Resumo de Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction And Economics

This excellent, short work by PaulOrmerod is a worthy successor to his remarkably successful Butterfly Economics.As he did in that work, he draws here on lessons from biology to explainphenomena in economics. He covers a wide range of subjects, time periods andtheories, all tied together by an inquiry into failure. Although Ormerod makes every effort to keepthe work accessible, that scarcely makes it iseasy reading. Readers who lackat least a noddingacquaintance with scientificwritings and Economic studies may findthis hard sloggingindeed. With that caveat,we think that readers who have a background in this field should payserious attention to Ormerod's ideas. The notion that failure is inherent andinevitable for many systems ought to guide business strategies and - especially- government regulation.With the same originality and astuteness that marked his widely praised Butterfly Economics, Paul Ormerodnow examines the IronLaw of Failure as it applies to businessand government ?and explains what canbe done about it. Failure is all around us, asserts Ormerod. For every GeneralElectric?still going strong after more than one hundred years?there are dozens of businesseslike Central Leather, which wasone of the world?s largest companies in 1912but was liquidatedin 1952. Ormeroddebunks conventional economic theory that the world economy ticks along inperfect equilibrium according to the best ?laid plans ofbusiness and government, and delves into thereasons for thefailure of brands, entire companies,and public policies.Inspired by recent advancesin evolutionary theory andbiology, Ormerod illuminates the waysin which companies and policy-setting sectors of governmentbehave much like living organisms:unless they evolve,they die. But he alsomakes clear howdesirable social and economic outcomes may be achieved when individuals, companies and governments adapt in response to the actual behavior and requirements of their customers and constituents.Why Most Things Fail is a fascinatingand provocative study of atruth all too seldomacknowledged.The notion that failure is inherent and inevitablefor many systems ought toguide business strategies and - especially - government regulation.But sometimes he is beating the obviousto death. But he also makes clearhow desirable social and economicoutcomes may be achieved when individuals, companies and governments adapt inresponse to the actualbehavior and requirements of theircustomers and constituents. Learn a little moreabout the history of economicsand its limitations. But found the bookunfocused and rambling. the discussions on complexity of organisationand the natural conclusion that competitionand decentralisation of decision making isthe safest wayfor organisations, including societies, to survive.Nice to read economistsacknowledging the limitsof the pure free-marketapproach while stressing the benefits of marketcapitalism.The real importanceof what Ormerodis saying goes far beyond economics...By the time you getto the other end youwill have a muchbetter idea abouthow Economics can helpyou understand life, theuniverse and everything. The authorgives a pottedhistory of the newerbig ideas thathave informed economics and relates them toearlier thinking.

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