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選擇經濟學：如何做對決策，讓人生更富足、幸福、美好
顛覆你對傳統經濟學的印象，
現代經濟學不只幫助你取得正確育兒知識、建立社群，
還教你致富、減少債務，並且變得幸福，
甚至可以解決貧窮與氣候變遷等社會問題。
｜專業推薦｜（依推薦人姓氏筆畫排序）
呂昱達 「丹尼老師的公民教室」創辦人
馮勃翰 臺灣大學經濟學系副教授
廖啟宏 加州政府研究首席、《一口經濟學》PODCAST主持人
劉瑞華 清華大學經濟學系教授
很多人對經濟學總有刻板印象，誤以為它是用來預測股巿，或增進統治階級的利益。但實際上，近期經濟學的研究，已經讓這門學問成為造福人類與地球的實用科學。
作者以幽默樂觀的態度，一一破解大眾對經濟學的誤解，從養兒育女到器官捐贈、從消除反社會行為到培養謙遜品德，作者提供許多日常生活中的小故事，解說最新的經濟學發展，展示經濟學模型、思維、量表與實驗工具等如何破解問題發生的原因，找出最適合又有效的解決方案，幫助所有人與社會應對種種疑難雜症。
書中不談複雜的數字運算或高深的理論，而是用淺顯易懂的語言，介紹賽局理論、市場設計、貧窮經濟學、育兒經濟學、邊際效益、行為經濟學等全新理論，探討人們做選擇時面臨的陷阱與阻礙，找到解決方法。你可以從書中學到：
・在選舉投票時，選出最能增進公眾利益的候選人。
・在分析資訊時，篩選掉似是而非的消息，做出正確判斷。
・在規劃職涯時，考量真正重要的條件，做出不後悔的選擇。
・在策畫行動時，沙盤推演多方反應，事前準備各種備案。
・做財務規劃時，將風險壓到最低，找到最適合的方法。
只要掌握經濟學的思維模式與分析工具，
每個人都能在人生關鍵時刻，做出最佳權衡取捨的決策！
【各界推薦】
這本書的主題環繞在基本觀念之上，所關照的卻是當前世界的問題，讓我想起學習經濟學的初衷。
──劉瑞華 清華大學經濟學系教授
安格納在書中以幽默但扎實的經濟學家角度，將一些複雜的問題，像是貧窮問題、教養問題、氣候變遷、如何幸福等一一剖析，讓讀者撥雲見日，這是一本值得一讀再讀的好書。
──廖啟宏 加州政府研究首席、《一口經濟學》PODCAST主持人、加州大學經濟系客座教授
透過此書，安格納教授將透過各種生活的經驗，帶我們無形中透析各種經濟學原理，且更了解幸福的真諦。
──呂昱達 「丹尼老師的公民教室」創辦人
安格納讓我們明白，經濟學是一種深層的道德努力，它潛藏的技術魔法可以帶來希望，幫我們解決許多最緊迫的問題。
──奈爾•傑斯坦尼（Niall Kishtainy） 《經濟學簡史》（A Little History of Economics）作者
這本書的編寫方式通俗易懂、引人入勝，並提供許多實例來呈現，經濟學將如何讓你的生活和你周圍的世界變得更美好。
──傑克•敏寧（Jack Meaning）、魯帕•帕特爾（Rupal Patel） 英格蘭銀行（Bank of England）經濟學家、《為什麼不能一直印鈔票？》（Can’t We Just Print More Money?）作者
這本精采的著作揭開經濟學的神祕面紗，並為這個經常遭到誤解與誹謗的學科，建構出一個清楚且充滿智慧的模型。
──黛安•科伊爾（Diane Coyle） 劍橋大學公共政策教授
本書提供精采且清晰的敘述來解釋，只要讓合適的人利用經濟學的見解，就能使世界變得更美好。
──羅希尼•潘德（Rohini Pande） 耶魯大學經濟成長中心（Economic Growth Center）主任、亨利•傑克•海因茨二世（Henry J. Heinz II）經濟學講座教授
以樂觀的全新角度提供有用規則。安格納是個冷面笑匠，作品令人耳目一新，充滿智慧。這本書不僅讀起來有趣，同時極具啟發性，可以激發我們許多改革的靈感。
──克勞斯•史瓦布教授（Klaus Schwab） 世界經濟論壇（The World Economic Forum）創辦人暨執行董事長
在一個非理性主義日益猖狂的時代，我們需要的是致力於理性分析原則，卻又不自大的經濟學。這本書展示出這樣的經濟學模樣，以及如何利用它來讓世界變得更美好。百分之百推薦。
──馬克•潘寧頓（Mark Pennington） 倫敦國王學院（King’s College London）政治經濟學與公共政策教授
有趣且引人入勝的讀物，宗旨是要幫助我們做出更好的選擇、過上更好的生活，並創造出更美好的世界。安格納更進一步教我們，如何應用從經濟理論與行為研究中學到的工具與見解，來管理儲蓄與投資等人生中的現實選擇。
──蘿莉•安•保羅（L. A. Paul） 耶魯大學哲學與認知科學學院麥爾史東家族講座（Millstone Family）教授
