Focusing on Fritz Machlup, Connell presents the story of the Bellagio Group and its contribution to modern finance. Initiated by Machlup the Bellagio Group was made up of thirty-two non-government academic economists. During the years between 1964 and 1977 the Group met eighteen times and made a series of recommendations for policymakers.

The Bellagio Group was founded by Fritz Machlup, William Fellner and Robert Triffin at a time of global economic crisis not unlike the one we face today. With its original network of thirty-two economists, it was the forerunner of the current Group of Thirty. The Bellagio Group comprised academics, policy makers, bankers and corporate leaders, who worked together with the aim of economic reform. Machlup, Fellner and Triffin led the Group in their attempts to identify the connecting principles between geopolitical, currency, business and social issues facing economies in the aftermath of the...