With Apologies to Economists...

Revisiting this one little sentence tells us again the difference between prognostication and real financial science.

Dear Fellow Expat:

One little tradition I have is to revisit my favorite book of the year as the relative final days wind down.

At the gym today, I started to re-read Daniel Munson’s Fiscal Follies.

I wanted to ensure that I didn’t miss something…

Munson’s book differs significantly from what you might encounter in most economics or financial publishing.

Let me explain why…

Who Writes What?

Early in his book, Munson notes that you typically get one of two types of books in financial and economic publishing. We see this all the time.

First, there’s the “policy approach” book.

These are books about individual people or theories…

The “best sellers” are usually self-congratulatory reflections of economists (either first or third person) who recount policy decisions following a substantial economic event (typically adverse) that impacted society.

Think former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke’s autobiography “The Courage to Act…”

Or former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s “On the Brink.”

it’s just a matt…