In the curricula of highly ranked MBA programs, two areas of discussion are conspicuously absent: International Trade, and Global Macroeconomic Policy. In this post-financial crisis environment, as the US and other advanced economies continue to experience sluggish growth, persistently high unemployment, and political agitation for increasingly protectionist policies, discussions pertaining to trade, currencies, and international capital flows are often fraught with emotion, tension, and h...

They have been coming to their grandmother Gloria's lake cottage since they were babies. Now Johnnie and Buddy have families of their own and C.C. has a life full of adult drama and adventure. And this trip – the only stated purpose of which is to bring the family together for the last weekend of the summer – seems full of portent. Gloria has been hinting that there's more on the agenda than grilling and swimming, and when the three siblings learn that their estranged father will also be i...

Judge Walden is back, to preside over five new cases at Bermondsey Crown Court.Retired resident judge Peter Murphy takes us back to the world of criminal trials in South London for another session with Charlie keeping the peace between his fellow judges - Marjorie, 'Legless' and Hubert - while fighting off the attacks of the Grey Smoothies, the civil servants who seem intent on reducing the court's dwindling resources to vanishing point in the name of 'business cas...

Ben Schroeder, a talented young man from an East End Jewish family, has been accepted as a pupil into the Chambers of Bernard Wesley QC. But Schroeder is an outsider, not part of this privileged society, where wealth and an Oxbridge education are essentials. He encounters prejudice, intrigue and scandal.Kenneth Gaskell, a rising star of Wesley's Chambers has become involved in an affair with a high-profile client and the relationship, if known, could ruin his career, and the career...

The Third Judge Walden Novel'Warm, witty and endearingly entertaining' Joanne Owen, LoveReading'Wickedly addictive read' Yvonne BastianCharlie Walden, the irrepressible Resident Judge (RJ) of Bermondsey Crown Court is back to preside over five new cases.As ever, there is little rest for the RJ as he does his best to deal with: the church-going carer who steals from the old lady under her care, the c...

The Third Ben Schroeder NovelThe British Establishment is reeling after a series of defections and acts of treachery by high- ranking intelligence officers.When Francis Hollander, an American academic, accuses Sir James Digby QC, a baronet and leader of the Bar, of being a Soviet spy, Digby retains Ben Schroeder and his head of Chambers to represent him.At first, it seems to be a simple case of libel, but as evidence starts...

'A good police force is one that catches more crooks than it employs' - Sir Robert Mark'A good police force is one that catches more crooks than it employs' - Sir Robert MarkA clever, accomplished Cambridge graduate with a good job and an attentive lover, Imogen Lester seems to have the world at her feet. But when her parents are murdered abroad while working for the Diplomatic Service, she is suddenly thrown headlong into a murky world of espionage and org...

When Charlie Walden took on the job of Resident Judge of the Bermondsey Crown Court, he was hoping for a quiet life. But he soon finds himself struggling to keep the peace between three feisty fellow judges who have very different views about how to do their job, and about how Charlie should do his.And as if that's not enough, there's the endless battle against the 'Grey Smoothies', the humourless grey-suited civil servants who seem determined to drown Charlie in paperwork and stri...

Appropriately for Covid times, these are stories about characters faced by a confusing world and often living largely in isolation - yet with rich and intense interior lives, particularly when confronted by unusual circumstances... First published in 1986. The story ‘Cane Toads’ shared the short story prize in Western Australia’s 150th Anniversary Competition with Peter Goldsworthy and two other writers. Peter Murphy works across a range of writing and art f...

This book explores why, despite increased government spending on income-support, health and education, the costs of public goods are rising and their quality is declining. Charting the rise of big government, the author identifies a growing divergence between public-sector ideals and the realities of troubled political economies grappling with debt, deficits, ageing populations, improvident social insurance, declining education test scores and multiplying health costs. Limited Governme...

Why do some nations and cities attain high levels of economic and social prosperity? What makes them so successful? The kinds of factors habitually cited in answer to these questions explain why nations improve their economic and social performance but not why a small group of nations (or cities) perform much better than the rest. Economists stress efficient markets, effective industries and functional factors like transport, health, education, and infrastructure. Political scientists emph...

COVID-19: Proportionality, Public Policy and Social Distance explores the social and political response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It details the sociological aspects of the spread of the virus, the role played by social distancing in virus mitigation, and the comparative effect of social proximity and distance on national anti-viral behavior. Peter Murphy discusses various public policy approaches to the pandemic and their successes and failures. In this engaging analysis, he inve...