Economists and the Powerful

“I strongly recommend this book. It is exactly what is needed as supplementary (but required!) reading in introductory economics courses everywhere.” —John Weeks, “Science and Society”

“Häring and Douglas’s book is praiseworthy in many ways […] [I]ts spirit is quintessentially institutionalist, for the authors’ focus is set squarely upon those real-world socio-political, cultural and, to some extent, biological structures that determine actual economic activities. In particular, Häring and Douglas are keen on reintroducing the notion of power within the economic discourse, thus recovering it from the other social sciences, where mainstream economists have been confining it for too many decades.” — Giorgio Baruchello, “Economics, Management, and Financial Markets”

“Häring and Douglas’s book is praiseworthy in many ways […] [I]ts spirit is quintessentially institutionalist, for the authors’ focus is set squarely upon those real-world socio-political, cultural and, to some extent, biological structures that determine actual economic activities. In particular, Häring and Douglas are keen on reintroducing the notion of power within the economic discourse, thus recovering it from the other social sciences, where mainstream economists have been confining it for too many decades.” — Giorgio Baruchello, “Economics, Management, and Financial Markets”

“There’s no lack of books on the shortcomings of mainstream economics. ‘Economists and the Powerful,’ by Norbert Haering, a German financial journalist, and Niall Douglas, an Irish IT consultant, stands out from the crowd.” —Olaf Storbeck, “Reuters BreakingViews”

“Best economics read of 2012: Economists and the Powerful by Norbert Häring and Niall Douglas went with me to Majorca and it was a rewarding and enjoyable mistake [...] it is an important book for understanding the times in which we live. For both works, the role of power in the economy and the successful efforts of the ultra-powerful and their minions to keep their doings off society's radar is the central theme.” —Edward Fullbrook, “Best economics read of 2012,” Real-World Economics Review Blog

“‘Economists and the Powerful: Convenient Theories, Distorted Facts, Ample Rewards’ by Norbert Haring and Niall Douglas nails one central fact with impeccable and uncompromising clarity: the concentration of power in the hands of a very few has ensured that the rewards at the top of the finance and business pyramids are increasingly disproportionate in relation to the economic contribution they make.” —“Cambridge Business”

“In their new book, ‘Economists and the Powerful,’ Norbert Häring and Niall Douglas trace how the most powerful of all the social sciences became a doctrine for helping the rich – with the aid of huge sums from business. You may be familiar with a version of this critique, thanks to the film Inside Job, which described how some of the best-known economists practising today are in the pay of Wall Street. But the history unearthed by Häring and Douglas is far more disturbing – because they argue that vested interests have slanted some of economics' most fundamental ideas.” —Aditya Chakrabortty, “Big business has corrupted economics,” “Guardian”

“[Häring and Douglas] provide a wealth of references tracing how economics was turned into a propaganda exercise for financiers, landlords, monopolists, insiders, fraudsters and other rent-seeking predators whom classical economists sought to tax and regulate out of existence. This state of affairs reflects the century-long drive of these free lunchers to fight back against classical economics by sponsoring self-serving fictions that depict them as earning their fortunes not in predatory and extractive ways, but by contributing to output as ‘job creators.’” —Michael Hudson, counterpunch.org