Good Economics for Hard Times

Earlier this year when the entire world hadn't gone to shit, I got the opportunity to attend a live session of Abhijit Banerjee at the #jaipurlitfest and what kind of a lunatic doesn't read a signed copy of a book(shudder) even if it's way over one's head! So here it is, my 1.3 pence

A public poll conducted to gaze approval ratings of various professionals, economists rated just slightly above politicians on their trustworthiness!

It's hardly surprising given most economists we see on TV are on the payroll of big corporations with very pointed agendas. Sometimes economists have their own ideological axe to grind which doesn't make their findings very reliable. So when a good, data-driven economist does come along, how do we tell them apart from the bad lot?

For a start, they have to be willing to share their thought processes as well as their conclusions. If we have access to the data they use as evidence and are privy to how they think about that evidence, we’re more likely to believe them. Even more importantly, they have to be willing to admit that they’re fallible and must revise their opinions when they get it wrong.

Luckily, these two do seem reliable (trust me I am an expert :D ).

Do give this book a try if you want to deep dive into issues like; immigration & how politicians use the simple economic model of supply and demand to justify why immigration is such a problem; How trade agreements can harm local workers, but simplistic solutions like protectionist tariffs won’t solve the problem; how redistribution of wealth from rich to poor countries is as essential to fight climate change as it is to cut carbon emissions; and how economic inequality long preceded intelligent robots and hence our fears of AI taking over all our jobs though not completely unfounded in reality might be a little inaccurate. After all, it's not like all robots are gonna walk around in shiny silver casings, they are actually going to be deeply embedded in our boardrooms and our bedrooms.

#goodeconomicsforhardtimes #estherduflo #abhijitvbanerjee #nobleprize