本書向我們展示，哪些決策結構會對我們的幸福持續造成威脅，並且為讀者提供工具、知識與充滿希望的動力去解決掉這些威脅。
──約翰•特魯特（J. D. Trout） 伊利諾理工學院約翰與玫•卡拉莫斯哲學講座（John and Mae Calamos）教授
【作者簡介】
埃里克‧安格納（Erik Angner）
斯德哥爾摩大學（Stockholm University）實踐哲學教授。因為計畫趕不上變化，他偏離使命，同時擁有匹茲堡大學（University of Pittsburgh）的經濟學博士、科學史與科學哲學博士雙學位。最新著作為《選擇經濟學》，他另有兩本著作為《海耶克與自然法》（Hayek and Natural Law）與《行為經濟學課程》（A Course in Behavioral Economics）第三版，並在期刊中發表多篇文章，關於行為與實驗經濟學、幸福科學與哲學，以及當代經濟學的歷史、哲學與方法論。目前和妻子與三個孩子定居在斯德哥爾摩。
【譯者簡介】
卓妙容
臺灣大學會計系畢業，澳洲國立南澳大學企管學士﹐美國密西根州立大學企管碩士（財務金融、專業會計雙主修）。曾任職矽谷科技公司財務部十餘年。喜歡在文字裡悠遊多過在數字裡打滾。現為專職譯者。譯作有《讓天賦發光》（天下文化）、《獵書遊戲》系列（親子天下）、《預兆：疫情失控紀事》（早安財經）等。
展開/摺疊簡介Synopsis expanded
現代經濟學不只幫助你取得正確育兒知識、建立社群，
還教你致富、減少債務，並且變得幸福，
甚至可以解決貧窮與氣候變遷等社會問題。
｜專業推薦｜（依推薦人姓氏筆畫排序）
呂昱達 「丹尼老師的公民教室」創辦人
馮勃翰 臺灣大學經濟學系副教授
廖啟宏 加州政府研究首席、《一口經濟學》PODCAST主持人
劉瑞華 清華大學經濟學系教授
很多人對經濟學總有刻板印象，誤以為它是用來預測股巿，或增進統治階級的利益。但實際上，近期經濟學的研究，已經讓這門學問成為造福人類與地球的實用科學。
作者以幽默樂觀的態度，一一破解大眾對經濟學的誤解，從養兒育女到器官捐贈、從消除反社會行為到培養謙遜品德，作者提供許多日常生活中的小故事，解說最新的經濟學發展，展示經濟學模型、思維、量表與實驗工具等如何破解問題發生的原因，找出最適合又有效的解決方案，幫助所有人與社會應對種種疑難雜症。
書中不談複雜的數字運算或高深的理論，而是用淺顯易懂的語言，介紹賽局理論、市場設計、貧窮經濟學、育兒經濟學、邊際效益、行為經濟學等全新理論，探討人們做選擇時面臨的陷阱與阻礙，找到解決方法。你可以從書中學到：
・在選舉投票時，選出最能增進公眾利益的候選人。
・在分析資訊時，篩選掉似是而非的消息，做出正確判斷。
・在規劃職涯時，考量真正重要的條件，做出不後悔的選擇。
・在策畫行動時，沙盤推演多方反應，事前準備各種備案。
・做財務規劃時，將風險壓到最低，找到最適合的方法。
只要掌握經濟學的思維模式與分析工具，
每個人都能在人生關鍵時刻，做出最佳權衡取捨的決策！
【各界推薦】
這本書的主題環繞在基本觀念之上，所關照的卻是當前世界的問題，讓我想起學習經濟學的初衷。
──劉瑞華 清華大學經濟學系教授
安格納在書中以幽默但扎實的經濟學家角度，將一些複雜的問題，像是貧窮問題、教養問題、氣候變遷、如何幸福等一一剖析，讓讀者撥雲見日，這是一本值得一讀再讀的好書。
──廖啟宏 加州政府研究首席、《一口經濟學》PODCAST主持人、加州大學經濟系客座教授
透過此書，安格納教授將透過各種生活的經驗，帶我們無形中透析各種經濟學原理，且更了解幸福的真諦。
──呂昱達 「丹尼老師的公民教室」創辦人
安格納讓我們明白，經濟學是一種深層的道德努力，它潛藏的技術魔法可以帶來希望，幫我們解決許多最緊迫的問題。
──奈爾•傑斯坦尼（Niall Kishtainy） 《經濟學簡史》（A Little History of Economics）作者
這本書的編寫方式通俗易懂、引人入勝，並提供許多實例來呈現，經濟學將如何讓你的生活和你周圍的世界變得更美好。
──傑克•敏寧（Jack Meaning）、魯帕•帕特爾（Rupal Patel） 英格蘭銀行（Bank of England）經濟學家、《為什麼不能一直印鈔票？》（Can’t We Just Print More Money?）作者
這本精采的著作揭開經濟學的神祕面紗，並為這個經常遭到誤解與誹謗的學科，建構出一個清楚且充滿智慧的模型。
──黛安•科伊爾（Diane Coyle） 劍橋大學公共政策教授
本書提供精采且清晰的敘述來解釋，只要讓合適的人利用經濟學的見解，就能使世界變得更美好。
