Acknowledgments

THIS BOOK REFLECTS a lifetime of learning from people too numerous to list. I got my first lessons in economics as a child from my mother, Irene Ip, a practicing economist for many years, now retired. Great editors have taught me to turn the things I discovered about the economy into stories. They include Michael Babad of The Financial Post and The Globe and Mail, Larry Ingrassia of the Wall Street Journal (and now the New York Times), and in particular David Wessel, my mentor for 11 years at the Wall Street Journal.

There is no more stimulating and rewarding place to write about economics than The Economist. I thank John Micklethwait, the Editor, for his encouragement on this book and the opportunity each week to write for the world’s most demanding readers; Zanny Minton-Beddoes, our Economics Editor, for accommodating my schedule and for her extensive and valuable suggestions on the text; Rachel Horwood for her incomparable research assistance; and Jon Fasman for his collegial advice on the trials of writing a book.

Many people lent their time and expertise to help me get various sections of the book right. They include Douglas Irwin at Dartmouth College, Jim Horney at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Tom Gallagher at ISI Group, and in particular Ray Stone of Stone & McCarthy Research Associates. Any errors are my responsibility.

Howard Yoon, my agent, transformed my early concept into a marketable book. At John Wiley & Sons, Debra Englander helped guide the project. Kelly O’Connor’s intensive editing under impossible deadlines vastly improved the organization of the book and made it much more readable.

My wonderful children Natalie and Daniel put up with my mental and physical absences. Most of all I thank my wife, Nancy Nantais, who encouraged me to write this book, supported me throughout the long months and late nights it took to finish it, and gave me constant and helpful feedback to the end.