Books

All Cournot Centre publications are published in English and in French.

NOVEMBER 2010 RELEASE: The Shape of the Division of Labour: Nations, Industries and Households

The Shape of the Division of Labour

Contributors: Bina Agarwal, Martin Baily, Jean-Louis Beffa, Richard N. Cooper, Jan Fagerberg, Elhanan Helpman, Shelly Lundberg, Valentina Meliciani, Peter Nunnenkamp

Edited by Robert M. Solow and Jean-Philippe Touffut
Edward Elgar 2010

This book is unique in its broad coverage of the concept of division of labour. The variety of contributions highlight its shape, showing that it is not just limited to the old notions of the degree of the division of labour among productive units, along the lines of Adam Smith, or the degree of specialization amongst countries, along the lines of David Ricardo. Through different lenses, the authors present a panoramic and detailed view of contemporary analyses, including not only gender, but also assets, sectors and nations. The book edited by Robert Solow and Jean-Philippe Touffut therefore provides a refreshing new vision on one of the oldest concepts popular in economic analyses.
- Luc Soete, Professor of International Economic Relations, Maastricht University and Director of UNU-MERIT

Read more »

Changing Climate, Changing Economy

ECCC_Cover

Contributors: Michel Armatte, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Olivier Godard, Inge Kaul, Thomas Schelling, Robert Solow, Nicholas Stern, Thomas Sterner and Martin Weitzman

Edited by Jean-Philippe Touffut
Edward Elgar 2009

The book launches took place in Washington, D.C. on 3 December and in Copenhagen on 8 December 2009.

This volume brings a remarkable variety of viewpoints on appropriate policy to meet the threats brought on by man-made climate change. Not only economic theory but broader political and methodological perspectives are brought to bear by an authoritative set of authors, in what is certainly a significant contribution to the debate.
– Kenneth J. Arrow, Stanford University

Read more »

Does Company Ownership Matter?

CO_Cover
CO_CoverCO_CoverContributors: Jean-Louis Beffa, Margaret Blair, Wendy Carlin, Christophe Clerc, Simon Deakin, Jean-Paul Fitoussi, Donatella Gatti, Gregory Jackson, Xavier Ragot, Antoine Rebérioux, Lorenzo Sacconi and Robert Solow
Edited by Jean-Philippe Touffut Edward Elgar 2009
The 2008 financial crisis has caused the validity of theshareholder-oriented model to be scrutinized. Was the model right? Was it just that the regulations were inadequate, or was it the financiers’ greed? Should we not have earnestly searched for another model? Originally presented a year before the crisis, thepapers in this volume did more than anticipate such debate. This book provides excellent food for thought for anyone interested inhow to reconstruct the corporate economy.
– Masahiko Aoki, Stanford University
Do modes of management depend on company ownership? Does macroeconomic performance rely on shareholder value? The contributions collected in this book explore these questions from economic, historical and legal perspectives. They examine company ownership through the study of national institutions, with particular focus on North America and Europe. The 12 economic and legal specialists of this volume seek to explain why firms organized along the shareholder model have not outperformed other forms of ownership. Answers lie in the historical and institutional background of each country.
This book will appeal to a wide-ranging audience encompassing researchers, students and academics in the fields of corporate governance, company law, finance and organization theory.

CO_CoverContributors: Jean-Louis Beffa, Margaret Blair, Wendy Carlin, Christophe Clerc, Simon Deakin, Jean-Paul Fitoussi, Donatella Gatti, Gregory Jackson, Xavier Ragot, Antoine Rebérioux, Lorenzo Sacconi and Robert Solow

Edited by Jean-Philippe Touffut
Edward Elgar 2009

The 2008 financial crisis has caused the validity of theshareholder-oriented model to be scrutinized. Was the model right? Was it just that the regulations were inadequate, or was it the financiers’ greed? Should we not have earnestly searched for another model? Originally presented a year before the crisis, thepapers in this volume did more than anticipate such debate. This book provides excellent food for thought for anyone interested inhow to reconstruct the corporate economy.
 – Masahiko Aoki, Stanford University

Read more »

Central Banks as Economic Institutions

Contributors: Patrick Artus, Alan Blinder, Willem Buiter, Barry Eichengreen, Benjamin Friedman, Carl-Ludwig Holtfrerich, Gerhard Illing, Otmar Issing, Takatoshi Ito, Stephen Morris, André Orléan, Nouriel Roubini and Robert Solow
Edited by Jean-Philippe Touffut Edward Elgar 2008
Theories and practices in central banking and monetary policyhave changed radically over recent decades with independenceand inflation targeting as the new keywords. This book offers interesting perspectives on the drivers of this developmentand its implication. It addresses contemporary questions onaccountability, transparency and objectives for monetary policy as well as current policy problems related to globalization andfinancial imbalances. The book is topical, insightful and well written – a must for everybody with an interest in central bankingand monetary policy.
– Torben M. Andersen, University of Aarhus
The number of central banks in the world is approaching 180, a tenfold increase since the beginning of the twentieth century. What lies behind the spread of this economic institution? What underlying process has brought central banks to hold such a key role in economic life today? This book examines from a transatlantic perspective how the central bank has become the bank of banks. Thirteen distinguished economists and central bankers have been brought together to evaluate how central banks work, arrive at their policies, choose their instruments and gauge their success in managing economies, both in times of crisis and periods of growth.
Central banks have gained greater independence from government control over the last 20 years. This widespread trend throws up new questions regarding the foundations, prerogatives and future of this economic institution. This book provides a better understanding of the current financial crisis through the in-depth study of the central bank. Researchers in the fields of monetary theory, monetary policy and central banking will find this volume of great interest. It will also appeal to students of economics, political economy, banking and finance, as well as economists, academics, and public policy advisers and analysts.

