In today's inbox--November 2, 2005--we have:

• Gene Sperling (2005), The Pro-Growth Progressive: An Economic Strategy for Shared Prosperity (New York: Simon and Schuster: 0743237536) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0743237536/.
• Giovanni Federico (2005), Feeding the World: An Economic History of Agriculture: 1800-2000 (Princeton: Princeton University Press: 069112051X) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/069112051X/.
• Harold Davis (2004), Learn How to Program Using Any Web Browser (Berkeley: Apress: 1590591135) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/1590591135/.
• Peter Lorentzen, John McMillan, and Romain Wacziarg (2005), "Death and Development" (Cambridge: NBER Working Paper 11620) http://papers.nber.org/w11620.
• Daniel Appleman (1994), How Computer Programming Works (Berkeley: Apress: 1893115232) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/1893115232.

And:

• Si-Yeon Lee (2005), "Post-Crisis Restructuring and Corporate Governance in Korea" (Berkeley: Draft Orals Prospectus).
• Konstantin Magin (2005), "Nanotechnology or Nanobubble?" (Berkeley: Draft).
• Matthew Bernard (2005), "The Topic of Volatility: a Review of Shiller's Irrational Exuberance" (Berkeley: Draft).

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Giovanni Federico goes straight to the top of the pile...

The buzz on Gene's book--at least the buzz that I've heard so far--is quite good...

Harold Davis has the very interesting idea of teaching introductory programming using Javascript as the sample programming language...

Lorentzen, McMilland Wacziarg (2005) say this:

Abstract: Analyzing a variety of cross-national and sub-national data, we argue that high adult mortality reduces economic growth by shortening time horizons. Higher adult mortality is associated with increased levels of risky behavior, higher fertility, and lower investment in physical and human capital. Furthermore, the feedback effect from economic prosperity to better health care implies that mortality could be the source of a poverty trap. In our regressions, adult mortality explains almost all of Africa's growth tragedy. Our analysis also underscores grim forecasts of the long-run economic impact of teh AIDS epidemic.