Good Economics for Hard Times

Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems

By: Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo

Narrated by: James Lurie

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)

A Must Read for Americans

The best book on economics I've read. Easy to understand. Informative. Interesting. Let's get on the right track!

Great Discussion

Great overview of much research in economics. Great depiction of the complexities involved in solving economic and social problems.

Should be required reading at all universities in their economics programs.

Authors provide critical analysis of the shortcomings of current economic policies that divorce dollars and growth from individual and community well being! Please write more! Please get word out about this in depth look at our current situation and some possible strategies to improve the economic welfare of all.

A refreshing approach to a typically dry topic.

What the authors are able to do is look at economics holistically. The failures of other authors to realize is that economics involve people not just mathematical formulae. People are not always rational and incorporating the cultural and social elements into the explanations of the studies was an enlightening experience.

Well researched and timely

This book will surprise you with Many revelations that are contrary to the current mythology of economics and immigration and inequality that exists in our world. It will have helped me to make Better sense of The noise coming from various media outlets. It will also help me make better economic decisions That will help me to be part of the solution and not the problem.

A Must Read

I believe this book is one of the best economic books I have read. The author walks The reader through the current understanding of how policies and psychology effects economics. As well as explaining the studies and the people doing them.

A must read by both sides left and right

very up to date
lots of economics and interesting facts
easy to read or listen
you will end up better then you started

So much more than Economics

This is now in my top 10 list of books. The authors offer salient, fact-based writings of challenging issues facing our country. The book is devoid of politicization, finger-pointing, and hyperbole. Rather, the authors offer a comparing and contrasting views of the world at large and the effect of policy on impacts of great magnitude.

The title is much too un-assuming I fear, in that many people may be turned away from the topic of economics. This book is so much more than economics, it is true that most of the issues the authors discuss are rooted in economics because that's what they are. Moreover, the book covers many important facets of life from immigration, racism, climate change, inequality, international trade, and the list goes on.

This book has given me greater insight into many issues facing the country today. I highly recommend this book to anyone that will take the time to read and or listen to it.

Important Book

One of the most important and valuable books I have ever read. Needs to be absorbed broadly.

Worthy of a Nobel

In a world so discouragingly filled with loud voices spouting insane ideas, it is truly comforting to find evidence here in this book that there exist on this planet intellects such a the authors of this seminal work. The range undertaken and the sense applied to each topic is remarkable and always understatedly spot on.

Would that leaders had the good fortune and good sense to listen to these authors directly - or at least read/listen to this book.