Pan American : New Directions in Heterodox Economics

Here is an early sample of a work in progress: a masterclass in applied economic theory and policy analysis—wrapped in the great American novel. In five acts, the novel takes its readers through an important quarter century of the American experience from the perspectives of five close family members: an executive and engineer looking out beyond the horizon; her niece, a rising star academic economist; and her nephew, an autodidact and polymath; and their parents: one an acclaimed novelist and the other an Ivy League professor and Episcopal elder who contains multitudes. With wry wit and gallows humor, it stakes out new ground where economic analysis intersects religion and metaphysics and morality. It is also a poem, taking its form from the lost art of manual typewriter composition—specifically on a typewriter whose space bar and shift key require a heavy touch, operated by a tetraplegic paralyzed below the neck. (Conveniently, this manual typewriter is equipped with speech recognition; it also has italics.)