Book Review: Agent-Based Models In Economics: A Toolkit

The book Agent-Based Models in Economics: A Toolkit (Amazon affiliate link) is a collection of articles edited by by Domenico Delli Gatti, Giorgio Fagiolo, Mauro Gallegati, Matteo Richiardi, and Alberto Russo. (I will refer to them as "the editors" in this article...) I picked up this book as it appears aimed at my new interest in agent-based models. 

Given the diversity of the articles within the text, I will not attempt to make this an academic book review, instead being closer to a book review on an online book store: who would be interested in buying this book? The book is somewhat more "literary" in style than I hoped for, but it might be of interest for those who enjoy economic theory controversies.

Book Concept: Inflation Primer

I could switch my plans, but I am leaning towards an inflation primer as my next book. I want to keep the scope of the book under control, and I realised that the best way to do that is to aim for a simpler introductory work. There will hopefully be information of interest to more advanced readers as well, but I hope to keep the complexity limited.

Paperback Edition of "MMT And The Recovery" Now Available

The paperback edition of "Modern Monetary Theory and the Recovery" is now available at Amazon (affiliate link). The book description is found here.

The book will available at other online booksellers with a delay, as it takes time to propagate book database changes.

Modern Monetary Theory and the Recovery

 

My latest book Modern Monetary Theory and the Recovery has just been released in e-book and paperback format on most large online book platform. In addition to being able to buy directly from Amazon.com using the widget to the left, links to all bookstore are found at Books2Read (link). It is an examination of the reasons for slow growth in the past decades, and what policies might be undertaken to ensure stronger growth. The book gives a streamlined introduction to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), aimed at readers with some knowledge of economics but not of MMT.

Overview

This book discusses the causes of slow growth in the developed world after the early 1990s from a Modern Monetary Theory perspective. Policy proposals from MMT proponents that aim to rejuvenate the labour market without causing a resurgence of inflation will be examined.

Modern Monetary Theory is an outgrowth of the heterodox post-Keynesian school of economics, and the overall scope of the theory is often obscured, or mangled, in popular discussions. This text outlines its key concepts with the objective of reducing confusion.

Given the reality that MMT arguments are hotly debated, this book concludes with a chapter of criticisms of MMT.

Modern Monetary Theory and the Recovery: March 11 E-Book Release

 

My latest book Modern Monetary Theory and the Recovery will be released on March 11, 2021 in e-book formats. It is available for pre-order at Amazon, Kobo, Apple, and others to be added. The paperback edition will be available in about a month. 

The book outlines the causes of slow growth that has plagued the developed economies since the early 1990s, and looks at policy recommendations from Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) designed to break out of this rut. It also outlines the contents of MMT from a somewhat more advanced perspective, aimed at readers with knowledge of economics but not MMT in particular. It concludes with a chapter of critiques of MMT.

MMT Primer Manuscript Filled Out -> Publishing Pause

I have wrapped up the first pass of my manuscript. It is mainly a MMT primer, but it is built around a discussion of the upcoming expansion, and whether it will repeat the experience of past cycles. Although I initially planned for a shorter book (as always!), the manuscript is nearly 50,000 words, which is short when compared to full-length books (a novel is typically at least 100,000 words, a 50,000 word fiction piece would be considered a novella), but longer than my earlier books. (The word count should drop as I edit the text, but I cannot see it dropping below 40,000 words.) 

Most of the content was previously published as articles here, and what I had been doing is a cleanup of text, and putting the sections together. I am now doing an editing pass where I am mainly eliminating topics that crop up in other places. Since I do not want to go "here's an article I published last month, with three paragraphs removed!" output here will be fairly low.

The text was fairly easy to write, and I hope it is easy to read. The hope is that this means that the next editing steps will be relatively painless. I simplified the formatting - no equations, nor footnotes/endnotes, so that final publication formatting is easier.

I might be organised and attempt to do a simultaneous release of all editions. This would add up to an extra month, but it means that I am not stuck in a position where the Kindle version is out much earlier than the paperback.

(c) Brian Romanchuk 2020

New Book Update

My MMT primer is chugging along. It is organised around a theme discussing the upcoming recovery after COVID-19 is vanquished (which may or may not be too optimistic a view on the pandemic). It is currently 16,000 words, without counting a few primers on fiscal policy I wrote in January/February.

