Good

Economics for
Hard Times
Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems

BOOK REVIEW
by
Devashree Roychowdhury
Architect - City Planner
India
 Make Economics Great Again
Introductory chapter

What can be done to boost growth?

Solution to exploding inequality?

International trade - the problem or the solution?

International trade and its effect on inequality

Positive and negative aspects of migration

Impact of new technologies

 From the Mouth of the Shark
Legal vs illegal migrants

Opinions about migration - Factual knowledge of the numbers

& characteristics of migrants

Reasons for migration - push and pull factors

Law of supply and demand

Purchasing power parity

Unknown unknowns - uncertainty

Chicken and egg problem

 The pains from Trade
Gains from trade
Concept of comparative & absolute advantage

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Gross National Product (GNP)

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Socialism to capitalism
Reversecausality, liberalisation, trade policy & skepticism

Stolper-Samuelson theory
 The pains from Trade

Trade - a route out of poverty (project ‘Aid to Artisans’ (ATA)

Global inequality

Clustering of industries
Gains from trade and trade war

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program

Cross-price elasticities
Internal integration in developing countries
 Likes, Wants, and Needs

Traditional economics - preferences and beliefs

Poor economics
Folk theorem

Discrimination and inequality - tension within the community

Different kinds of discrimination

Homophily

Echo chambers
 Likes, Wants, and Needs

Holograms

Effects of virtual social net works & internet on policy

preferences

Contact hypothesis

Tipping point

Preferences, polarization & prejudice

 The End of Growth?

Stagflation
The Great Depression
Total Factor Productivity (TFP)
Predict the future - Gordon V Mokyr
Secular stagnation
Social media - productivity slowdown or boost well-being
Theory of convergence
 The End of Growth?

Solow’s model
Lucas’s theory - India V U.S
Impact of technology on economic growth
Exogenous growth model
Diminishing returns
Romer’s theory - spillovers
Economic growth by promoting regional development
 The End of Growth?

Innovation as a process of creative destruction

Tax rates
Logic of Aghion and Howitt
Cross-country growth regressions
Concept of misallocation
Jugaad - way of doing business in India
Recipe to increase growth
 In Hot Water

Costs of climate change

Reduce carbon emissions
Impact of economic growth on climate change
Check energy consumption
Energy-efficiency-enhancing investments
The pollution problem
The Green New Deal
 Player Piano

Player piano concept

Luddites and Luddism
Growth - a matter of national pride
Inequality explosion
Reagan - Thatcher policies
The superstar narrative
Negative effects of globalization
 Player Piano
CEOs and the stock market
Salary cap

Income taxation as a policy issue

Tax evasion

Wealth tax
The ‘Citizens United’ decision
Happiness quotient

Citizen-centric
 Legit.gov

Government action

Politics and elections

Fighting corruption

Transparency

Government programs

Importance of stakeholders
 Cash and Care

Considerations in the design of social policies

Universal Basic Income (UBI)

Cash or commodities

Fund utilization & transfer in social programs

From ideation to execution - programs, beneficiaries,

application process - allocating funds

Eligibility V claiming benefits

 Cash and Care
Food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP)

Food security programs

Cash transfers

Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) for policy making

Negative income tax

Income and Substitution effect

Survey and data collection

 Cash and Care
Universal Ultra Basic Income (UUBI)
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)

Model of flexicurity
Subsidizing the common good

The intergenerational mobility

Moving to opportunity
ATD Fourth World

Mission Locale
 Conclusion
Good and Bad Economics
Globalization is an ongoing process - Economic, Social and Political
International migration: immigrant -native relations

The changing world economy

Ways of doing business and business models

World events - positive and negative impact in the last 40 years

Change driven by policy
Good - Bad - Blinkered - Blind Economics

Power of ideas - Good V Bad idea

 Feedback

This book provides a holistic picture of economic situations prevalent in

different nations across the globe. The authors have used comparative
method to explain the important world events and their impact on
economic growth and changes in policies at the national and global level.
By using the same method, they have tried to answer the questions on
economics and economic policies applicable in the present times and crises -
the way they look at it. The best part is, this book wonderfully describes all
the economic concepts in simple ways with relevant examples and stories
from different parts of the world enabling others to relate and assess the
economic condition of their own country with other nations. This is a
complete book and indeed “an essential guide” and “a must read” for all - a
good report with rich data. Congratulations to the Authors.
 Feedback

In chapter 9 - page 288, the authors are writing about India and the preferences of
the beneficiaries of a specific income group for cash versus food option in direct
benefit transfers program. In my opinion, drawing inferences or giving out
information on the basis of collection of data or research done by a single
individual (or agency) with a small sample size could be avoided in a book that is
comparing nations and talking about the economic progress and their journey in
the last couple of decades. The data and the statistics mentioned for this
particular section could be verified through multiple research firms before
presenting. Also, including the information collected through a single respondent
could be avoided as it might give a wrong impression about the country (as a whole)
with respect to any program, sector or issue. The point is, the readers of foreign
nationalities will not be able to understand India and its states and its vastness,
diversity and complications and will consider the information presented in the
book valid for the whole of the country which might not be true.
 Feedback

Another suggestion to the authors is that it’ll be interesting to know the reasons
behind the data gaps wherever it is mentioned ‘there is no evidence for the
particular information’ included in the book. There could be several reasons like
people not willing to answer or interested in giving out information (in such cases
what are the other possible methods by which that particular survey could be
conducted) or the survey is yet to be conducted in that specific country for that
program and sector or some other valid explanation; the reasoning will help the
readers in developing a better understanding of the data gaps and limitations
existing in the system and in creating context for further discussions.
Thank - You