My top business books of 2016

If you are interested in the world of business, finance or economics and want something interesting to read over the holidays, or maybe you are seeking a last minute gift for the business reader in your life, here in no particular order are my top 12 business-related books published in 2016:

"The 100 Year Life: Living And Working In An Age Of Longevity", by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott. Life expectancy is rising rapidly in much of the world, but most of the institutional arrangements of society to deal with ageing, along with most people's expectations about what will happen as they move past middle age, are still mired in the belief that about three score years and ten is the normal lifespan. This terrific book, by two academics at London Business School, is an eye-opener, constantly challenging the reader to rethink expectations, highlighting some of the huge business opportunities to be had by focusing more realistically on longevity, and setting out the need for reform of institutions ranging from pensions to universities to marriage.

"The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds", by Michael Lewis. My first reaction on reading this book was to kick myself for not having written it myself! I have been fascinated by Daniel Kahneman since I first interviewed him in 1995 for an article, after which how I approached economics transformed. The article was about the emergence of what is now called "behavioural economics", and we discussed at length his work with his colleague, Amos Tversky. Since then Kahneman has won a Nobel Prize for economics (Tversky died too soon to get one) and behavioural economics has become a big deal, as is made clear in "The Undoing Project", which focuses on the friendship and ideas of the two psychologists turned economists, Surely the best business writer of our era, Michael Lewis has, of course, told the story brilliantly. with plenty of original angles and a very important point to make.

"How To Have A Good Day: Harness The Power Of Social Science To Transform Your Working Life", by Caroline Webb. If you want to know how behavioural economics can improve your life in practical ways, look no further. Caroline Webb sets out to answer the question "if you want to have a good day, how can behavioural economics help you?" Applying the answers set out in this entertaining and readable book could lead to significant improvements in the lives of many people, at work and beyond.

"The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision Of The Future", by Steve Case. Having made a fortune in the first internet bubble by growing and selling AOL, Steve Case has since become a passionate advocate for entrepreneurship, and a campaigner for legal and other reforms that can make it easier to start and grow a company. In this book he tells his story and sets out a thought-provoking agenda for creating a better economic future.

"The Fourth Industrial Revolution" by Klaus Schwab. In this persuasive book, the founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum's explains why he considers the disruptive technology-driven changes now under way in the global economy a "fourth industrial revolution", with massive implications for the world over the coming decades.

"The Industries Of The Future", by Alec Ross. An extremely readable tour of what the economy of the future will look like. Skillfully avoids both techno-Utopianism and the neo-Luddite fear that robots will take all the jobs from the humans.

"China's Mobile Economy: Opportunities In The Largest And Fastest Information Consumption Boom," by Winston Ma. Not so long ago, the conventional wisdom was that China had become a master of imitation, but would never amount to much as an original innovator, and thus could never hope to surpass America and its awesome Silicon Valley. Winston Ma's fascinating analysis of China's information-based industries today unquestionably lays to rest that old view, charting the emergence in China of world-leading innovations and companies in some of the most important technologies of tomorrow, from social media to fintech.

"The Sharing Economy: The End Of Employment And The Rise Of Crowd-based Capitalism", by Arun Sundararajan. I am not convinced that the phrase "sharing economy" truly captures the essence of the platform-based business models now disrupting many parts of the global economy - from transport (Uber) to hotels (AirBnb) and funding new ideas (IndieGogo and Kickstarter), and I don't think Arun Sundararajan is either. His excellent analysis is appropriately sceptical at times about whether there is anything virtuous about this sort of "sharing", and sets out with great clarity why regulators need to keep a close eye on what is going on and why the potential implications for workers may require new policies and institutions to manage the insecurities of eking out a living in the "gig economy" of Uber World.

"Blockchain Revolution: How The Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business And The World", by Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott. This was the year when the idea broadly caught on that blockchain, the software first popularised by Bitcoin, could potentially revolutionise all manner of activities, from buying and selling property to ensuring supply-chains are ethical, through its decentralised system of digital record-keeping. The father-son Tapscott combo have captured the mood in a terrific book that, despite sometimes getting too breathless in its optimism, is constantly thought-provoking.

"Negotiating The Non-Negotiable: How To Resolve Your Most Emotionally Charged Conflicts", by Daniel Shapiro. Quite simply, the best book I have ever read on negotiating in situations of extreme conflict, by the founder of the Harvard International Negotiation Program. Wise, honest and practical.

"The Curse Of Cash", by Ken Rogoff. One of the big economic stories of the year was Indian PM Modi's attempt to reduce pervasive corruption by scrapping the large denomination bank notes popular with criminals. Coincidentally or not, this move was preceded by the publication of Ken Rogoff's fascinating short book of careffully applied economics, in which he argues that all over the world large denomination notes are mostly used for no good, incurring significant economic costs, and that countries from America on would do well to abolish them and make do with smaller value notes. Ironically, he seems more pragmatic about the politics of abolishing the notes than Mr Modi, whose sudden, unyielding surprise move has prompted a backlash.

"Makers & Takers: The Rise Of Finance And The Fall Of American Business", by Rana Foroohar. As Donald Trump recruits a bunch of Wall Street tycoons to his government, is he already forgetting that populist bashing of Wall Street helped him to win the election? A similar strategy nearly secured Bernie Sanders victory in the race to be the Democrat candidate. Rana Foroohar's book is by far the most serious book yet to argue that there really is a case to be made against Wall Street and its growing importance in the economy. The rise of finance, she argues, has come at the expense of the more important task of actually making the goods and services that people want and creating the middle-class jobs they need. I suspect that this is not a view shared by Mr Trump's choices as Commerce Secretary, legendary vulture investor Wilbur Ross, or as special advisor on regulation, Carl Icahn, green-mailer extraordinaire.

Lastly, though it does not belong in such august company, I will close by mentioning one other book published in 2016, this one by me: "Economics: An A-Z Guide". It is a look at the main concepts and debates in economics today, written for the non-expert as a sort of "everything you always wanted to know about economics but were afraid to ask". I have written a post about it here.

Wishing you much enjoyable, and profitable, reading.

Let me know what you think of this top 12.