Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know®

Corruption regularly makes front page headlines: public officials embezzling government monies, selling public offices, and trading bribes for favors to private companies generate public indignation and calls for reform. In Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know�, renowned scholars Ray Fisman and Miriam A. Golden provide a deeper understanding of why corruption is so damaging politically, socially, and economically. Among the key questions examined are: is corruption the result of perverse economic incentives? Does it stem from differences in culture and tolerance for illicit acts of government officials? Why don't voters throw corrupt politicians out of office? Vivid examples from a wide range of countries and situations shed light on the causes of corruption, and how it can be combated.

Fisman, Ray

Golden, Miriam A.

Business & Money

Oxford University Press

Corruption regularly makes front page headlines: public officials embezzling government monies, selling public offices, and trading bribes for favors to private companies generate public indignation and calls for reform. In Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know®, renowned scholars Ray Fisman and Miriam A. Golden provide a deeper understanding of why corruption is so damaging politically, socially, and economically. Among the key questions examined are: is corruption the result of perverse economic incentives? Does it stem from differences in culture and tolerance for illicit acts of government officials? Why don't voters throw corrupt politicians out of office? Vivid examples from a wide range of countries and situations shed light on the causes of corruption, and how it can be combated.

Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It

An engaging and accessible examination of what ails insurance markets--and what to do about it--by three leading economists Why is dental insurance so crummy, why is pet insurance so expensive, and why does your auto insurer ask for your credit score? The answer to these questions lies in understanding insurance as a selection market. Unlike a normal goods market--for instance, a grocer who doesn't care who is buying broccoli at the store provided it is paid for--in selection markets, businesses are more careful in choosing their customers because some customers are more expensive than others. &nbsp; Unraveling the mysteries of insurance markets, Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, and Ray Fisman explore such issues as why insurers want to know so much about us and whether we should let them obtain this information; why insurance entrepreneurs often fail (and some tricks that may help them succeed); and whether we'd be better off with government-mandated health insurance or instead letting businesses, customers, and markets decide who gets coverage and at what price. With insurance at the center of divisive debates about privacy, equity, and the appropriate role of government, this book offers a clear explanation of some of the critical business and policy issues you've often wondered about, as well as some you haven't yet considered.

Finkelstein, Amy

Einav, Liran

Economics

Yale University Press

An engaging and accessible examination of what ails insurance markets—and what to do about it—by three leading economists\n“The authors . . . do a masterful job of explaining the intractable complexities created by this socially vital activity.”—Martin Wolf, Financial Times, “Best Books of 2022: Economics”\nWhy is dental insurance so crummy? Why is pet insurance so expensive? Why does your auto insurer ask for your credit score? The answer to these questions lies in understanding how insurance works. Unlike the market for other goods and services—for instance, a grocer who doesn’t care who buys the store’s broccoli or carrots—insurance providers are more careful in choosing their customers, because some are more expensive than others.\nUnraveling the mysteries of insurance markets, Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, and Ray Fisman explore such issues as why insurers want to know so much about us and whether we should let them obtain this information; why insurance entrepreneurs often fail (and some tricks that may help them succeed); and whether we’d be better off with government-mandated health insurance instead of letting businesses, customers, and markets decide who gets coverage and at what price. With insurance at the center of divisive debates about privacy, equity, and the appropriate role of government, this book offers clear explanations for some of the critical business and policy issues you’ve often wondered about, as well as for others you haven’t yet considered.

The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office

We create organizations because we need to get a job done--something we couldn't do alone--and join them because we're inspired by their missions (and our paycheck). But once we're inside, these organizations rarely feel inspirational. Instead, we're often baffled by what we encounter: clueless managers, a lack of clear objectives, a seeming disregard for data, and the vast gulf between HR proclamations and our experience in the cubicle.So where did it all go wrong?In THE ORG, Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan explain the tradeoffs that every organization faces, arguing that this everyday dysfunction is actually inherent to the very nature of orgs. THE ORG diagnoses the root causes of that malfunction, beginning with the economic logic of why organizations exist in the first place, then working its way up through the org's structure from the lowly cubicle to the CEO's office. Woven throughout with fascinating case studies-including McDonald's, al Qaeda, the Baltimore City Police Department, Procter and Gamble, the island nation of Samoa, and Google--THE ORG reveals why the give-and-take nature of organizations, while infuriating, nonetheless provides the best way to get the job done. You'll learn: 
<ul>
<li>The purpose of meetings and why they will never go away</li>
<li>Why even members of al Qaeda are required to submit Travel &amp; Expense reports</li>
<li>What managers are good for</li>
<li>How the army and other orgs balance marching in lockstep with fostering innovation</li>
<li>Why it's the hospital administration-not the heart surgeon-who is more likely to save your life</li>
<li>That CEOs often spend over 80% of their time in meetings-and why that's exactly where they should be (and why they get paid so much)</li>
</ul>
 Looking at life behind the red tape, THE ORG shows why the path from workshop to corporate behemoth is pockmarked with tradeoffs and competing incentives, but above all, demonstrates why organizations are central to human achievement.