My objective is to keep the text short, so that it acts a minimal length primer, aimed at readers who have some background in economics. I cannot promise any particular publishing date, but I hope for a quick turnaround. My publishing schedule is going to be somewhat more erratic, as I put up sections as I complete them.

Since I am focusing on this piece, my articles are going to remain MMT-centric. Once it is completed, I will be somewhat more eclectic in topics, as I expect to get back to Recessions: Volume II.

I am doing an experiment with the format: I have eliminated footnotes/endnotes. Although I enjoy making sarcastic remarks in footnotes, they disrupt the workflow for publication. By having straight text only, my non-Amazon distributor software allows for straight Word to EPUB conversion. This will allow near-simultaneous ebook release; paperback will still come after a delay. The ebook will be at an attractive entry price point, but the overhead costs of printing implies that the paperback price will end up closer to my other books.

New Book: The Case For A Job Guarantee

Yet another MMT book is out in North America: The Case for a Job Guarantee, by Pavlina R. Tcherneva (Amazon affiliate link). The book does a very good job of covering the ground of what the Job Guarantee is, and why it is needed.

Although online discussions of MMT typically revolve around "printing money" and "whether MMT is new?," the Job Guarantee is a core part of the theory, and often skipped over.

This article is not meant to be a formal review, nor do I explain the Job Guarantee. I am in the process of writing a MMT primer, and I will use this book as the basis for sections on the Job Guarantee.

"The Deficit Myth": Impressions/Review

 Stephanie Kelton's the Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy (affiliate link) has been a long-awaited book from a Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) proponent that was the Chief Economist for the Democratic Party on the Senate Budget Committee. The book provides a clean introduction to MMT, and how it fits in with fiscal policy and the political process.

So far, the book has sold well, and generated discussion and reviews. This is welcome, as by putting MMT on the map, we might see something resembling a debate around it. There has been fairly intense criticism of MMT in traditional and social media as well as financial market commentary for over a year now, and my estimate that over 90% of those critiques were based on beliefs that were largely made up, and quite often the opposite of the MMT view. Other than the old MMT/post-Keynesian internecine conflicts, almost no citations are made of any texts written by academic MMTers.

"Deficit Myth" Out

 Stephanie Kelton's the Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy (affiliate link) has been published, and is selling like hotcakes.

I am close to finishing it, and I have been impressed. I will do a longer article (more impressions than a formal review) in the coming days.

Later on, I will be using it as the backup reference for a section on fiscal policy in my MMT primer.

Also on the MMT book front, Pavlina Tcherneva has a book on the case for the Job Guarantee out (affiliate link). It has already been released in some European countries, but not available yet here in North America. I will certainly be looking at it when it is available.

"Recessions: Volume I" Paperback Edition Published

The paperback edition of Recessions: Volume I has been published, and is available at online bookstores. Note that it has appeared first at Amazon, and will appear with a delay at other online bookstores.

The Books2Read website has links to the online stores that sell the ebook.

The paperback is longer than my previous reports, at 182 pages (excluding end matter).

In other recession news, the NBER has declared February to be the start date of the current recession. The more interesting question will be the end date of the recession. Although the economy is certainly expanding as shuttered industries are re-opened, we still face second round job losses and bankruptcies. The business cycle dating committee could easily decide to look through this short-term bounce, rather than split the recession into two time intervals.

MMT And The Coming Expansion

With the formatting of Recessions: Volume I finally under control, I am now turning to the layout of my next book. As I have discussed before, I will write at least one report in between Volume I and Volume II. With the Mitchell/Wray/Watts textbook published, I feel I am in a better position to write an explicit MMT primer. (Understanding Government Finance is the closest I have to a MMT primer, but it has a narrower scope.)

Update: "Recessions: Volume I" E-Book Edition At Major Bookstores

The e-book edition of "Recessions: Volume I" has now been released at major online booksellers, with a few more stores to be added as the book is processed.

This link brings you to the books2read website, which as a book description and the current list of stores that sell the e-book:  https://books2read.com/recessionsvol1

The paperback edition will not appear for awhile longer. I need to do the index, and see the printed proof of the book.

"Recessions: Volume I" Kindle Edition Published

The Kindle edition of Recessions: Volume I has been published on Amazon (affiliate link). This book is longer than my previous ones (59,000 words).

