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The Evolution and Social Impact of Video Game Economics: edited by Casey B. Hart. The most obvious examples are found in "freemium" games that allow players to play the base version of a game free of charge, but require payment to unlock all available game content. Kice hints that developers drive the prestige scheme by offering new downloadable content (DLC) used to periodically renew gamers' waning interest, and he mentions new game maps as a possible example of this tactic (54). For instance, the functions of game consoles are being replaced by virtual platforms, consoles are generally smaller both within and between generations, controllers are now usually wireless and use rechargeable batteries, games are commonly sold through download services with no physical components, etc. [Extracted from the article]

Stephen LeRoy of the University of California, Santa Barbara reviews 'Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics', by Hsiang-Ke Chao, Szu-Ting Chen, and Roberta L. Millstein. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: 'Eleven papers, resulting from conferences held by Taiwan's National Science Council in 2008 and 2011, explore mechanism and causality in biology and economics. Papers discuss mechanisms versus causes in biology and medicine (Lindley Darden); identity, structure, and causal representation in scientific models (Kevin D. Hoover); the regrettable loss of mathematical molding in econometrics (Marcel Boumans); models of mechanisms--the case of the replicator dynamics (Till Grüne-Yanoff); experimental discovery, data models, and mechanisms in biology--an example from Gregor Mendel's work (Ruey-Lin Chen); mechanisms and laws--clarifying the debate (Carl F. Craver and Marie I. Kaiser); natural selection and causal productivity (Roberta L. Millstein); is natural selection a population-level causal process? (Rong-Lin Wang); mechanisms and extrapolation in the abortion-crime controversy (Daniel Steel); causality, impartiality, and evidence-based policy (David Teira and Julian Reiss); and explaining the explanations of one hundred million missing women (Hsiang-Ke Chao and Szu-Ting Chen). Chao is with the Department of Economics at the National Tsing Hua University. Chen is with the Graduate Institute of Philosophy at the National Tsing Hua University. Millstein is with the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Davis.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The I British Women and Documentary 1930-1955 i symposium brought together scholars working in interrelated fields to consider women on screen, working behind the camera and in the wider institutional context during the period, 1930-1955.[1] Hosted by the London School of Economics, where The Women's Library collection is now held. Appropriately, for a project that will produce its own documentary film as part of the outcomes[4], all of the presentations were firmly embedded in film materials and, at times, film materiality. Hollie Price's paper delved further into the W.I.'s involvement in distributing Ministry of Information films and documentaries across the country via mobile film units. [Extracted from the article]

This question is of utmost importance as Michael Turk's I Otto Neurath and the History of Economics i is the first and hitherto only monograph-length treatment of Neurath and economics. Though charges against Neurath were leveled on various grounds, one of the main issues was that Neurath embraced the idea of planning as well: namely, that natural resources, their distribution, and their employment should be balanced and planned by scientific means. Neurath's papers and books are, however, often short on these references - mainly due to his (academically often not approved) writing style, but also possibly due to a lamentable lack of care - hence utilizing this method might mean missing the very point of Neurath. Nevertheless, Neurath was neither a number fetishist nor a hardheaded positivist (as Turk's descriptions would sometime suggest); he chose numbers only for the educational virtues and because they were more than useful to meet the requirements of structural and pictorial representation. [Extracted from the article]

To be more precise, Payson notes that academic economists find themselves in a self-perpetuating vicious circle, where the current leaders follow in the footsteps of past leaders and, having succeeded at doing so, expect the same from new economists who wish to join their ranks. While this work may not be penned as part of the academic economics field and thus may constitute a shrinking of the academic economics discipline, Payson is quick to note that there will also be opportunities for growth via term paper graders, test proctors, and content experts (chapter 5). While Payson hits on many important points in this second volume, and adeptly lays out a plan to move the academic economics discipline forward, he again overlooks the importance and potential ramifications of the divide between mainstream and heterodox economists. [Extracted from the article]

The author is very grateful for the support of the Leverhulme Trust for the research fellowship funding (RF-2012-340) entitled 'It's Mostly Fiscal - The IMF, Evolving Fiscal Policy Doctrine and The Crisis' which enabled the research for this article, and the monograph The IMF and the Politics of Austerity, to be undertaken. Pre-existing Fund thinking, broadly rooted in the Keynesian/Neo-classical synthesis which underpinned the Fund's financial programming techniques of the 1950s and 1960s, continues to be an important foundation of Fund work today. Reading inordinate numbers of Fund working papers and flagship publications, and conducting lengthy searching interviews with many Fund economists, all of which were integral to the research process underpinning my book, one is struck that there does seem to be a degree of cognitive dissonance with which IMF economists can work. The prospects of the Fund exiting the European crisis programmes landscape, envisaged as a feature of Lagarde's second term as Managing director of the IMF, result primarily from the frictions within the Troika over debt restructuring as the Fund defines it. [Extracted from the article]

