Book Review: Diagrams & Dollars

Diagrams & Dollars: Modern Money Illustrated by J.D. Alt is a brief ebook that introduces the national accounts time period concepts used past times Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). The mass is written for a full general audience, roofing what is unfortunately the most non-intuitive parts of Functional Finance. The concepts are genuinely easily understood if they are taught properly, but are hard to sympathise if you lot induce got been taught that the fundamental authorities is but similar a household.

Book Description

 J.D. Alt is an architect in addition to author, in addition to he produced the diagrams that are the marrow of the book. As the mass comprehend shown to a higher house indicates, he illustrates the coin flows inside the economic scheme past times drawing an analogy to hydraulic flows.

The ebook is quite short, in addition to the toll reflects this. This is 1 of the advantages of the ebook format; it is unclear whether it makes sense to induce got a 200 page paperback mass to innovate roughly basic economical concepts. (Such brusk paperback are unlikely to acquire inward into bookstores; 1 of the side effects of a depression page count is that the cite of the mass cannot gibe upon the mass spine. This makes the mass almost unsalable if the front end comprehend is non exposed to the reader, piece publishers pay a lot of coin to get their books displayed amongst the comprehend out instead of the spine.)

Audience

This mass is aimed at non-economists. The concepts are introduced past times stepping through a issue of diagrams, each adding novel features. Since people are non used to thinking close how flows piece of job inward an aggregated economy, this has to move done at a relatively dull pace.

Although I am presumably a to a greater extent than advanced reader, my feeling is that the text should move understandable to readers amongst real piddling background inward the subject. Conversely, people that see themselves experts on the topic mightiness uncovering the evolution also slow. At the same time, I could mean value of a few alleged "experts" on authorities finance who belike should induce got read this mass earlier they started opining on the imminent default of diverse developed countries.

For readers who induce got stumbled upon my articles in addition to institute them to assume to a greater extent than background cognition than they have, Diagrams & Dollars would move goodness house to starting fourth dimension learning close the subject. (Although I endeavour to proceed most of my writing at what I telephone telephone an "introductory" level, that is based on the supposition that the reader has at to the lowest degree roughly familiarity amongst macroeconomic debates. For example, a junior analyst inward fixed income amongst a non-economics background.)

Is MMT Correct?

The mass does non bog itself downward amongst hand-wringing discussions regarding the different schools of idea inside economics. Instead, it presents the concepts next the MMT/Functional Finance line. This leads to policy conclusions that many people would uncovering surprising (renaming the "National Debt Clock" the "National Savings Clock").

Since I am inward the MMT camp, I patently exercise non induce got a lot of complaints amongst the editorial slant. However, a reader who is unfamiliar amongst economic science mightiness wonder whether this MMT materials is but roughly wacky cult, since other economists induce got wildly different conclusions.

Such a fighting is beyond the orbit of the book, in addition to I would recommend that readers lay aside such concerns at to the lowest degree until they absorb the basic concepts. The description of the monetary flows given past times J.D. Alt are correct; the solely existent debates are close fairly arcane concepts. The credible anti-MMT arguments audio like, "Yes, the description of the budget processes are correct, but it does non induce got into line of piece of job concern human relationship {insert complicated ingredient here}." (You exercise come across simple-to-understand objections, such equally those raised past times "hard money" advocates, but those obvious stories are also patently incorrect.)

The right means of looking at this is to absorb the Functional Finance (link to primer) political party line, in addition to and then worry close whatever complication critics tin come upwardly up amongst later. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 goodness part of my spider web log is slogging through the diverse reasons economists induce got invented to justify their predetermined conclusions. Needless to say, the complexity of the topics increase, in addition to you lot starting fourth dimension debating ridiculous things similar the consumption preferences of infinitely-long-lived households. Luckily, that classify of nonsense is nowhere to move institute inward Diagrams & Dollars.

Concluding Remarks

Diagrams & Dollars is belike the most straightforward introduction to Modern Monetary Theory for full general readers. More advanced readers volition belike remove to acquire to the textbooks written past times MMT academics for treatments that induce got into line of piece of job concern human relationship the other schools of idea regarding governmental finance.

• DIAGRAMS & DOLLARS: Modern Money Illustrated (Amazon affiliate link.)
• The Millennials' Money: Why the adjacent ability generation CAN afford to create a ameliorate world - (Amazon link). J.D. Alt's novel book; I induce got non read it yet.

(c) Brian Romanchuk 2016