Marion Laboure, Daron Acemoglu, and more for PS Read More

The Curse of Cash, by Kenneth Rogoff; The End of Alchemy, by Mervyn King; and more The PS Say More Newsletter | [View this message in a web browser]( [PS Read More]( In this week's edition of PS Read More, we share recommendations from Marion Laboure, a lecturer at Harvard University and senior economist at Deutsche Bank Research. We also highlight a work by MIT's Daron Acemoglu. And don't miss suggestions from Ana Palacio, a former Spanish foreign minister and senior vice president and general counsel of the World Bank Group, and Lee Jong-Wha, Professor of Economics at Korea University and a former chief economist at the Asian Development Bank. Marion Laboure Recommends... [Capital Choices: Sectoral Politics and the Variation of Sovereign Wealth]( By Juergen Braunstein This is the best book I have ever read on sovereign wealth funds. It covers a wide range of relevant issues and offers a comparative political-economy perspective on the creation of different SWFs. Different state-society structures at the sectoral level, Braunstein argues, drive SWF variation. The focus on the early formation period of SWFs is key: though it is essential to understanding SWFs, this stage is little examined, given the high levels of political sensitivity and lack of transparency that surround SWF creation. And Braunstein’s novel analytical framework provides practical lessons for companies, financial institutions, and policymakers in countries that have created, or are planning to create, SWFs. The topic might sound heavy, and it is. Fortunately, Capital Choices is clearly written and a delight to read. [The Curse of Cash]( By Kenneth Rogoff Rogoff gives a wide-ranging and comprehensible view of the macroeconomic impact of the zero lower bound on interest rates on the future of central bank money, from central bank digital currencies to cryptocurrencies. He also shows that the regulation of paper money – and now digital currencies – lies at the heart some of the world’s most difficult problems, but also their potential solutions. [The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy]( By Mervyn King This book provides a historical perspective on central banks and their macroeconomic impact. King argues that the creation of paper money and the invention of banks that issued credit was “financial alchemy.” Though these extraordinary financial powers defy reality and common sense, faith in them has brought huge benefits, as it has enabled the creation of the liquidity that has fueled economic growth for two centuries now. But these powers have also produced an unending string of economic disasters, from bouts of hyperinflation to banking collapses to the recent global recession. At our current stagflationary moment, King’s book could not be more relevant. In Laboure's recent [Say More interview]( she puts the plummeting value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in perspective, considers how financial technologies can boost financial inclusion and reduce inequality, highlights the vulnerabilities illustrated by the TerraUSD crash, and more. [Click here to read](. By a PS Contributor [The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty]( By [Daron Acemoglu]( and [James A. Robinson]( Acemoglu says: "In The Narrow Corridor, James Robinson and I challenge the most common views of where liberty comes from. We argue that liberty originates neither from well-designed constitutions and well-meaning elites, nor from the ability of people to flee state authority. Rather, liberty – and institutions that expand political participation – is a result of a long process of political and social development, which takes place only when there is a balance of power between state institutions and elites on the one hand, and non-elites trying to solve their problems and organize against the elites on the other. The 'corridor' refers to the space created by this balance between state and society. Unfortunately for the future of liberty and democracy, it truly is narrow, and it takes a lot of work to maintain it." Check out Acemoglu's recent [Say More interview]( in which he argues that shared prosperity is vital to save US democracy, urges the West to ramp up pressure on Russian oligarchs, adds another crime to cryptocurrencies’ rap sheet, and more. [Click here to read](. More Contributor Recommendations From Ana Palacio: [The Back Channel:]( [A]( of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal]( By William J. Burns A powerful firsthand account of America’s role in the world over the last four decades, written by a consummate analyst of foreign affairs. Burns’ diplomatic perspective provides a clear and compelling picture of the ups and downs of US foreign policy through Republican and Democratic administrations, from the peak at the end of the Cold War to the depths of the current chaos. At a time when the State Department seems to be in disarray and the American diplomatic corps faces formidable challenges, Burns shows what US foreign policy at its best can achieve. [Read more](. --------------------------------------------------------------- From Lee Jong-Wha: [The Remains of the Day]( By Kazuo Ishiguro A good novel might be better than most economics books for summer vacation. Written by a Nobel Prize-winning British author and a recipient of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, this certainly fits into that category. It tells the story of Mr. Stevens, an aging butler, who has devoted his life to serving Lord Darlington, the host of unofficial secret meetings between Germany and the United Kingdom before World War II. In reading it, I was reminded of many figures and incidents involved in the run-up to the Korean War. [Read more](. [Subscribe to PS today for the latest on politics and more.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. This newsletter is a service of [Project Syndicate](. [Change your newsletter preferences](. Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [YouTube](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters](.