Inspiration
A list of recommended books from Rethinking Economics.
Top Books
Firms as Political Entities, Isabelle Ferreras (2017)
According to Isabelle Ferreras, the democratization of companies could prove effective in dealing with our current economic, social, environmental, and political problems.
The Econocracy, Earle, Moran & Ward-Perkins (2016)
The authors argue that the UK has become an econocracy - a society in which improving the economy has become the main purpose of politics. They demonstrate how this undermines democracy and increases the power and authority of economists.
Stabilizing an unstable economy, Hyman Minsky (1986)
Minsky rejects the equilibrium methodology of mainstream economics as irrelevant to analysis of a real world capitalist economy with complex and expensive capital assets.
Most notably, he discusses the natural inclination of complex, capitalist economies toward instability: "Stability is destabilizing".
Bad Samaritans, Ha-Joon Chang (2007)
Governments and institutions of developed countries are 'Bad Samaritans': intentions are worthy but their simplistic free-market ideology and poor understanding of history leads to inflicting policy errors on developing countries.
Both justice and common sense, Chang argues, demand that we reevaluate the policies we force on developing nations.
Identity Economics, Akerlof & Kranton (2010)
The authors explain how our conception of who we are and who we want to be may shape our economic lives more than any other factor, affecting how hard we work, and how we learn, spend, and save. Identity economics is a new way to understand people's decisions.
It bridges a critical gap in the social sciences: bringing identity and norms to economics.
Economics Rules, Dani Rodrik, (2015)
Too often, economists mistake a model for the model that applies everywhere and at all times. Economics can be a powerful tool that improves the world—but only when economists abandon universal theories and focus on getting the context right. Nevertheless: the discipline's mathematical models remain essential to the discipline's strength.
The Price of Inequality, Joseph Stiglitz (2012)
Stiglitz argues that inequality is self-perpetuating, that it is produced by the political power held by the wealthy that allows them to control the legislative process.
Thereby, Stiglitz criticizes conservative commentators who believe free markets are the solution.
Capital in the 21st Century, Thomas Piketty (2013)
With impressive historical depth, tracing economic indicators all the way back to the 18th century, Piketty demontrates that when the rate of return on capital is greater than the rate of economic growth, this results in concentration of wealth in the long-term.