Book excerpt: With an emphasis on developments during and after the Great Recession, and paying due attention to the impacts of austerity policies, the chapters assembled for this book explain that high growth of aggregate demand is as essential as ever for achieving full employment and rising living standards. Written by distinguished Keynesian and Post-Keynesian economists from diverse national backgrounds, the book tackles critical theoretical and empirical issues to illuminate the economic experiences both of large geographic regions such as Europe, Latin America, and Africa, as well as specific national economies including the USA, Japan, India, and Canada.