10 Mar 2010 13:30 Africa/Lagos
Nobel Prize-Winning Economist George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton Offer An Engaging Look At How Identity Matters in Economic Decisions in Their New Book IDENTITY ECONOMICS
PRINCETON, N.J., March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In 1995, economist Rachel Kranton wrote future Nobel Prize-winner George Akerlof a letter insisting that his most recent paper was wrong. Identity, she argued, was the missing element that would help to explain why people--facing the same economic circumstances--would make different choices. This was the beginning of a fourteen-year collaboration--and of IDENTITY ECONOMICS.
People often make the choices that will define their lives--where to live, how many children to have, etc.--based on financial drawbacks and incentives. IDENTITY ECONOMICS: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being explores how our identities are shaped by our economic decisions and behavior. With this book, Akerlof & Kranton hope to take a giant step further on the path of behavioral economics. IDENTITY ECONOMICS is a new way to understand people's decisions--at work, at school, and at home. With it, we can better appreciate why incentives like stock options work or don't; why some schools succeed and others don't; why some cities and towns don't invest in their futures--and much, much more.
Fresh off his bestselling 2009 book Animal Spirits (new paperback edition out in March 2010), with Yale's Robert Shiller, Akerlof and co-author Kranton, push the limits of behavioral economics. IDENTITY ECONOMICS bridges a critical gap in the social sciences. It brings identity and norms to economics. People's notions of what is proper, and what is forbidden, and for whom, are fundamental to how hard they work, and how they learn, spend, and save. Thus people's identity--their conception of who they are, and of who they choose to be--may be the most important factor affecting their economic lives. And the limits placed by society on people's identity can also be crucial determinants of their economic well-being.
"In the regular economic discourse of markets and taxes, we often forget about the forces that truly make a large difference in our lives. In IDENTITY ECONOMICS we sit on an economic porch with Rachel Kranton and George Akerlof, observing what we care about most--our identity."
-- Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
"This intriguing book shows how much can be learned when you add the tools of economics to the other intellectual resources now available for thinking about the power of identity. George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton report the results of technical modeling without immersing the reader in the technicalities. The result is an accessible work of commendable clarity."
-- Kwame Anthony Appiah, author of The Ethics of Identity
"In IDENTITY ECONOMICS, George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton team up to bring people and their passions into economic analysis. Moving away from conventional accounts, they propose a bold paradigm to explain why and how identity and social norms shape economic decision making. With verve and insight, the book transforms standard economic understandings of organizations, schools, gender segregation, and racial discrimination. This new enlightened economics opens up a bright future for serious collaboration between economists and sociologists."
-- Viviana A. Zelizer, author of The Purchase of Intimacy
About the Authors:
George A. Akerlof is the Koshland Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics. He is the coauthor, with Robert Shiller, of Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism. Rachel E. Kranton is Professor of Economics at Duke University.
IDENTITY ECONOMICS
How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being
George A. Akerlof and Rachel E. Kranton
Cloth $24.95 -- Pounds Sterling 16.95 | ISBN: 978-0-691-14648-5
200 pp. | 6 x 9 | 2 halftones
Publication Date: March 3, 2010
In North America:
Contact: Andrew DeSio
Phone: (609) 258-5165
Fax: (609) 258-1335
andrew_desio@press.princeton.edu
Source: Princeton University Press
CONTACT: Andrew DeSio of Princeton University Press, +1-609-258-5165,
andrew_desio@press.princeton.edu
Web Site: Princeton University Press
Showing posts with label economist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economist. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Paul Krugman Has Emerged as Obama's Toughest Liberal Critic
President Barack Obama thinks he is right, but according to the Newsweek Cover story, the famous economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman thinks Obama is wrong.
What do you think?
Video: Obama defends budget and dollar
(02:06) Report
Mar. 24 - President Barack Obama defended his $3.6 trillion budget blueprint, which most Republicans and even some fellow Democrats have criticized for being too costly.
In his second prime-time White House news conference since he took office, Obama said the U.S. dollar is strong. He also said he is continuing to follow the ongoing violence in Mexico very carefully and is prepared to take additional steps to protect the U.S. border. Jon Decker reports.SOUNDBITE: U.S. President Barack Obama
In the April 6 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands March 30), "Obama is Wrong," Newsweek's Evan Thomas profiles Paul Krugman, who, as the debate over the rescue of the financial system unfolds, has emerged as Obama's toughest liberal critic. Plus: Michael Hirsh on how Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appears to have settled into office; Dan Gross on financial linguistics; a profile of Peter Arnell; Newsweek's Business Roundtable; and the "diva-ization" of kids at a young age. (PRNewsFoto/Newsweek) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 03/29/2009
29 Mar 2009 16:17 Africa/Lagos
NEWSWEEK Cover: Obama Is Wrong
Paul Krugman Has Emerged as Obama's Toughest Liberal Critic
What if Krugman's Criticism May be Right?
