Economics for Sustainable Prosperity

“Steven Hail has coalesced disparate yet interdependent conceptualizations of real world phenomena in a brilliant and crucial way to produce a blueprint for sustainable prosperity. The book is essential reading for anyone searching for an alternative to the mainstream orthodoxy that has played no small part in the creation of an ecologically unsustainable and inequitable world.”—Philip Lawn, University of Newcastle, Australia; author of Resolving the Climate Change Crisis- The Ecological Economics of Climate Change
“This book should be a compulsory text for all undergraduate students, high-school students, students of life, policy makers, and of course economists themselves. In an era of tumult and political crisis, this book will tighten your grip on reality.”—Claire Connelly, award-winning journalist, Renegade Inc.
"Dr. Hail makes a compelling case for sustainability through a modern money lens that is accessible and useful for the 99%."—Steven Grumbine, founder, Real Progressives
The central argument of this book is that the foundations for sustainable prosperity lie in an approach to economic management based on modern monetary theory and a job guarantee. This approach builds on the work of Keynes, Kalecki, Minsky, Davidson, Godley and other Post- Keynesian economists—as well as research by behavioral economists including Simon, Kahneman and Loewenstein—to explore the role that a permanent, equitable job guarantee could play in building an inclusive, participatory and just society. Orthodox (neoclassical) economics, in its various forms, has failed to deliver sustainable prosperity. An important reason for this failure is its lack of realistic foundations. It misrepresents both human nature and economic institutions, and its use as a frame for the development and assessment of economic policy proposals has had disastrous consequences for social inclusion and the quality of life of millions of people. This book discusses an alternative, more realistic and more useful set of economic foundations, which could deliver the opportunity of a decent quality of life with dignity to all.