The economics of regulation: Principles and institutions Alfred E. Kahn Cambridge,MA: MIT Press, 1988, Vol. I, 199 pp., Vol. II, 360 pp.

Conclusion Although Kahn's theorizing may be criticized in various ways, there is no doubt that he succeeds in arriving at the correct conclusion. Significant social benefits were to be attained through increasing competition, i.e., through deregulation, in all of the industries that are considered in his analysis. As chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, Kahn courageously and effectively acted to bring about the benefits from deregulation that he predicted would be forthcoming, for which this nation, if not the world, should be grateful.In this book, Kahn argues persuasively for increasing thecompetitive component in regulated industries in order to achieve greater economic efficiency. The message of the book endures, as is befitting the book's stature as a classic.The author expresses his appreciation to the Book Review Editor of this journal, the two anonymous referees, Janice A. Sears, Khy and Anne Alexis Daniel, and Tonya Katsoulis for their tolerance, encouragement, and suggestions. The author alone is responsible for any errors.     

The macroeconomics of self-fulfilling prophecies Roger E. A. Farmer MIT Press, 1993, 259 pp.

In The Macroeconomics of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, Roger Farmer argues that dynamic general equilibrium models represent a useful means for organizing and representing one's understanding of macroeconomic behavior. Reasonably small departures from the standard assumptions of Arrow-Debreu economies can lead to equilibria with non-trivial roles for macroeconomic policy. Farmer demonstrates through theory and example the potential for multiple equilibria, which he suggests can be treated by better specification of agents' beliefs. The existence of multiple equilibria creates the possibility of bounded fluctuations due to animal spirits or "self-fulfilling prophecies." The author is indebted to Robert Holland and Chris Waller for comments on a previous draft.     

Health economics: Fundamentals and flow of funds Thomas Getzen, 2004, pp. 464

Conclusion A fundamental question is whether society will be willing to spend an ever increasing portion of its GDP on healthcare. Accordingly, as Getzen notes, the battle over revenues in the health sector is a constant phenomenon as the various players seek to improve their bargaining position. In the healthcare industry as in other industries, the segment with market power reaps the most profit. Historically, doctors had the market power, then the market power shifted to the insurance companies. In 2004, hospitals and doctors have improved their bargaining power relative to insurance companies. Getzen documents these battles over resources through his flow of founds approach. He has provided an excellent treatment for health economics courses and others interested in this increasingly improtant and contentious area of study.     

Internal sources of development finance: Concepts, issues and strategies P.C. Kumar Quorum Books, 1994, 161 pp.

Essentially a text book, this volume explores the operation of financial institutions and markets as they provide an important part of the institutional framework within which economic development is pursued. As such, Kumar provides a valuable summary of relevant material from the monetary and financial economics literature. The discussion of taxation as a source of financial capital is adept at addressing the special circumstances of developing counties as well as insights regarding supply-side effects of tax structure. Privatization as a development tactic is carefully considered and Kumar provides a service in demonstrating that one should not be naive in assuming privatization will yield efficiency or revenues gains in all market structures and with all organizational cultures. An excellent presentation of the comparative static analysis of the topic, the treatment would be strengthened by a more explicit and more extensive analysis of issues related to time and sequencing.     

Turning to Adam Smith Ian Simpson Ross Oxford University Press, 1995, 495 pp.

The Glasgow edition of the works and correspondence of Adam Smith, published by Oxford University Press since 1976, must be rated among the great editorial enterprises of the 20th century as far as political economy is concerned. The edition is now complete after the publication of the second (and last) associated volume devoted to the life of Adam Smith. Ian Simpson Ross's biographical work is the object of the present paper. Ross's book is discussed in connection with the ongoing debate on Smithian political economy. It is the purpose of this paper to show in what ways this biography can help readers of Smith to bring some of the main issues of the debate into proper focus.A preliminary draft of this paper was presented at the first conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought in Marseilles, France, February 27-March 2, 1997.