SULLIVAN, TIM

Business Culture

Twelve

Meet the economic gangster. He's the United Nations diplomat who double-parks his Mercedes on New York City streets at rush hour because the cops can't touch him--he has diplomatic immunity. He's the Chinese smuggler who dodges tariffs by magically transforming frozen chickens into frozen turkeys. The dictator, the warlord, the unscrupulous bureaucrat who bilks the developing world of billions in aid. The calculating crook who views stealing and murder as just another part of his business strategy. And, in the wrong set of circumstances, he might just be you.
 In Economic Gangsters, Raymond Fisman and Edward Miguel take readers into the secretive, chaotic, and brutal worlds inhabited by these lawless and violent thugs. Join these two sleuthing economists as they follow the foreign aid money trail into the grasping hands of corrupt governments and shady underworld characters. Spend time with ingenious black marketeers as they game the international system. Follow the steep rise and fall of stock prices of companies with unseemly connections to Indonesia's former dictator. See for yourself what rainfall has to do with witch killings in Tanzania--and more.
 Fisman and Miguel use economics to get inside the heads of these "gangsters," and propose solutions that can make a difference to the world's poor--including cash infusions to defuse violence in times of drought, and steering the World Bank away from aid programs most susceptible to corruption.
 In a new postscript, the authors look at how economists might use new tools to better understand, and fight back against, corruption and violence in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Take an entertaining walk on the dark side of global economic development with Economic Gangsters.

Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations

Miguel, Edward

Princeton University Press

We create organizations because we need to get a job done―something we couldn't do alone―and join them because we’re inspired by their missions (and our paycheck). But once we’re inside, these organizations rarely feel inspirational. So where did it all go wrong?
In The Org, Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan explain the tradeoffs that every organization faces, arguing that this everyday dysfunction is actually inherent to the very nature of orgs. The Org diagnoses the root causes of that malfunction, beginning with the economic logic of why organizations exist in the first place, then working its way up through the org’s structure from the lowly cubicle to the CEO’s office.
You'll learn: 
<ul>
<li>The purpose of meetings and why they will never go away</li>
<li>Why even members of al Qaeda are required to submit travel and expense reports</li>
<li>What managers are good for</li>
<li>How the army and other orgs balance marching in lockstep with fostering innovation</li>
<li>Why the hospital administration―not the heart surgeon―is more likely to save your life</li>
<li>Why CEOs often spend more than 80 percent of their time in meetings―and why that's exactly where they should be (and why they get paid so much)</li>
</ul>

The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office - Updated Edition

The world is full of organizational cynics. Look around. Heck, look in the mirror. We sit in our cubes, adjust our chairs, sharpen our pencils and stare at our computer screens with the sense that we're immersed in dysfunction. We could, we're sure, do a far better job of running things if we were given the chance. But we know we won't get the chance and so sink into doubt, distrust, and pessimism. But it doesn't have to be that way. In THE ORG, authors Ray Fishman and Tim Sullivan take readers through the logic of organizations using basic economic principles as their guide. Examining why organizations exist in the first place, THE ORG explores the tradeoffs that every corporation faces-from how to select members to how to inspire and discipline them-and then looks at the components of the whole structure from cubicle dwellers to CEOs. Using the tools of organizational economics, THE ORG provides readers with a concrete, logical, and practical way of thinking about how organizations ought to work. The insights unearthed in THE ORG may surprise you and may also explain how, with a few tweaks, the dysfunctional nature of today's office may nonetheless provide the ideal structure for getting the job done.

America's economic revolution isn't just driven by technology. It's about markets. The past twenty-five years have witnessed a remarkable shift in how we get the stuff we want. If you've ever owned a business, rented an apartment, or shopped online, you've had a front-row seat for this revolution-in-progress. Breakthrough companies like Amazon and Uber have disrupted the old ways and made the economy work better—all thanks to technology. At least that's how the story of the modern economy is usually told. But in this lucid, wry book, Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan show that the revolution is bigger than tech: it is really a story about the transformation of markets. From the auction theories that power Google's ad sales algorithms to the models that online retailers use to prevent internet fraud, even the most high-tech modern businesses are empowered by theory first envisioned by economists. And we're all participants in this revolution. Every time you book a room on Airbnb, hire a car on Lyft, or click on an ad, you too are reshaping our social institutions and our lives. The Inner Lives of Markets is necessary reading for the modern world: it reveals the blueprint for how we work, live, and shop, and offers wisdom for how to do it better.

The Inner Lives of Markets: How People Shape Them-And They Shape Us

PublicAffairs

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fisman, Ray. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Fisman, Ray

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fisman, Ray. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know®

Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know®

Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It

Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do About It

The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office

The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office

Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations

The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office - Updated Edition

The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office

The Inner Lives of Markets: How People Shape Them-And They Shape Us