Taking some controversial claims philosopher Jason Brennan makes in his book Against Democracy (Brennan 2016) as a starting point, this paper argues in favour of two theses: (1) There is No Such Thing as Superior Political Judgement; (2) There Is No Such Thing as Uncontroversial Social Scientific Knowledge. I conclude that social science experts need to be kept in check, not given more power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that Piketty's book should not simply be seen as that of an economist, but that it contains significant resources for sociologists to draw upon. These are firstly, this approach to social science and his use of visualizations which chime closely with recent claims about the power of description. Secondly I consider his conceptualization of time and history - which in rebutting epochal arguments about the speed of contemporary change allows for a much better appreciation of the 'long durée'; and finally his conceptualization of social classes and privilege through his elaboration of a sociology of accumulation and inheritance. In all these ways, Piketty's work assists in developing an account of elites and wealth which should be highly productive for future sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steven Horwitz of St. Lawrence University reviews 'F. A. Hayek and the Modern Economy: Economic Organization and Activity', by Sandra J. Peart and David M. Levy. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: 'Ten papers, resulting from the ""Hayek and the Modern World" conference held at the University of Richmond in April 2013, explore the role of human agency in Friedrich Hayek's thought and consider his writings as they relate to economic organization and activity, particularly to assess what role he assigns to leaders in determining economic progress. Papers discuss Hayek's unsentimental liberalism (Peter McNamara); Hayek and the ""individualists" (Sandra J. Peart and David M. Levy); the evolution, evaluation, and reform of social morality--a Hayekian analysis (Gerald Gaus); Hayek and the conditions of freedom (Kenneth Minogue); Hayek and the early foundations of spontaneous order (Emily Skarbek); Hayek and the nomothetes (Christopher S. Martin); the control of engagement order--Clement Attlee's road to serfdom? (Ekkehard A. Köhler and Stefan Koler); Hayekian perspectives on Canada's economic and social reforms of the 1990s (Jason Clemens and Niels Veldhuis); the conjoint quest for a liberal positive program--""Old Chicago," Freiburg, and Hayek (Andrew Farrant and Nicola Tynan); and Hayek and Václav Klaus's life (Klaus). Peart is Dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. Levy is Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Distinguished Fellow of the History of Economics Society.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farhad Dalal's book takes neoliberalism to the task by showing how neoliberalism impacts on people's mental health. CBT's rise came with Layard and Clark's I Thrive i , put forward by elite-educated economist Richard Layard and David Clark, a leading CBT figure. While Dalal's case is CBT, managerialism and neoliberalism, the very same can be said about a vast range of things extending from those who deny the existence of global warming to those who tell us capitalism is good. [Extracted from the article]

This essay reviews Epstein, Landes, and Posner's The Behavior of Federal Judges: A Theoretical and Empirical Study of Rational Choice. Their book systematically asks how the role of ideology varies across the tiers of the federal judicial hierarchy. A major finding is that the impact of ideology increases from the bottom to the top of the judicial hierarchy. Their typical methodology formulates an ex ante measure of judicial ideology such as the political party of the appointing president, and demonstrates that this measure correlates with later judicial behavior, often voting on case dispositions. Along the way, they investigate a multitude of topics, including some quite under-explored ones. We argue that ELP's theory is only weakly connected to their empirical practice, for the latter focuses on the role of ideology in judging while the former says almost nothing about that relationship. In fact, though, their empirical practice does embed a theory of law and ideology, but one quite different from that suggested by the book's rhetoric. In the penultimate section of the essay, we explore this disconnection between ELP's theory, practice, and interpretation. Its origin (we argue) lies in an extremely thin conceptualization of law. We conclude with the issue posed in ELP's final chapter, 'The Way Forward,' but suggest a rather different path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Armon Rezai of Vienna University of Economics and Business reviews "Worst-Case Economics: Extreme Events in Climate and Finance," by Frank Ackerman. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: "Presents the case that the value of a statistical life (VSL) is an economically sound and ethically responsible approach that also has a broader role to play in serving as the societal guidepost for valuing fatality risks, using economic analysis that recognizes the limits society faces in terms of the affordable level of safety." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herbert Dawid of Bielefeld University reviews "Agent-Based Models in Economics: A Toolkit," edited by Domenico Delli Gatti, Georgio Fagiolo, Mauro Gallegati, Matteo Richiardi, and Alberto Russo. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: "Provides a toolkit for agent-based computational economics, addressing the methodological bases of agent-based approaches and demonstrating how to build, simulate, and analyze agent-based models." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of World War II, the United States and Saudi Arabia have built a strong partnership based on the twin pillars of stable global energy markets and defense and security of the Gulf region. Popular perceptions of the relationship visualize it as a near-treaty alliance. While it is correct that the two countries have cooperated on a broad range of shared interests, it is also true that bilateral ties have often frayed over differences of policy and objectives. For decades, the two sides were particularly at odds over issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But differences extend, as well, to the energy sector and, most recently, management of the Iran challenge. Thus, to maintain a stable, sustainable US-Saudi relationship, both sides would benefit from a more realistic, mutual understanding of the strengths and limitations of the partnership in order to avoid unrealistic expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]