NEW YORK, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- As the debate over the rescue of the financial system - which is crucial in stabilizing the economy and returning the country to prosperity - unfolds, Paul Krugman has emerged as President Barack Obama's toughest liberal critic, writes Newsweek Editor-at-Large Evan Thomas in his profile of Krugman in the current issue. Krugman, a columnist for The New York Times, a professor at Princeton and a Nobel Prize winner in economics, was a scourge of the Bush administration, but has been critical, if not hostile, to the Obama White House, skeptical of the bank bailout and pessimistic about the economy. As the debate continues, there are worries among the establishment that his "despair" over the administration's bailout plan might be right. "Krugman may be exaggerating the decay of the financial system or the devotion of Obama's team to preserving it. But what if he's right, or part right?," Thomas writes. "What if President Obama is squandering his only chance to step in and nationalize...the banks before they collapse altogether?," he writes in the April 6 Newsweek cover, "Obama Is Wrong" (on newsstands Monday, March 30).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090329/91457 )
There is little doubt that Krugman has become the voice of the loyal opposition, taking on the president from the left. In his twice-a-week column and his blog, Conscience of a Liberal, Krugman criticizes the Obamaites for trying to prop up a flawed financial system and he portrays Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and other top officials as tools of Wall Street. The day Geithner announced the details of the administration's bank-rescue plan, Krugman described his "despair" that Obama "has apparently settled on a financial plan that, in essence, assumes that banks are fundamentally sound and that bankers know what they're doing." The administration, naturally does not share Krugman's view, but the Obama White House is also careful not to provoke his wrath any more than necessary.
"Ideologically, Krugman is a European Social Democrat," Thomas writes. "In his published opinions, and perhaps his very being, Paul Krugman is anti- establishment." He hungers for what he calls "a new New Deal," and prides himself on his status as an outsider. Krugman generally applauds Obama's efforts to tax the rich in his budget and try for massive health-care reform. However, on the all-important questions of the financial system, he says he has not given up on the White House's seeing the merits of his argument - that the government must guarantee the liabilities of all the nation's banks and nationalize the big "zombie" banks - and do it fast. "The public wants to trust Obama," Krugman says. "This is still Bush's crisis. But if they wait, Obama will be blamed for a fair share of the problem." The question remains as to whether Krugman is right, which we won't know for a while to come.
(Read cover at www.Newsweek.com)
Cover: http://www.newsweek.com/id/191393
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090329/91457
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN1
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Newsweek
CONTACT: Katherine Barna, +1-212-445-4859, of Newsweek
Web site: http://www.newsweek.msnbc.com/
.
What do you think?
Video: Obama defends budget and dollar
(02:06) Report
Mar. 24 - President Barack Obama defended his $3.6 trillion budget blueprint, which most Republicans and even some fellow Democrats have criticized for being too costly.
In his second prime-time White House news conference since he took office, Obama said the U.S. dollar is strong. He also said he is continuing to follow the ongoing violence in Mexico very carefully and is prepared to take additional steps to protect the U.S. border. Jon Decker reports.SOUNDBITE: U.S. President Barack Obama
In the April 6 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands March 30), "Obama is Wrong," Newsweek's Evan Thomas profiles Paul Krugman, who, as the debate over the rescue of the financial system unfolds, has emerged as Obama's toughest liberal critic. Plus: Michael Hirsh on how Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appears to have settled into office; Dan Gross on financial linguistics; a profile of Peter Arnell; Newsweek's Business Roundtable; and the "diva-ization" of kids at a young age. (PRNewsFoto/Newsweek) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 03/29/2009
29 Mar 2009 16:17 Africa/Lagos
NEWSWEEK Cover: Obama Is Wrong
Paul Krugman Has Emerged as Obama's Toughest Liberal Critic
What if Krugman's Criticism May be Right?
NEW YORK, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- As the debate over the rescue of the financial system - which is crucial in stabilizing the economy and returning the country to prosperity - unfolds, Paul Krugman has emerged as President Barack Obama's toughest liberal critic, writes Newsweek Editor-at-Large Evan Thomas in his profile of Krugman in the current issue. Krugman, a columnist for The New York Times, a professor at Princeton and a Nobel Prize winner in economics, was a scourge of the Bush administration, but has been critical, if not hostile, to the Obama White House, skeptical of the bank bailout and pessimistic about the economy. As the debate continues, there are worries among the establishment that his "despair" over the administration's bailout plan might be right. "Krugman may be exaggerating the decay of the financial system or the devotion of Obama's team to preserving it. But what if he's right, or part right?," Thomas writes. "What if President Obama is squandering his only chance to step in and nationalize...the banks before they collapse altogether?," he writes in the April 6 Newsweek cover, "Obama Is Wrong" (on newsstands Monday, March 30).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090329/91457 )
There is little doubt that Krugman has become the voice of the loyal opposition, taking on the president from the left. In his twice-a-week column and his blog, Conscience of a Liberal, Krugman criticizes the Obamaites for trying to prop up a flawed financial system and he portrays Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and other top officials as tools of Wall Street. The day Geithner announced the details of the administration's bank-rescue plan, Krugman described his "despair" that Obama "has apparently settled on a financial plan that, in essence, assumes that banks are fundamentally sound and that bankers know what they're doing." The administration, naturally does not share Krugman's view, but the Obama White House is also careful not to provoke his wrath any more than necessary.
"Ideologically, Krugman is a European Social Democrat," Thomas writes. "In his published opinions, and perhaps his very being, Paul Krugman is anti- establishment." He hungers for what he calls "a new New Deal," and prides himself on his status as an outsider. Krugman generally applauds Obama's efforts to tax the rich in his budget and try for massive health-care reform. However, on the all-important questions of the financial system, he says he has not given up on the White House's seeing the merits of his argument - that the government must guarantee the liabilities of all the nation's banks and nationalize the big "zombie" banks - and do it fast. "The public wants to trust Obama," Krugman says. "This is still Bush's crisis. But if they wait, Obama will be blamed for a fair share of the problem." The question remains as to whether Krugman is right, which we won't know for a while to come.
(Read cover at www.Newsweek.com)
Cover: http://www.newsweek.com/id/191393
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090329/91457
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN1
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Newsweek
CONTACT: Katherine Barna, +1-212-445-4859, of Newsweek
Web site: http://www.newsweek.msnbc.com/
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)