──羅希尼•潘德（Rohini Pande） 耶魯大學經濟成長中心（Economic Growth Center）主任、亨利•傑克•海因茨二世（Henry J. Heinz II）經濟學講座教授
以樂觀的全新角度提供有用規則。安格納是個冷面笑匠，作品令人耳目一新，充滿智慧。這本書不僅讀起來有趣，同時極具啟發性，可以激發我們許多改革的靈感。
──克勞斯•史瓦布教授（Klaus Schwab） 世界經濟論壇（The World Economic Forum）創辦人暨執行董事長
在一個非理性主義日益猖狂的時代，我們需要的是致力於理性分析原則，卻又不自大的經濟學。這本書展示出這樣的經濟學模樣，以及如何利用它來讓世界變得更美好。百分之百推薦。
──馬克•潘寧頓（Mark Pennington） 倫敦國王學院（King’s College London）政治經濟學與公共政策教授
有趣且引人入勝的讀物，宗旨是要幫助我們做出更好的選擇、過上更好的生活，並創造出更美好的世界。安格納更進一步教我們，如何應用從經濟理論與行為研究中學到的工具與見解，來管理儲蓄與投資等人生中的現實選擇。
──蘿莉•安•保羅（L. A. Paul） 耶魯大學哲學與認知科學學院麥爾史東家族講座（Millstone Family）教授
本書向我們展示，哪些決策結構會對我們的幸福持續造成威脅，並且為讀者提供工具、知識與充滿希望的動力去解決掉這些威脅。
──約翰•特魯特（J. D. Trout） 伊利諾理工學院約翰與玫•卡拉莫斯哲學講座（John and Mae Calamos）教授
【作者簡介】
埃里克‧安格納（Erik Angner）
斯德哥爾摩大學（Stockholm University）實踐哲學教授。因為計畫趕不上變化，他偏離使命，同時擁有匹茲堡大學（University of Pittsburgh）的經濟學博士、科學史與科學哲學博士雙學位。最新著作為《選擇經濟學》，他另有兩本著作為《海耶克與自然法》（Hayek and Natural Law）與《行為經濟學課程》（A Course in Behavioral Economics）第三版，並在期刊中發表多篇文章，關於行為與實驗經濟學、幸福科學與哲學，以及當代經濟學的歷史、哲學與方法論。目前和妻子與三個孩子定居在斯德哥爾摩。
【譯者簡介】
卓妙容
臺灣大學會計系畢業，澳洲國立南澳大學企管學士﹐美國密西根州立大學企管碩士（財務金融、專業會計雙主修）。曾任職矽谷科技公司財務部十餘年。喜歡在文字裡悠遊多過在數字裡打滾。現為專職譯者。譯作有《讓天賦發光》（天下文化）、《獵書遊戲》系列（親子天下）、《預兆：疫情失控紀事》（早安財經）等。
展開/摺疊簡介Synopsis expanded
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2023
75 people are currently reading
885 people want to read
About the author
Erik Angner
4 books15 followersErik is a philosopher and economist based at Stockholm University. As a result of mission creep, he has two PhD's, one in philosophy and one in economics – both from the University of Pittsburgh. He is author, most recently, of How Economics Can Save the World: Simple Ideas to Solve Our Biggest Problems. He lives in Stockholm with his wife and their three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 18, 2023
1. How to eliminate poverty: give money to the poor. Really, they won’t misspend it.
2. How to raise happy children and remain sane: stop worrying, treat them with kindness and respect, and realise that your efforts don’t matter too much.
