In the next twenty years the world economy will enjoy one of its strongest periods of growth. Opportunities, life expectancy, income and educational standards will all rise. The West's share of the global economic cake may get smaller, but there will be more cake than ever before. These are the predictions of Gerard Lyons, a leading international economist who spent nearly thirty years working in the City. Over the last quarter-century he has been ahead of the game in predicting the major economic trends that we now take as a given. In The Consolations of Economics, Gerard Lyons presents a lucid and accessible approach to what is happening in the global economy and what it means. The results are fascinating, refreshing -- and unusually cheering.