Central Banks as Economic InstitutionsContributors: Patrick Artus, Alan Blinder, Willem Buiter, Barry Eichengreen, Benjamin Friedman, Carl-Ludwig Holtfrerich, Gerhard Illing, Otmar Issing, Takatoshi Ito, Stephen Morris, André Orléan, Nouriel Roubini and Robert Solow

Edited by Jean-Philippe Touffut
Edward Elgar 2008

Theories and practices in central banking and monetary policyhave changed radically over recent decades with independenceand inflation targeting as the new keywords. This book offers interesting perspectives on the drivers of this developmentand its implication. It addresses contemporary questions onaccountability, transparency and objectives for monetary policy as well as current policy problems related to globalization andfinancial imbalances. The book is topical, insightful and well written – a must for everybody with an interest in central bankingand monetary policy.
 – Torben M. Andersen, University of Aarhus

Read more »

Augustin Cournot: Modelling Economics

Contributors: Robert J. Aumann, Alain Desrosières, Jean Magnan de Bornier, Thierry Martin, Glenn Shafer, Robert M. Solow and Bernard Walliser

Edited by Jean-Philippe Touffut
Edward Elgar 2007

Augustin Cournot : Modelling EconomicsThis rich and fascinating collection of essays helps enormously to establish the reputation of Augustin Cournot as a diverse and powerful thinker, whose numerous contributions range far beyond his widely acknowledged model of oligopoly. Cournot is revealed not merely as a mathematician, but one who was engaged in philosophical debates concerning epistemology and the nature of science. Anyone with the preconception that the development of modern economics was confined to the Anglophone world – from Smith through Marshall to the Nobel Laureates of today – will be amazed by the details of Cournot’s contribution revealed here.
– Geoffrey M. Hodgson, University of Hertfordshire

Read more »

Advancing Public Goods

advancing_public_goodsContributors: Patrick Artus, Avner Ben-Ner, Bernard Gazier, Xavier Greffe, Claude Henry, Philippe Herzog, Inge Kaul, Joseph Stiglitz and Jean-Philippe Touffut

Edited by Jean-Philippe Touffut
Edward Elgar 2006

This is a timely and thought-provoking book which brings the discussion of public goods to confront the contemporary world economy where such goods have often a global nature and require super-national provision and control.
– Giovanni Dosi, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies

Read more »

Corporate Governance Adrift

corporate_governance_adriftMichel Aglietta and Antoine Rebérioux
Edward Elgar 2005

Corporate Governance Adrift is a challenging book… the authors have succeeded in creating a work that is consistently fascinating and an argument that is lucid and gripping without ever compromising its intellectual weight.
– Manifest

Read more »

The Future of Economic Growth: As New Becomes Old

future_economic_growthRobert Boyer
Edward Elgar 2004

How significant was the internet boom and bust? Robert Boyer brings significant and fresh insight to efforts to situate the meaning of the digital transformation through which we are living. With analytic discipline and historical perspective, Boyer provides an important interpretation that will be valuable to scholar and teacher, those just curious about the internet development and those who lived through it.
– John Zysman, University of California, Berkeley

Read more »

Institutions, Innovation and Growth: Selected Economic Papers

institutions_innovation_growthContributors: Philippe Aghion, Bruno Amable with Pascal Petit, Timothy Bresnahan, Paul A. David, David Marsden, AnnaLee Saxenian, Günther Schmid, Robert M. Solow, Wolfgang Streeck and Jean-Philippe Touffut

Edited by Jean-Philippe Touffut
Edward Elgar 2003

While interest in innovation and economic growth has exploded in the economics literature in recent years, the role of institutions has been largely overlooked. With publication of this book, Jean-Philippe Touffut brings together a leading group of international scholars to provide a path-breaking rigorous analysis of the links between institutions, innovative activity and economic growth. The conclusions from the volume are unequivocal – not only do institutions matter in shaping economic growth, but also their impact can be understood in a systematic and predictable manner.
– David B. Audretsch, Indiana University

This book contains informed and informing contributions by noted scholars on innovation and growth – surely the most critical topics for economic welfare in the long run. The essays will be most satisfying to students and others seeking greater relevance in the analytic materials of our literature.
– William J. Baumol, New York University, US and Princeton University

Read more »

Related Links

Resource Links