, “slaves of some defunct economist”. – Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and author of I Do What I Do and Fault LinesTo anyone with even a passing interest in the economic problems, large and small, affecting us today, What Would the Great Economists Do? comes at the right time: a highly accessible and acute guide to thinking and learning from the men and woman whose work can inform and ultimately aid us in understanding the great national and global crises we face. – Nouriel Roubini, author of the New York Times bestselling Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of FinanceThis well-written book provides more than an engaging discussion of how the “Great Economists” changed the course of economic thinking and history. It links their insights to current economic challenges, assessing how their unique contributions can improve future wellbeing. It concludes by artfully bringing together the economists’ individual insights to shed light on the backlash against globalization. Read it not only to learn about the world’s great economists, but also to see how consequential thought innovations can be, and have been. – Mohamed A. El-Erian, Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, former CEO of PIMCOIs economics a science in which each new generation’s discoveries build on those of the old? Or a humanistic study in which old ideas remain valid and relevant today? Linda Yueh’s account of the thinking of the great economists demonstrates that both perspectives are true. – Professor John Kay

Linda Yueh CBE is Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford and Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School. She was Visiting Professor at LSE IDEAS and Visiting Professor of Economics at Peking University. The former Economics Editor at Bloomberg TV, she also hosted Talking Business with Linda Yueh as Chief Business Correspondent for BBC News. She writes for The Times, The New York Times, and the Financial Times and has advised the World Economic Forum in Davos, the World Bank, the European Commission and the Asian Development Bank. She has recently been appointed by HM Treasury to the Independent Review Panel on Ring-fencing and Proprietary Trading, to examine banking crises and advise the government on mitigating the next one. She is the author of two books; The Great Economists and The Great Crashes.

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