I will create a longer book description article shortly.

As for other editions, they will take time. My current workflow is to create the EPUB version from the same file as the version used for paperback. There is a considerable amount of work involved in getting paperback formatting correct. Once done, I can submit the EPUB edition, then wait for the paperback proof.

If the reader would like to take advantage of the ebook matching programme at Amazon (ebook given free when paperback is bought), they will need to wait for the paperback to be released (I do not think Amazon offers refunds in that case).

Thanks in advance for your support.

"Recessions: Volume I" Incoming

I have got the edited manuscript of Recessions: Volume I back from my editor. Although I wanted to do a simultaneous launch of all editions originally, I think it is best to get it out quickly. The book is longer than my previous reports, but still shorter than most books. (A novella rather than a novel.)

This means that the Amazon Kindle version will appear first, then the EPUB editions will trickle into the other online booksellers (Kobo, Scribd, Apple...), and then with a considerable delay, paperback. (The formatting for paperback is very different than an ebook, since page lengths are fixed, while ebook chapters are glorified open-ended web pages. I then want to see a printed proof, since as I discovered the hard way, the file used for printing can be mangled versus the PDF proof that can be viewed online.) 

Please note that if the reader wants to take advantage of the ebook matching programme at Amazon (buy the paperback, get the ebook edition thrown in for free), you will need to wait for the paperback edition to be released.

Since I still need to look at what the edits entail (and do final formatting, like a title page), no timelines for release.

Since I will be tied up with editing/formatting, I doubt that I will be posting anything other than rants in the coming days.

In Quarantine And Want To Write A Book? Ask Me Anything

Just in case anyone is in desperate straits for keeping their mind occupied, writing is one possibility. Here is some high level advice. Feel free to ask questions in the comments...

Publishing Update

The manuscript for Recessions: Volume I is now in the final editing pass. The actual appearance in online stores will take at least a month, but possibly closer to two months. I prefer to release the ebook and paperback editions simultaneously, and as I discovered the hard way, I need to see a printed proof of the paperback edition. (The chart image files were mangled by a processing step at the printers.) (The Amazon paperback/ebook editions will likely appear the same day, other stores have variable processing lags.) The book is longer than my previous books (58,000 words), although it is still shorter than most books you find in bookstores. (Novella length versus novels, using fiction terminology.) This book is somewhat specialised, and so the pricing will be somewhat higher than my earlier books.

Note: I have an article half-written on inflation and bond pricing that will either appear later today or tomorrow. I will return to Scott Fullwiler's article on debt sustainability this weekend (I hope). This will be a focus of the chapter on Fiscal Policy. 

Introduction to Recessions: Volume I

Recessions (and their larger siblings, depressions) are a recurring feature of industrial capitalism. Quite often associated with financial crises, they are disruptive to workers as well as financial markets. From the perspective of fixed income practitioners, they usually trigger the greatest volatility in the interest rate cycle, as central banks typically cut rates rapidly to restart growth.

This article is an edited draft of the introductory section of my book. I filled it in last, on the theory that I should only state what is in the text after the rest of it is finished. I am giving the manuscript a short look-over before passing along to editing. Realistically, the earliest publication date will be in early January. The text is longer than my previous works, at around 60,000 words. Has quite a few figures depicting historical data and simulation results (haven't counted, but I think more than previous books). Going forward, my articles will return to being more eclectic, as I will resuming looking at a variety of topics. 

Manuscript Update

This is just a short update on the situation on my latest book manuscript. As I noted earlier, I am splitting my text on recessions into two parts, and publishing the first volume before finishing the second. (Whether or not that is a mistake remains to be determined.)

The working title is "Recessions: Volume I." The manuscript is about 50,000 words, with some previously written material moved to Volume II. There is no new content to add, and it is now just a question of editing. I am not making any promises about a publication date, but before year end seems plausible.

Book Status Report

Summer weather has finally hit Montreal, and I'm now looking at my plans for the summer. My manuscript on recessions has hit 50,000 words, and I still have to cover neoclassical economics approaches. My publishing strategy is to keep my books short which allows me to keep them at a lower price point. (It might not be a good strategy, but that is another question.) I will have to look over the manuscript to verify feasibility, but I think the best course of action is to split the project into two books.