An interesting and readable guide to a key notion in modern economics – markets – comes from John McMillan, professor of economics at Stanford University in California. In Reinventing the Bazaar (W. W. Norton, $15.95/£11.99) he sets out to show that markets are an inevitable and desirable part of life, and how theorists interpret their mechanisms. Markets are, of course, a cultural artefact, in spite of McMillan’s subtitle – “A natural history” – because they depend entirely on the politics of ownership. An engrossing read.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Mind
‘Remarkable’ discovery upends our understanding of how brains store memories
News
Humans
DNA reveals a society organised around women in pre-Roman Britain
News
Physics
Quantum entanglement is key to solving 250-year-old maths problem
News
Space
The most breathtaking photos of the total solar eclipse
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles