Exchange Rate Modelling (Advanced Studies in Theoretical and Applied Econometrics)

Book Description

Are foreign exchange markets efficient? Are fundamentals important for predicting exchange rate movements? What is the signal-to-ratio of high frequency exchange rate changes? Is it possible to define a measure of the equilibrium exchange rate that is useful from an assessment perspective?
The book is a selective survey of current thinking on key topics in exchange rate economics, supplemented throughout by new empirical evidence. The focus is on the use of advanced econometric tools to find answers to these and other questions which are important to practitioners, policy-makers and academic economists. In addition, the book addresses more technical econometric considerations such as the importance of the choice between single-equation and system-wide approaches to modelling the exchange rate, and the reduced form versus structural equation problems.
Readers will gain both a comprehensive overview of the way macroeconomists approach exchange rate modelling, and an understanding of how advanced techniques can help them explain and predict the behavior of this crucial economic variable.

Customer Reviews:

Guidance for modelling exchange rate.......2000-04-27

The book provides answers to the key issues on exchange rate modelling supported by empirical evidence. It gives a comprehensive overview of the econometrics technique used for modelling exchange rate from macroeconomic perspective.

Book Description

One aim of this book is to examine the causes of fluctuations in the mark/dollar, pound/dollar, and yen/dollar real exchange rates for the period 1972-1994 with quarterly data to determine appropriate policy recommendations to reduce these movements. A second aim is to investigate whether the three real exchange rates are covariance-stationary or not and to which extent they are covariance-stationary, respectively. These aims are reached by using a two-country overshooting model for real exchange rates with real government expenditure and by applying Johansen's maximum likelihood cointegration procedure and a factor model of Gonzalo and Granger to this model.

Contagion in Africa: South Africa and a troubled neighbour, Zimbabwe [An article from: Economic Modelling]

Average customer rating:

Contagion in Africa: South Africa and a troubled neighbour, Zimbabwe [An article from: Economic Modelling]
A. Pretorius , and J. de Beer
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR0E7K

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Economic Modelling, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
South Africa has experienced considerable currency volatility in recent years, despite strong economic fundamentals. This paper empirically analyses the existence and extent of contagion in explaining volatility of the South African Rand. Misfortunes in Zimbabwe and other emerging-market countries (such as Argentina) have often been blamed for the recent volatility. In this paper two alternative contagion channels are investigated: (i) real interdependence, i.e. trade links, through bilateral trade and trade competition in third markets and (ii) financial contagion. Empirical results confirm the presence of financial, but not trade contagion.

Differences in long run exchange rate pass-through into import prices in developing countries: An empirical investigation [An article from: Economic Modelling]

Average customer rating:

Differences in long run exchange rate pass-through into import prices in developing countries: An empirical investigation [An article from: Economic Modelling]
K. Barhoumi
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000PAUXZC

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Economic Modelling, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This paper investigates the exchange rate pass-through into import prices in a sample of 24 developing countries over the period from 1980 to 2003. We estimate a pass-through equation determined by a combination of the nominal exchange rate, the price of the competing products, the exporter's costs and demand conditions. We adopt non-stationary panel estimation techniques and tests for cointegration. In the long run, homogeneity of pass-through rates across countries can be rejected. Moreover, we show that most of these differences in exchange rate pass-through into import prices are due to three macroeconomics determinants: exchange rate regimes, trade barriers and inflation regimes.

An empirical, small scale 'Traded-Nontraded Goods' model for New Zealand [An article from: Economic Modelling]

Average customer rating:

An empirical, small scale 'Traded-Nontraded Goods' model for New Zealand [An article from: Economic Modelling]
S. Cagatay , and R. Lattimore
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR3S7I

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Economic Modelling, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
In this paper, an empirical model of the traded-nontraded goods model was built in order to examine the effect of various policy variables on the real exchange rate and resulting impacts on the variation in industrial supply, demand and employment levels. This framework was also built to search and simulate alternative policy settings to 1984 economic reforms of New Zealand, that would possibly decrease the short-term adjustment costs of 1984 reforms. It was found that, particularly the output contraction and employment loss in exportable industries, would have been lower if the liberalization in the exportable and importable industries had followed similar timing.

Estimating an equilibrium exchange rate for the dollar and other key currencies [An article from: Economic Modelling]

Average customer rating:

Estimating an equilibrium exchange rate for the dollar and other key currencies [An article from: Economic Modelling]
A. Hughes Hallett , and C. Richter
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR3S9G

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Economic Modelling, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
In this paper, we adapt the concept of fundamental equilibrium exchange rates 'FEER' in a complete model approach. We use it to determine the likely paths of the Dollar and other key currencies. The FEER is the (real) exchange rate that is consistent with internal balance and sustainable external balances. Here we examine the composition of a Dollar adjustment and hence the extent to which a FEER (for the US) depends on factors or rigidities elsewhere in the world, as well as at home. We find, the US still needs to accept an adjustment in her real exchange rate if the increase in her foreign liabilities is to come to an end. However, counterpart adjustments also have to be made in Canada, Mexico, and some Asian economies if this policy is to be successful. We also show that productivity growth differentials may act as a substitute for depreciation, and this provides an explanation for the failure of the dollar to depreciate in the 1990s.

Exchange rate sensitivity of the Canadian bilateral inpayments and outpayments [An article from: Economic Modelling]

Average customer rating:

Exchange rate sensitivity of the Canadian bilateral inpayments and outpayments [An article from: Economic Modelling]
M. Bahmani-Oskooee , G.G. Goswamil , and B.K. Talukdar
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR7ATA

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Economic Modelling, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The traditional way of assessing the impact of currency depreciation on the trade balance has been to estimate the import and export demand elasticities using aggregate trade data and check the Marshall-Lerner condition. To reduce the aggregation bias, the trend now is to estimate these elasticities on a bilateral basis. However, due to lack of data on import and export prices at bilateral level, the new models relate import or export values directly to the exchange rate. In this paper, we estimate such models between Canada and her 20 largest trading partners using recent advances in time-series modeling. The results reveal that in many cases while export values (inpayments) are not sensitive to the exchange rate, import values (outpayments) are.

Internal and external shocks in Hong Kong: Empirical evidence and policy options [An article from: Economic Modelling]

Average customer rating:

Internal and external shocks in Hong Kong: Empirical evidence and policy options [An article from: Economic Modelling]
P. Gerlach-Kristen
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR7AZO

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Economic Modelling, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This paper estimates a small structural model of the Hong Kong economy using quarterly data for the period 1990 to 2002 on the output gap, CPI, property and import prices, the nominal interest rate and the nominal effective exchange rate. We find that fluctuations in the output gap are mainly driven by external factors, while CPI inflation is also affected by domestic shocks. The paper provides counterfactual simulations of how the economy would have evolved under alternative monetary arrangements. To that end, we simulate the model using an interest rate reaction function of the Taylor type and a Singapore-style reaction function for the nominal effective exchange rate. The results suggest that these regimes would have led to different inflation trajectories but that economic activity would have behaved similarly.

Customer Reviews:

Way Out Of Date - Better Reference Available.......2004-03-18

With all of the program changes, this book is very out of date. You can get a lot of the same information for free at http://www.certificationguide.com

This is the best list of these organizations available!.......1996-12-17

The Certification and Accreditation Programs Directory is probably the most comprehensive listing of certification and accreditation programs offered in the United States. This Directory is a valuable resource for any individual or organization that needs information regarding these important credentials. Michael Hamm

Guide to National Professional Certification Programs

Average customer rating:

An incomplete listings of certifications in many industries.
Fantastic reference for HR professionals and libraries!

Guide to National Professional Certification Programs
Phillip A. Barnhart
Manufacturer: Human Resource Development Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Workplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Guides | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Directories | Catalogs & Directories | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0874259657

Customer Reviews:

An incomplete listings of certifications in many industries........1998-01-02

I like the guide in that it provides information about qualifications and requiresment, but it lack the other important information. Where can I recieve the training? How I can recieve financial aid? How much will that training cost? I have found a guide that came very close to my needs from FutuReady it is called "Wanted Certified". It only concentrates on the Computer Industry but it is a real good guide.

Fantastic reference for HR professionals and libraries!.......1997-01-18

Comprehensive collection describing hundreds of professional certification programs in every field! Including e-mail and Internet access information. Must-buy for recruiters, HR professionals, and libraries

The Guide to National Professional Certification Programs, Third Edition

Average customer rating:

The Guide to National Professional Certification Programs, Third Edition
Phillip Harris
Manufacturer: HRD Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Ring-bound

General | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Job Markets & Advice | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Human Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0874256321

Book Description

The job market continues to change. Highly skilled and specialized workers are in demand. Traditional education cannot meet all the needs to create specialty skill workers. Certification provides up-to-date training and development while promoting individual or professional skills and knowledge in a focused manner. Certification as a way of continuing professional eduction can also be more cost effective.

Employee certification is a lasting trend that will become stronger as we continue the transition to a workplace that emphasizes focused skill development and proper deployment of knowledge workers. Companies seeking to recreate themselves as learning organizations are looking for efficient ways to include certifications as part of their developmental repertoire.

This third edition of The Guide to National Professional Certification Programs is restructured to be easier for professionals, professional organizations, and individuals to use. All sponsor information and certification descriptions are updated. New programs and sponsors have been added, including vendor-based specialty certification tests for competence in a particular area or subject. Indexes are improved to be quick and easy to use in looking up programs, sponsors, and certification test information.

Average customer rating:
Guide to National Professional Certification Programs
Phillip A. Barnhart
Manufacturer: Human Resource Development Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KPJ3OO

Average customer rating:
Guide to National Professional Certification Programs
Phillip A. Barnhart
Manufacturer: CRC Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUX3CU

Book Description

Most of us take our mental health for granted. But when confronted by mental illness in our family, our friends, or ourselves, even the most competent among us is likely to become bewildered.

Understanding Troubled Minds provides a calm and authoritative guide to the full range of specific mental illnesses and available treatments. It deals with particular patterns of illness in women, children, and the elderly. It stresses the value of partnership among psychiatrists, patients, and their families. And it places this knowledge within the framework of modern psychiatry-from the history of the profession to just what it is that psychiatrists and fellow health-workers do, and how they can help.

A sense of hope and optimism prevails within these pages. The authors, both eminent psychiatrists with long practical experience, stress that great strides are being made in the treatment of mental illness. But they also warn against the lure of the instant cure. Acknowledging the complexity of human nature, they weave the stories of real people and the insights of many writers throughout their text.

Balanced, up-to-date, thoroughly readable, and humanistic, this book will both increase our practical knowledge and deepen our understanding of mental illness.

Book Description

Accretion disks are the focus of a great deal of current rresearch, and selected papers by a number of internationally acclaimed authors are included in this volume. Recent observations have revealed a variety of accretion phenomena that cannot be accounted for by the standard picture of accretion disks. Advection dominated disks are replacing the standard model, and the first extensive examination of their various aspects is included here. Papers also address some more fundamental issues concerning basic physics of accretion disks. In all, this text is an up-to-date overview of the best of the current research in accretion disks.

Book Description

Collection of Simulated XRD Powder Patterns for Zeolites serves as a source of reference patterns for pure zeolite phases. The data will be helpful in establishing the structural purity of experimental phases and in indexing their diffraction patterns. The information will also aid in the determination of changes in the lattice parameters with changing composition, assessing preferred orientation effects, background evaluation, and line broadening. Also included are diffraction patterns of several common dense silicate phases to facilitate their detection in mixed phase synthesis.

Average customer rating:

Collection of Simulated Xrd Powder Patterns for Zeolites
R. Von Ballmoos
Manufacturer: Butterworth-Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

Collection of Simulated XRD Powder Patterns for Zeolites Fifth (5th) Revised Edition, Fifth Edition

Average customer rating:

Collection of Simulated XRD Powder Patterns for Zeolites Fifth (5th) Revised Edition, Fifth Edition
M.M.J. Treacy , and J.B. Higgins
Manufacturer: Elsevier Science
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This 5th edition of the Zeolite Powder Pattern Collection contains calculated patterns of 218 zeolite materials representing 174 framework topologies. The almost exponential growth of new zeolite topologies reflects the continued success of zeolite synthesis researchers in producing novel materials. Collection of Simulated XRD Powder Patterns for Zeolites includes materials of interest to zeolite scientists following the policies established at recent IZA conferences. The materials included have corner-sharing tetrahedral frameworks with no restrictions on chemical composition.

* Covers an increase of 41 new topologies since the 4th edition in 2001
* Data collected from diverse literature sources
* Represents an extensive compilation of data

Book Description

Introduction to Probability Models, 8th Edition, continues to introduce and inspire readers to the art of applying probability theory to phenomena in fields such as engineering, computer science, management and actuarial science, the physical and social sciences, and operations research. Now revised and updated, this best-selling book retains its hallmark intuitive, lively writing style, captivating introduction to applications from diverse disciplines, and plentiful exercises and worked-out examples.

The 8th Edition includes five new sections and numerous new examples and exercises, many of which focus on strategies applicable in risk industries such as insurance or actuarial work.

The five new sections include:
* Section 3.6.4 presents an elementary approach, using only conditional expectation, for computing the expected time until a sequence of independent and identically distributed random variables produce a specified pattern.
* Section 3.6.5 derives an identity involving compound Poisson random variables and then uses it to obtain an elegant recursive formula for the probabilities of compound Poisson random variables whose incremental increases are nonnegative and integer valued
* Section 5.4.3 is concerned with a conditional Poisson process, a type of process that is widely applicable in the risk industries
* Section 7.10 presents a derivation of and a new characterization for the classical insurance ruin probability.
* Section 11.8 presents a simulation procedure known as coupling from the past; its use enables one to exactly generate the value of a random variable whose distribution is that of the stationary distribution of a given Markov chain, even in cases where the stationary distribution cannot itself be explicitly determined.

Other Academic Press books by Sheldon Ross:
Simulation 3rd Ed., ISBN:0-12-598053-1
Probability Models for Computer Science, ISBN 0-12-598051-5
Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists, 2nd Ed., ISBN: 0-12-598472-3

* Classic text by best-selling author
* Continues the tradition of expository excellence
* Contains compulsory material for Exam 3 of the
Society of Actuaries

Customer Reviews:

one of the best introduction to probability and stochastic processes.......2007-08-20

Understanding probability requires various resources to read. I think this book is one of the irreplaceable element in these resources. It is an introduction book as the name implies. Examples are illuminating the subject very well.

Why are there so many examples?.......2007-04-01

Extremely difficult to dig through the excessive examples in order to find the relevant theorems and results. Because of this, the problems at the end of each chapter become exercises in tedium, as more time is spent searching for the necessary theorems in the text than in actually working out the solution.

I do not recommend.

One of the most accessible and engaging text books I've read.......2007-02-16

During my undergraduate career I've had the opportunity to spend several thousand dollars on textbooks--many of which have pertained to mathematics in some way. Most of these books, including those concerned with statistics and probability, have been interested in either delivering pure theory or an unending supply of problem sets (with little or nothing in the way of instructive content). Thankfully Ross's book defies these conventions.

By presenting the material in large sets of well explained and genuinely interesting problems, the book avoids being bogged down by excessive theory or volumes of sterile exercises. As a result, the book is unusually easy to read, and quite useful when it comes to clarifying or augmenting what has been taught in class.

very good.......2006-11-14

I used this book for a graduate-level course in Stochastic Processes taught by Dr. Sheldon Ross himself. I must say that I never liked probability and stochastics until I read this book. Reading it is a pleasure! The topics are presented in a highly methodical manner, with plenty of examples and exercises. The exercises are presented in a gradation. Covers a wide range of topics, and is very helpful for a course in stochastics, especially for a student who doesn't have a strong background in P & SP. This is the book to own, don't miss it!

Good development of intuition, but not as good for other purposes..........2006-09-28

I have many of the same criticisms of this book that I do of Ross's book titled: "Probability: a first course". This book reviews most of the material from that book at a faster pace and then goes into other topics. Ross in the introduction states that his main goal in this text is to develop the reader's intuition for probabilistic reasoning. This book is excellent towards acheiving this goal, but not very good for anything else. It is a very "pure" probability text, completely ignoring the fact that the field of statistics exists and is useful. At the same time, it is somewhat weak on theory. Measure theory isn't mentioned, and the emphasis overall is on computation and problem solving, not proving theorems and understanding theoretical connections between different ideas.

This book has too many examples and not enough discussion. While the examples are usually well-executed, and while I think examples are important in probability, I think it's also important to talk about the abstract development of the subject. In my opinion, more prose and fewer examples would improve the quality of this text.

