Economics rules: the rights and wrongs of the dismal science

"In the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession, economics seems anything but a science. In this sharp, masterfully argued book, Dani Rodrik, a leading critic from within, takes a close look at economics to examine when it falls short and when it works, to give a surprisingly upbea...

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Main Author: Rodrik, Dani
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: New York 2016
W.W. Norton & Company
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-853612467189-economics-rules-the-rights-and.htm
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author Rodrik, Dani
author_facet Rodrik, Dani
collection Library items
description "In the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession, economics seems anything but a science. In this sharp, masterfully argued book, Dani Rodrik, a leading critic from within, takes a close look at economics to examine when it falls short and when it works, to give a surprisingly upbeat account of the discipline. Drawing on the history of the field and his deep experience as a practitioner, Rodrik argues that economics can be a powerful tool that improves the world-but only when economists abandon universal theories and focus on getting the context right. Economics Rules argues that the discipline's much-derided mathematical models are its true strength. Models are the tools that make economics a science. Too often, however, economists mistake a model for the model that applies everywhere and at all times. In six chapters that trace his discipline from Adam Smith to present-day work on globalization, Rodrik shows how diverse situations call for different models. Each model tells a partial story about how the world works. These stories offer wide-ranging, and sometimes contradictory, lessons-just as children's fables offer diverse morals. Whether the question concerns the rise of global inequality, the consequences of free trade, or the value of deficit spending, Rodrik explains how using the right models can deliver valuable new insights about social reality and public policy. Beyond the science, economics requires the craft to apply suitable models to the context. The 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers challenged many economists' deepest assumptions about free markets. Rodrik reveals that economists' model toolkit is much richer than these free-market models. With pragmatic model selection, economists can develop successful antipoverty programs in Mexico, growth strategies in Africa, and intelligent remedies for domestic inequality. At once a forceful critique and defense of the discipline, Economics Rules charts a path toward a more humble but more effective science."
format TEXT
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institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 853612467189_7f1f7737571d46f4b4090ab5997ab01e
is_hierarchy_title Economics rules: the rights and wrongs of the dismal science
language English
physical XV, 253 p.
Paper
publishDate 2016
publisher New York
W.W. Norton & Company
spellingShingle Rodrik, Dani
economic model
economic theory
economics
Economics rules: the rights and wrongs of the dismal science
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=124191394237
title Economics rules: the rights and wrongs of the dismal science
topic economic model
economic theory
economics
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-853612467189-economics-rules-the-rights-and.htm