Good Economics for Hard Times

Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems

By: Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo

Narrated by: James Lurie

Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The winners of the Nobel Prize show how economics, when done right, can help us solve the thorniest social and political problems of our day.

Figuring out how to deal with today's critical economic problems is perhaps the great challenge of our time. Much greater than space travel or perhaps even the next revolutionary medical breakthrough, what is at stake is the whole idea of the good life as we have known it.

Immigration and inequality, globalization and technological disruption, slowing growth and accelerating climate change - these are sources of great anxiety across the world, from New Delhi and Dakar to Paris and Washington, DC. The resources to address these challenges are there - what we lack are ideas that will help us jump the wall of disagreement and distrust that divides us. If we succeed, history will remember our era with gratitude; if we fail, the potential losses are incalculable.

In this revolutionary book, renowned MIT economists Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo take on this challenge, building on cutting-edge research in economics explained with lucidity and grace. Original, provocative, and urgent, Good Economics for Hard Times makes a persuasive case for an intelligent interventionism and a society built on compassion and respect. It is an extraordinary achievement, one that shines a light to help us appreciate and understand our precariously balanced world.

©2019 Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo (P)2019 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

"In Good Economics for Hard Times, Banerjee and Duflo, two of the world's great economists, parse through what economists have to say about today's most difficult challenges-immigration, job losses from automation and trade, inequality, tribalism and prejudice, and climate change. The writing is witty and irreverent, always informative but never dull. Banerjee and Duflo are the teachers you always wished for but never had, and this book is an essential guide for the great policy debates of our times." (Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

"Banerjee and Duflo have shown brilliantly how the best recent research in economics can be used to tackle the most pressing social issues: unequal economic growth, climate change, lack of trust in public action. Their book is an essential wake-up call for intelligent and immediate action!" (Emmanuel Saez, professor of economics at UC Berkeley)

"Banerjee and Duflo move beyond the simplistic forecasts that abound in the Twittersphere and in the process reframe the role of economics. Their dogged optimism about the potential of economics research to deliver makes for an informative and uplifting read." (Pinelopi Goldberg, Elihu Professor of Economics, Yale University, and chief economist of the World Bank Group)

audio is not The best format for a book like this

Audio is not The best format for a book like this. Should be attractively (priced) bundled with whisper synced Kindle ed.
I like The distinction The authors make between those who purport to be economists and 'actual' recognized ones .... and that The public mainly hears from the former, media being as it is.

Great thesis; Exhausting audiobook

The book contents were extremely thought provoking and shed light on the importance of the nuance and softer aspects that most traditional economics misses, which is incredibly important. The audiobook however sounds like the narrator is in a CNN true crime documentary and while consistent in tone, is so monotonous that it requires too much extra effort to listen to be worth recommending.

Promise it’s not dry....To all my fellow non scholarly types.

This definitely does not read (listen) like a PHD thesis. I was afraid it might. I will be listening, and recommending this book many times over. The writing stretched my synapses and heart strings at the same time.....Let’s all be more compassionate, understanding and grateful.

more politics than economics

If you love big government, you will love this book. If you don’t trust big government, you will hate this book. If you think big government cares about you, I have some swamp land you might like. The book starts by telling us not to believe economists who work for business because they have self-interests. We should just believe the economists who work for big government or educational institutions that get their funding from big government. Of course, taxes pay these economists and the book spends considerable time talking about preventing tax evasion so we can pay economists to run our lives. The book proceeds to dismiss the foundations of economic theory (rational consumer choice, profit-maximizing firms, efficient markets) but, inexplicably, says we should believe economy theory anyway. Of course, only when it supports the authors’ progressive views. Economists who disagree with the authors are either right-wing or old-school economists who have not read recent research. The book has plenty of references to behavioral economics or psychologists to support the idea that ordinary people are either stupid or bigoted and need economists/big government to help them run their lives.  I generally support immigration. However, the author’s arguments for immigrate are purely political.  Illegal and legal immigration are the same. Global warming and man-made global warming are the same. Very high taxes and equity are the same (again, we need to pay those government economists). At one point the book says that Hillary Clinton should definitely not have called Trump supporters (1/2 the voters) deplorables because it is not helpful (of course, they are deplorables). What does that have to do with economics? The book references some economic studies but given the progressive agenda of the authors, it is hard to know whether these studies are representative or just anomalies. Watching economists testify at multiple civil trials, I can tell you with certainty that two economics can take the same data and come to opposite conclusions. Hence, it is important to hear both sides. This book fails to tell us both sides. Moreover, name calling is not an econometric method.

 

Economic observation from the head and the heart!

This is one of brighter flames of hope chiseled from the “facts” and observations of two great economists that transcend the pseudoscience of “pure economics”. The authors do not presume that the answers to the world’s economic woes are all grounded in some sort of money and or employment formulas. Instead, they show the broader truth that money, employment, wealth,poverty and the human condition are all rolled into the bubbling soup of human and social truth that we all make up. The book is well written and timely. It has a definite optimistic bent without any single, “one size fits all” magic bullet for the woes of the world’s economic condition. I feel they’re strongest theme is the basic dignity of all people. Well done!

Excellent

This book is written by a husband and wife team who just won the Nobel Prize in Economics.

The book is well written and researched. In fact, it is surprisingly easy to read and understand for a lay person. The authors take a global approach to the subject. What impressed me was the fact they actually did research and analyzed data to find out what worked or not. They examined the most crucial issues the world faces such as migration, trade wars, inequality and climate change. They said “the book’s urgent task is to emphasize that there are no iron laws of economics keeping us from building a more humane world.” I was impressed with their methodical deconstruction of fake facts. I found this book most interesting and highly recommend it.

I am going to buy a hardback copy to keep as a reference book. The book is fourteen hours and forty-five minutes. James Lurie does a good job narrating the book. Lurie is an actor, voice-over artist and a well-known audiobook narrator.

Crap content, but with great narration!

What the authors are selling:
- leftists are always right; conservatives always wrong
- Thatcher was evil, Reagan was more evil; Trump is most evil of all
- everyone who voted for Brexit is either stupid or evil
- most economist are usually wrong, but the authors are always right
- every societal problem will be solved by higher marginal tax rates
- many people in the US vote against there self interest (because they are stupid)
- Mexico has a better government than the US; so does mainland China
- Europe is smart; the US is stupid
- Elizabeth Warren is always right on economic issues

GOOD ECONOMICS FOR HARD TIMES is a 15 hour hard leftist political diatribe; it is not a book about economics. This book is classified as non-fiction, but it is fiction. The ability to suspend disbelief is necessary to listen to it. By the way, I listened to the entire thing thanks to the marvelous narration by James Lurie. The book was the Audible Daily Deal for April 12, 2020.

Accessible but Challenging

I ordered the book after reading The Economist's rave review. I emerge even more impressed than expected. Banerjeee and Duflo have a gift for writing in a conversational style about complex science. Similarly, their organizational strategy for the book enhances the accessibility of their ideas. Readers/listeners are taken by the hand and walked through the "biggest problems" at a pace that somehow feels both brisk and unhurried. Along that walk, readers can expect a devotion to rigorous thinking and reliable process, leading to blunt criticisms of ideological excess (across the political spectrum). The excellent narration enriches the experience of this truly exceptional book.

Good economics is easy for everyone to understand

Good economics applied everywhere around the world, examples from every continent. Inequality left unchecked will reverse the gains from centuries of human knowledge. Growth for growth’s sake is useless. Very inspiring!

Absolutely breathtaking!!

Best book I have ever read.
Everyone , I mean everyone should read the book and the word would be a better place.
Thank you to the authors.