A witty and accessible tour de force that is immersed in the latest economic thinking, Culture and Prosperity is an indispensable guide to the world around us and destined to become a classic text for understanding the politics of globalization.

Guided by the belief that a combination of lightly regulated capitalism and liberal democracy — the American business model — is not just appropriate for America at the dawn of the twenty-first century, but a universal path to freedom and prosperity, the United States is an unrivaled colossus seeking to remake the world in its own image.

After a decade of successive market revolutions around the world, beginning with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and continuing in countries as diverse as Argentina and New Zealand, the effectiveness of the market economy as a route to prosperity and growth is not in question, but a more sophisticated appreciation of the strengths and limits of markets is urgently required.

In this new and illuminating analysis of the nature and evolution of the market economy, John Kay attacks the oversimplified account of its operation, contained in the American business model and favored by politicians and business people. He even questions whether it offers an accurate description of the success of the American economy itself.

In an absorbing argument that rewards close reading, and rereading, Culture and Prosperity examines every assumption we have about economic life from a refreshingly new angle. Taking the reader from the shores of Lake Zurich to the streets of Mumbai, from the flower market of San Remo to the sales rooms at Christie's, John Kay reveals the connection between a nation's social, political, and cultural context and its economic performance.

Kay (London School of Economics) challenges what he considers the oversimplified account of the nature and evolution of the market economy proffered the American model of lightly regulated capitalism and liberal democracy, and even questions whether it accurately describes the US economy itself. Visiting some of poorest and richest places in the world, he points out connections between a nation's social political, and cultural context and its economic performance. Readers are not assumed to have any background in economics or mathematics.
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"Kay...tries to follow up on the success of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, but falls short of the mark....The historical examples...lack pizzazz, and hypotheticals meant to reflect contemporary individuals are equally stiff." Publishers Weekly

Britain's leading economic columnist explores the nature of market economies, what makes them dynamic — and what limits their power.

John Kay is one of Britain's leading economists. He has been a professor at the London Business School and the University of Oxford, and is currently a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. He is the only professor of management to receive the academic distinction of Fellowship of the British Academy. A frequent writer, lecturer, and broadcaster, he contributes a weekly column to the Financial Times. He commutes between London, Oxfordshire, and the south of France.

List of Figures, Tables, and Boxes
Acknowledgments
A Note to Readers
{part I} The Issues
1 A Postcard from France
2 The Triumph of the Market
3 People
4 Figures
5 How Rich States Became Rich
{part II } The Structure of Economic Systems
6 Transactions and Rules
7 Production and Exchange
8 Assignment
9 Central Planning
10 Pluralism
11 Spontaneous Order
{part III } Perfectly Competitive Markets
12 Competitive Markets
13 Markets in Risk
14 Markets in Money
15 General Equilibrium
16 Efficiency
{part IV} The Truth About Markets
17 Neoclassical Economics and After
18 Rationality and Adaptation
19 Information
20 Risk in Reality
21 Cooperation
22 Coordination
23 The Knowledge Economy
{part V} How It All Works Out
24 Poor States Stay Poor
25 Who Gets What?
26 Places
27 The American Business Model
28 The Future of Economics
29 The Future of Capitalism
Appendix: Nobel Prizes in Economics
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index