How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes »

Peter D. Schiff is the bestselling author of Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit from the Economic Collapse and The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets. This is his first collaboration with his brother Andrew J. Schiff, a recognized expert in economic and financial communications.

EveR WONDER . . .

• Why governments can spend without ever seeming to run out of money?

• Why some countries are rich while others are poor?

• Whether spending or saving is the best cure for a bad economy?

• Where inflation comes from?

• Why it's so hard to catch a fish with your bare hands?

How An Economy Grows And Why It Crashes

Understanding how all the pieces of an economy fit together can be a daunting task—especially when the experts can't seem to do it. But when you get down to the basics, it is much easier than you may think. How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes uses illustrations, humor, and accessible storytelling to take economics off its lofty shelf and put it back on the kitchen table where it belongs.

This straightforward story of fish, nets, saving, and lending exposes the gaping holes that lie hidden in our global economic conversation. With wit and humor, the Schiffs explain the roots of economic growth, the importance of trade, savings, and risk, the source of inflation, the effects of interest rates and government stimulus, the destructive nature of consumer credit, and many other economic principles that are so frequently discussed and so poorly understood.

The story may appear simple on the surface but it will leave you with a powerful understanding of How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes.

Disclosure viii

Author's Note ix

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 An Idea is Born 1

Chapter 2 Sharing The Wealth 13

Chapter 3 The Many Uses of Credit 27

Chapter 4 Economic Expansion 37

Chapter 5 Prosperity Loves Company 47

Chapter 6 Put it in the Vault 63

Chapter 7 Infrastructure and Trade 77

Chapter 8 A Republic is Born 91

Chapter 9 Government Gets Creative 101

Chapter 10 Shrinking Fish 119

Chapter 11 A Lifeline From Afar 129

Chapter 12 The Service Sector Steps Up 141

Chapter 13 Closing the Fish Window 153

Chapter 14 The Hut Glut 161

Chapter 15 The Hut Rut 177

Chapter 16 Stepping on the Gas 193

Chapter 17 The Fish Hit the Fan 209

Epilogue 223

Acknowledgments 229

About the Authors 231

About the Illustrator 233