Wartime is not just about military success. Economists at War tells a
different story - about a group of remarkable economists who used their
skills to help their countries fight their battles during the
Chinese-Japanese War, Second World War, and the Cold War.
1935-55 was a time of conflict, confrontation, and destruction. It was
also a time when the skills of economists were called upon to finance
the military, to identify economic vulnerabilities, and to help
reconstruction. Economists at War: How a Handful of Economists Helped
Win and Lose the World Wars focuses on the achievements of seven
finance ministers, advisors, and central bankers from Japan, China,
Germany, the UK, the USSR, and the US. It is a story of good and bad
economic thinking, good and bad policy, and good and bad moral
positions. The economists suffered threats, imprisonment, trial, and
assassination. They all believed in the power of economics to make a
difference, and their contributions had a significant impact on
political outcomes and military ends.
Economists at War shows the history of this turbulent period through a
unique lens. It details the tension between civilian resources and
military requirements; the desperate attempts to control economies
wracked with inflation, depression, political argument, and fighting;
and the clever schemes used to evade sanctions, develop barter trade,
and use economic espionage. Politicians and generals cannot win wars if
they do not have the resources. This book tells the human stories behind
the economics of wartime.