Another criticism I have of this book is that this book focuses exclusively on probability, refusing to touch statistics even with a ten foot pole. While this in itself is fine, I think this book misses numerous chances to pave the road towards the later study of mathematical statistics. The result is that someone reading this book will not be particularly well prepared for studying statistics, even though the fields of probability and statistics are intimately tied to each other.

Lastly, this book has gone through too many editions--one of the reasons I rated it 3 stars instead of 4 is that I believe that there has been almost no noticeable improvement in the last two editions (I have not read any farther back than that so I can't say more). I think this is a money-making scheme on behalf of the publisher, and I think this reflects poorly on the author and publisher alike.

Amazon.com

This intriguing landmark of modernism from Austrian writer Robert Musil has been newly translated from the German by Sophie Wilkins and re-edited in a textual overhaul. This new edition includes portions of the author's original manuscripts that have never been published before. Though an imposing edifice of writing, devotees of literary modernism and anyone interested in the decline of the Austrian empire must read this sweeping, comic take on life in pre-Great War Vienna. The story of Ulrich, the man without qualities himself, is continued in a second volume, The Man Without Qualities: Into the Millenium,From the Posthumous Papers.

Book Description

Set in Vienna on the eve of World War I, this great novel of ideas tells the story of Ulrich, ex-soldier and scientist, seducer and skeptic, who finds himself drafted into the grandiose plans for the 70th jubilee of the Emperor Franz Josef. This new translation--published in two elegant volumes--is the first to present Musil's complete text, including material that remained unpublished during his lifetime.

Customer Reviews:

Expansive Literature.......2007-07-20

The first volume of Robert Musil's magnificent opus `The Man Without Qualities,' is brilliant and intricate Prussian `a la recherche du temps perdu,' though without Proust's keen appreciation of the arts. This is an epic from the mind of a mathematician and a strict analytic philosopher who becomes ensconced in the aristocracy of Austro-Hungarian Empire in the years of its final disintegration leading up to the first World War. Ulrich is the man without qualities, the sharp minded observer and provocateur around whom the plot and characters revolve. We are given numerous outstanding characters, the graceful yet tormented Diotima, her lovers Arnheim and General Tuzzi, a mysterious maid named Rachel, her lover Solomon, and an intriguing serial killer on death row named Moosbrugger. Musil has brilliantly delineated the social layers of imperial Austria, and he throws us into a culture marked by petty megalomania and pseudo-profundities. Much of the novel is a funny satire of a culture on the decline; it is also a philosophical dialogue between diverging antitheses. Ulrich is a man looking for an age of spiritual purity free from the burden of `rationalism.' Like the novels of Thomas Mann, `The Man Without Qualities' is as much a book about ideas as it is a narrative in itself. This may leave many readers a bit cold. However, Musil's command over a canvas of such an immense scale has insured his place as one of the 20th centuries finest writers.

A clever work, but very long and boring.......2007-02-05

I agree with Linda's comments... very clever book, but very very boring... if you wanna a book that we'll influence your way of thinking, try "The Picture of Dorian Gray"... and you'll get "more influence/page"

spectacular and profound.......2005-09-21

Musil's book is one of the twentieth century's two masterworks-- the other being Proust's "A La Recherche." Musil and Proust are the Modernist embodiment of Adorno's dictum that the conceptually challenging artwork must also necessarily be aesthetically radical.

Musil's novel, written from at once the center (Europe) and the margins (post-World War One Austria) of the early Twentieth century, is the story of Ulrich, a brilliant young mathematician who observes Austrian high society on the eve of the First World War. Under the pretext of planning a huge anniversary party for the King, society gathers in one Diotima's salon. Musil's narrator here has good fun looking at the ideologies and social pretensions of the upper classes. Austra becomes "Kakania," and the idealistic Diotima a parody of Socrates' interlocutor in The Symposium.

Parallel to this social story is Ulrich's "inner transformation." As Ulrich becomes more and more cynical about, and detached from, the increasingly bizarre social world, he begins to undergo a transformation of mind, and to this end, moves at the end of Volume I into retreat from the world to pursue a "mystical union" of mind with his twin sister.

