Roger E. A. Farmer is a Distinguished Professor of Economics at UCLA. In 2013, he was the Senior Houblon-Norman Fellow at the Bank of England. He has published numerous scholarly articles in leading academic journals, as well as books that have been translated into Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese and Hungarian. He has previously held positions at the University of Pennsylvania, The European University Institute and the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Fellow Commoner of Cambridge University, and Co-Editor of the International Journal of Economic Theory.

"The book is well written and will be of interest to economists who are looking for new ways to think about macroeconomics." - Journal of Economic Literature

"Though Farmer's argument is never cuddly, it accounts for the human emotion that mathematically driven models overlook: when businesspeople feel nervous, they don't invest, resulting in low values and volatile prices-and nervousness is the key emotion of our time. Technical but rarely arid and of interest to economists, investors, and policymakers." - Kirkus Reviews

"This is an ambitious, thought-provoking and well-written book that addresses the big macroeconomic questions of the day from an authoritative voice outside the mainstream. You may or may not agree with the conclusions, but it makes for a great, rewarding and stimulating read." - Claudio Borio, Head of the Monetary and Economic Department, Bank for International Settlements

"Unafraid of challenging conventional macroeconomics, Farmer is second to none for presenting his views in a pedagogical way without sacrificing their sharpness." - Michel De Vroey, Professor Emeritus, University of Louvain

"In this book, Professor Farmer challenges contemporary macroeconomic analysis. This book will no doubt generate debate, from which our profession will surely gain an improved understanding of economic processes." - Arnold Harberger, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California Los Angeles and University of Chicago

"Roger Farmer is an exceptional macroeconomist, whose contributions span the range from deep theory to high policy relevance. He argues that beliefs should be as fundamental as preferences, technology, and endowments. Roger's delightful examples and metaphors deepen understanding and add 'fun' to reading the book. His questions and arguments make the book as fascinating to read as a detective story." - William A. Barnett, Oswald Distinguished Professor of Macroeconomics, University of Kansas and Center for Financial Stability

"Farmer sees a future free from stock market crashes and deep recessions, problems that he traces to financial panics fed by lender mischief and by abrupt swings in investor psychology. Inventing policies to manage market psychology will be no cakewalk but the task is important, and a serious public conversation about it seems long overdue. Policymakers, academics and informed citizens who want to join this conversation will find lots of help in Farmer's book." - Costas Azariadis, Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, Washington University, and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

"If you are looking for a lively sketch of mainstream macroeconomics spiced with a provocative alternative model and proposal for achieving full employment by stabilizing asset prices, this is the book you need. Here is the rare treat of an economist who both knows his field and has contributed to it standing back and writing about it in an accessible, non-technical way." - Michael Parkin, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Western Ontario