On Leadership by Tony Blair: The work of a mechanic, not a magician, and all the better for it
This is a work for those who want to understand the plumbing of government, not the grandeur and glamour of governing
Paschal Donohoe on Atlas of Finance: Wonderful illumination of our economies and histories
Dariusz Wójcik’s book maps and visualises brilliantly an analysis of millions of financial data points
Paschal Donohoe on The Road to Freedom by Joseph Stiglitz and The Invisible Doctrine by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison
The eminence of Stiglitz is due to the range of his writing and academic excellence. This was recognised in a Nobel Prize for research on the impact of information on the operation of markets
Money & Promises by Paolo Zannoni: A message of profound economic importance
Though the tone is light, this study of the creation of currency is serious and the academic rigour is clear
Pains and gains: Paschal Donohoe on three books about economic growth
The complex matrix of growth, economics and society is mapped forcibly by Daniel Susskind, Maja Göpel and Fareed Zakaria
Paschal Donohoe on In the Long Run: Wise and beautiful work of political scholarship
Jonathan White explores the interplay of support for democracy and promises for the future
Paschal Donohoe on The Inequality of Wealth by Liam Byrne: improving debate on democracy and equality
An elegantly argued polemic with suggestions that merit serious consideration, although the analysis is occasionally incomplete
Wreckonomics: important case made with verve and style
The selection of examples is an analytical strength, ranging from conflict in Sri Lanka, to the drugs policy of the US and the migration policy of the EU
Paschal Donohoe reviews David Runciman’s The Handover: an author building up to something big
This work reminds us that states and corporations are not powerless as we confront this vista of radical change
Budget 2024: Paschal Donohoe’s speech in full
Minister for Public Expenditure delivers budget in Dáil Éireann
In the Long Run We’re All Dead: The Lives and Deaths of Great Economists by Björn Frank
This book is unlikely to meet the needs of a reader looking to take the first step in understanding the history and nature of economics
End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites and the Path of Political Disintegration review: Bleak vista for years ahead
Peter Turchin draws on Big Data and predictive models to make a sharp case about over-production of elites and how the US is on road to instability
Paschal Donohoe on two astute works about how to build a better world
Daniel Chandler’s Free and Equal skilfully turns political philosophy into detailed policy proposals, while Rafaek Behr surveys the wreckage of post-Brexit Britain
How Economics Can Save the World and My Journeys in Economic Theory: Far from dismal
Paschal Donohoe reviews new books by Erik Angner and Edmund Phelps
Paschal Donohoe on The Big Con: not so much an argument as an attack on consulting industry
Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington attack all too readily an industry they present as a confidence trick whereby states and other actors outsource their decision-making