Good Economics for Hard Times

Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems is a 2019 nonfiction book by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, both professors of economics at MIT. It was published on November 12, 2019 by PublicAffairs (US), Juggernaut Books (India), and Allen Lane (UK). The book draws from recent developments in economics research to argue solutions to the issues facing modern economies and societies around the world, including slowing economic growth, immigration, income inequality, climate change, globalization and technological unemployment.[3] It is their second collaborative book since the publication of their book Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty (2011) and their first since becoming a married couple in 2015. The book's publication comes a month after Banerjee and Duflo were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, shared with Harvard University professor Michael Kremer.[4][5]

Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems
First edition cover (UK/India)
AuthorAbhijit V. Banerjee
Esther Duflo
Audio read byJames Lurie[1]
Working titleGood Economics, Bad Economics: Six Ways We Get the World Wrong and How to Set It Right[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectEconomics
PublisherPublicAffairs
Publication date
November 12, 2019
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages432 pp
ISBN978-1-61039-950-0 (US)
Websitegoodeconomicsforhardtimes.com

Summary

Banerjee and Duflo draw from recent developments in economics research to argue solutions to the issues facing modern economies and societies around the world, including slowing economic growth, immigration, income inequality, climate change, globalization and technological unemployment. The book argues against the idea that immigrants lower wages and take jobs from native workers. They also argue that people in poverty often make more sound financial decisions than is normally attributed to them.[6]

Publication and promotion

In October 2019, Banerjee traveled to India to promote the book, with speaking engagements in the capital of New Delhi and his hometown of Kolkata.[7][8] The trip included a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, in New Delhi.[9] Duflo spoke about the book at the London School of Economics on November 5, 2019.[10]

Reception

Publishers Weekly praised the book, writing, "Banerjee and Duflo's arguments are original and open-minded and their evidence is clearly presented. Policy makers and lay readers looking for fresh insights into contemporary economic matters will savor this illuminating book."[6]

Kirkus Reviews gave the book a positive review, calling it "Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal."[11]

In his review for The Guardian, Greek economist and politician Yanis Varoufakis praised the book and called it a "methodical deconstruction of fake facts" and an "excellent antidote to the most dangerous forms of economics bashing."[12]

Nicholas Kristof wrote that Banerjee and Duflo "demolish the traditional arguments against higher taxes on the wealthy in an incisive book."[13]

The book has received praise from economists such as William Easterly,[14] Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, Robert Solow, Daron Acemoglu, Pinelopi Goldberg and Raghuram Rajan as well as from legal scholar Cass Sunstein.[3]

Publication history
  • Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems. United States: PublicAffairs. November 12, 2019. ISBN 978-1-61039-950-0. 432 pages.[3]
  • Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems. India: Juggernaut Books. November 12, 2019. ISBN 9789353450700. 416 pages.[15]
  • Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems. United Kingdom: Allen Lane. November 12, 2019. ISBN 9780241306895. 416 pages.[16]

References
  1. "Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems by Abhijit V. Banerjee by Esther Duflo Read by James Lurie". PublicAffairs. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  2. "Good Economics, Bad Economics: Six Ways We Get the World Wrong and How to Set It Right by Abhijit V. Banerjee, Esther Duflo". Booktopia. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  3. "Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems by Abhijit V. Banerjee by Esther Duflo". PublicAffairs. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  4. Smialek, Jeanna (October 14, 2019). "Nobel Economics Prize Goes to Pioneers in Reducing Poverty". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  5. Lynch, Russell (October 14, 2019). "Poverty-busting woman wins economics Nobel for only the second time in 50 years". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  6. "Nonfiction Book Review: Good Economics for Hard Times by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo". Publishers Weekly. October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  7. Banerjee, Tamaghna (October 16, 2019). "Abhijit Banerjee to launch his book in Delhi this weekend". The Times of India. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  8. "Tax cuts for the rich is necessary for growth is a mantra that needs to be questioned: Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee". The Economic Times. October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  9. Raghavan, T.C.A. Sharad (October 22, 2019). "Modi has an 'excellent' meeting with Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee". The Hindu. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  10. "Good Economics for Hard Times". LSE. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  11. "Good Economics for Hard Times by Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo". Kirkus Reviews. August 29, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  12. Varoufakis, Yanis (November 11, 2019). "Good Economics for Hard Times by Abhijit V Banerjee and Esther Duflo review – methodical deconstruction of fake facts". The Guardian. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  13. Kristof, Nicholas (October 12, 2019). "Opinion | Should We Soak the Rich? You Bet!". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  14. Easterly, William (17 Nov 2019). "'Good Economics for Hard Times' Review: Sticky Markets, Tricky Solutions". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 April 2023. Good Economics for Hard Times lives up to its authors' reputations, giving a masterly tour of the current evidence on critical policy questions facing less-than-perfect markets in both developed and developing countries, from migration to trade to postindustrial blight.
  15. "Good Economics for Hard Times". Juggernaut Books. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  16. "Good Economics for Hard Times". Penguin Books UK. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
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