Small Economics

Everyone knew it was crazy to try to extract oil and natural gas buried in shale rock deep below the ground. Everyone, that is, except a few reckless wildcatters - who risked their careers to prove the world wrong. Things looked grim for American energy in 2006. Oil production was in steep decline and natural gas was hard to find. The Iraq War threatened the nation’s already tenuous relations with the Middle East. China was rapidly industrializing and competing for resources.

Our kids are smart, our banks are sound, our health care system is humane, our democracy is stable - but technological change is about to disrupt our economy and threaten our way of life. Canadians aren't ready for the race to the future. Can we still catch up - or even win? Yes, says Anthony Lacavera, one of Canada's most successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. But we need to change the way we think and talk about our own abilities - dream bigger, aim higher, and go for gold, not bronze.

You can be one of those super-successful people who not only have a successful career but also a successful business! We start with the key things any start-up needs, giving you insight into helpful things to consider as you start your business. Then, we take you back as far back in time as middle school. We then go through what kind of internships and educational choices you’ve made or are going to make.

In the last thirty years, the developing world has undergone tremendous changes. Overall, poverty has fallen, people live longer and healthier lives, and economies have been transformed. And yet many countries have simply missed the boat. Why have some countries prospered, while others have failed? Stefan Dercon argues that the answer lies not in a specific set of policies, but rather in a key "development bargain," whereby a country's elites shift from protecting their own positions to gambling on a growth-based future.

It has long been recognized that most standard of living increases are associated with advances in technology, not the accumulation of capital. Yet it has also become clear that what truly separates developed from less developed countries is not just a gap in resources or output but a gap in knowledge. In fact the pace at which developing countries grow is largely determined by the pace at which they close that gap. Therefore, how countries learn and become more productive is key to understanding how they grow and develop, especially over the long term.

In his previous book, The Elusive Quest for Growth, William Easterly criticized the utter ineffectiveness of Western organizations to mitigate global poverty, and he was promptly fired by his then-employer, the World Bank. The White Man's Burden is his widely anticipated counterpunch - a brilliant and blistering indictment of the West's economic policies for the world's poor.

The leisure class has been replaced by a new elite. Highly educated and defined by cultural capital rather than income bracket, these individuals earnestly buy organic, carry NPR tote bags, and breast-feed their babies. They care about discreet, inconspicuous consumption. In The Sum of Small Things, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett dubs this segment of society "the aspirational class" and discusses how, through deft decisions about education, health, parenting, and retirement, the aspirational class deepens the ever-wider class divide.

The purpose of The Sticking Point Solution is to help entrepreneurs and executives recognize the ways in which their businesses may be stuck, and to then give them tools for getting unstuck and enjoying exponential growth. To achieve this, Jay will help you to identify the nine "sticking points" that keep entrepreneurs and executives alike grinding just to survive, instead of growing and thriving.

Many of the most dynamic public companies, from Alibaba to Facebook to Visa, and the most valuable start-ups, such as Airbnb and Uber, are matchmakers that connect one group of customers with another group of customers. Economists call matchmakers multisided platforms because they provide physical or virtual platforms for multiple groups to get together. Dating sites connect people with potential matches, for example, and ride-sharing apps do the same for drivers and riders.

During one crazy week in January 2021, a motley crew of retail traders on Reddit’s r/wallstreetbets forum had seemingly done the impossible—they had brought some of the biggest, richest players on Wall Street to their knees. Their weapon was GameStop, a failing retailer whose shares briefly became the most-traded security on the planet and the subject of intense media coverage. The Revolution That Wasn’t is the riveting story of how the meme stock squeeze unfolded, and of the real architects (and winners) of the GameStop rally.

Father of modern management, social commentator, and preeminent business philosopher Peter F. Drucker analyzed economics and society for more than 60 years. Now, for listeners everywhere who are concerned with the ways that management practices and principles affect the performance of organizations, individuals, and society, there is The Essential Drucker - an invaluable compilation of essential materials from the works of a management legend.

We are in the midst of a startup revolution. The growth and proliferation of innovation-driven startup activity is profound, unprecedented, and global in scope. Today, it is understood that communities of support and knowledge-sharing go along with other resources. The importance of collaboration and a long-term commitment has gained wider acceptance. The Startup Community Way explores what makes startup communities thrive and how to improve collaboration in these rapidly evolving, complex environments.

With twenty years of experience in frontier markets, including a decade working in Africa, author Jonathan Berman engages with top business leaders on the vast opportunities and challenges of the continent. Success in Africa pushes past the headlines on Africa's growth to answer the questions often asked by companies and investors: Who do I work with there and what drives them? How do I deal with government? What about war, disease, and poverty? What about China? How do I win?

In Secrets of Silicon Valley, entrepreneur and media commentator Deborah Perry Piscione takes us inside this vibrant ecosystem where meritocracy rules the day. She explores Silicon Valley's exceptionally risk-tolerant culture, and why it thrives despite the many laws that make California one of the worst states in the union for business.

Space is a place of unparalleled possibility for humanity, and it's undergoing a revolution. A wave of companies led by gutsy entrepreneurs are unlocking opportunities that fire the imagination. No, it's not hotels on Mars or day trips to orbit (yet), but it's an awe-inspiring transformation driven by innovative technologies, creative approaches, hard work, and—for the first time—market forces.

In a radical break with the past, information now flows like water, and we must learn how to tap into its stream. Individuals and companies can no longer rely on the stocks of knowledge that theyve carefully built up and stored away. Information now flows like water, and we must learn how to tap into the stream.

Fred M. Haney, an experienced venture capitalist, angel investor, and company founder, explains start-up strategies that will help you understand the thinking of investors, build a “virtual team”, create initial value in a product or prototype, and recruit management that will help you raise capital. The Fundable Startup contains eight personal interviews with executives and entrepreneurs that will change the way founders think about managing a start-up company.

Here is a treasure in the history of the procapitalist novel, the story of an upstart Wall Street speculator financier, Henry Galt. He is a shadowy figure who stays out of the limelight as much as possible until he unleashes a plan that has been years in the making: he uses his extraordinary entrepreneurial talent to acquire control of a failing railroad.

In 2020, the American economy suffered the biggest financial collapse in history. But while Main Street suffered like never before, the stock market continued to reach new highs. How could this be? The answer is that government had slapped oppressive restrictions on small businesses while propping up Wall Street and engineering a historic consolidation of power and wealth. In The War on Small Business, entrepreneur Carol Roth unveils the many abuses of power inflicted on small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new world of results-driven aid that could put an end to extreme poverty. Drawing on two decades covering global development as editor in chief of Devex, Raj Kumar explores how nontraditional models of philanthropy and aid are empowering the world’s poorest people to make progress.