Musil's book-- like Proust's, and like Richardson's "Clarissa"-- takes on all themes. From social decay, inner transformation, the meaning of science and art, political satire, the dangers of technology, love, spiritual questions (here refreshingly and presciently free from being couched in Big Religions' terms) and plain old human longing, Musil deals with them all. And, like Proust and Richardson, Musil's story is ultimately a dialectic: the twin poles of social and individual transformation would, ideally, wind closer together until they fuse into one. In Proust's book this fusion is implied (it is the blending of author and narrator after the story's end) while in Richardson the synthesis is functional, but dead (Clarissa's coffin). Musil never finished his novel, perhaps fittingly-- WWI would destroy all remaining dreams of fusing European political idealism and the humanist spiritualism of the early 20th century, similar to how, seventy years later, Krzysztof Kieslowski's pan-Eurpoean vision of his "La Double Vie de Veronique" would look surreal and syrupy, destroyed by images from the Bosnian war in the mid-'90s.

Musil's writing is strangely effective even in translation. The narrator's sly sense of humour comes across pretty decently here, and the translator manages to make the book at times out-loud laughing funny.

This is essential reading. The reader who wants Big Ideas-- in the line of Proust, Richardson, Pynchon, Melville and Murakami-- will enjoy this work.

Europe prior to the Great War.......2005-07-11

Set in 1913 in a country near Austria-Hungary in the period just prior to World War I, this massive, two volume novel, features Ulrich, the supposed "man without qualities," who take 1 year off just to observe people who help make up his environment. Forming the backdrop of the novel are preparations for the Parallel Campaign, which will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Franz Joseph's assention to the Austrian throne. The sponsors of this event, who hope to spotlight the achievements of Austria and reach some form of peace and understanding with the disperate groups that make up the Austria-Hungary Empire, never seem to agree how best to get the festivities off square one. The Germans feel shunted aside and make their extreme dissatisfactions known to everyone. One of the major characters of the novel is a wealthy German businessman who inspires love and admiration from some of the female characters and jealousy, mistrust and contempt from Ulrich and some of the other male characters.

"The Man Without Qualities" works best as a work showing Europe in a transitional period prior to the fall of the various kingdoms and empires of Europe and just before the rise of Naziism. Musil's characters go into great detail discussing the many political, economic and social philosphies swirling around Europe at that time and these often reflect the relationships of the various and motley individuals that make up the novel. These include Ulrich's cousin, Diotima, who loves to give parties for the prominent in society, her husband who is a petty government official who is severely lacking in imagination, Ulrich's musically gifted married friends, Clarisse, a nervous and somewhat hysterical woman, and Walter, a weakling who is very jealous of Ulrich. While oftentimes the clash of ideas and philosophies can make an incredibly engrossing read, the novel can often bogs down in them and become awfully tiresome.

The second volume introduces Ulrich's sister, and from what I have read, she helps to bring a completely different and unforgettable dimension to his life.

A Scathing Indictment of a Lost People.......2005-01-16

The Man Without Qualities is about nothing. Nothing happens; there is nor growth in any of the characters, there are no decisions made, there are no actions taken. The main characters pontificate, discourse and expostulate endlessly. They think long and deep. Everyone seems steeped in metaphysics, philosophy, literature, dialectics, etc. But nobody does a damn thing. There are at least three relationships that are not consummated. Even when there is sex, it seems disconnected from the "pseudo reality" that is the milieu everyone moves in. Everyone is planning for a grand jubilee for the Emperor Franz Joseph, but after incessant meetings, no one can decide how to proceed.
The only character who seems to do anything is the sexual psychopath, Moosbrugger, who is a serial murderer of women. This is a very challenging book to read. You have to concentrate or you'll find that you've read several paragraphs or pages without knowing what you've just read. The Man Without Qualities is the ultimate "novel of ideas" but the irony is that it seems to be contemptuous of ideas if they do not bear fruit through the actions of decisive men and women of action. For a person or a culture without qualities, ideas are a paralyzing narcotic.

The Man Without Qualities Vol. 1: A Sort of Introduction and Pseudo Reality Prevails

Average customer rating:

The Man Without Qualities Vol. 1: A Sort of Introduction and Pseudo Reality Prevails
Robert Musil
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QYDZA2

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books