False Economy

Beattie worked as an economist at the Bank of England and then joined the Financial Times in 1998 and is currently the paper’s world-trade editor. This is not a criticism of the 2004–07 real-estate debacle that caused the collapse of U.S. and world financial systems, as might be surmised by the title, but rather a historical glimpse at the causes and effects that explain why some economies prosper in certain ways while others do not. Beattie contrasts the economies of Argentina and the U.S., for example, showing why Argentina has prospered even while our economic downturn has seemingly brought down the economies of the rest of the world. He compares the ancient city of Rome to present-day large metropolises; explains how trade routes and climate (both political and meteorological) affect where crops are grown and how they are processed; and looks at some of the idiosyncrasies of corruption and power. By looking back to look forward, Beattie concludes that the experience of history provides hope that we have the ability to make the right choices going forward.