3. How to fix climate change: carbon taxes
4. How to change bad behaviour: change social norms by telling them publicly, and make lots of people change at the same time
5. How to give people what they want: trading platform for kidney donation
6. How to be happy: earn enough money just above the median household income, then buy experience not stuff, be content, make society more equal
7. How to be humble: confront your predictions with feedback, think why you can be wrong
8. How to get rich, save and invest in index linked funds, improve your financial literacy
9. How to build community: set up institutions to get better Nash equilibriums to avoid tragedy of the commons, set rules, monitor behaviour and enforce rules
2. How to raise happy children and remain sane: stop worrying, treat them with kindness and respect, and realise that your efforts don’t matter too much.
3. How to fix climate change: carbon taxes
4. How to change bad behaviour: change social norms by telling them publicly, and make lots of people change at the same time
5. How to give people what they want: trading platform for kidney donation
6. How to be happy: earn enough money just above the median household income, then buy experience not stuff, be content, make society more equal
7. How to be humble: confront your predictions with feedback, think why you can be wrong
8. How to get rich, save and invest in index linked funds, improve your financial literacy
9. How to build community: set up institutions to get better Nash equilibriums to avoid tragedy of the commons, set rules, monitor behaviour and enforce rules
August 6, 2023
This book was written for a general audience, and would not be a bad introduction into economics (particularly if you don't care about the math and models and more want practical examples). It was accessible and mostly interesting. Many of the chapters simply summarized the work of a top economist. While some of the points seemed too obvious to me, there were some chapters (4, 5, 9) that were more enlightening.
Summary:
Summary:
March 7, 2025
I'm a firm believer in the virtues of the "economic way of thinking", so I went into this book with high expectations. Unfortunately, it ended up being a massive disappointment.
In places, Angner oversimplifies the relevant topics to an absurd degree. For example, his chapter on how to fix climate change offers a completely lopsided defense of carbon taxes. It doesn't examine any potential drawbacks whatsoever, doesn't investigate whether fossil fuels have any benefits, and so on. Part of the economic way of thinking is to always look at OVERALL costs and benefits. Angner here fails to consistently apply the way of thinking he otherwise valorizes.
In other places he fails to discuss economic literature that is clearly relevant to making the world a better place. His chapter on how to eliminate poverty offers a spirited defense of things like unconditional cash transfers (plus some lengthy, simplistic discussion of egalitarianism). And yes, there is some evidence that such cash transfers can be effective. But this is to put the cart before the horse. He has NOTHING to say about what creates wealth in the first place, despite this being of utmost importance for those who want to do something about poverty. Those looking for some insight into what economists have to say about the preconditions for economic growth will be disappointed (and, if you're like me, thoroughly baffled by the omission).
Other chapters are not as bad, but can't reasonably be characterized as discussing anything that can save the world. The chapter on "How to Get Rich" offers some sound advice, but nothing you can't get in dozens of other places and certainly nothing original to Angner. The chapter on "How to Change Bad Behavior" fails to grapple with the inherent difficulties of actually changing the norms that prevail in a society (as does so much of that literature, to be fair to Angner).
Another annoying feature of this book is his over-broad definition of "economics" where virtually anything can count as economics. The opening chapter exhibits a mildly annoying, punchy writing style that is common in pop science books. But it mostly amounts to stuff like: "are you trying to solve a problem? That's economics!" This expanded definition of economics rears its head elsewhere. His chapter on how to raise happy children draws heavily upon the work of Bryan Caplan. And to be sure, Caplan is an excellent economist. But as Angner himself admits, Caplan draws heavily from the literature in behavioral genetics, not necessarily economics. (Should we be talking about how acquaintance with behavioral genetics can save the world instead?)
Overall, I would not recommend this book to someone who wanted to learn more about economics. It makes too many mistakes to be genuinely helpfully informative.
In places, Angner oversimplifies the relevant topics to an absurd degree. For example, his chapter on how to fix climate change offers a completely lopsided defense of carbon taxes. It doesn't examine any potential drawbacks whatsoever, doesn't investigate whether fossil fuels have any benefits, and so on. Part of the economic way of thinking is to always look at OVERALL costs and benefits. Angner here fails to consistently apply the way of thinking he otherwise valorizes.
In other places he fails to discuss economic literature that is clearly relevant to making the world a better place. His chapter on how to eliminate poverty offers a spirited defense of things like unconditional cash transfers (plus some lengthy, simplistic discussion of egalitarianism). And yes, there is some evidence that such cash transfers can be effective. But this is to put the cart before the horse. He has NOTHING to say about what creates wealth in the first place, despite this being of utmost importance for those who want to do something about poverty. Those looking for some insight into what economists have to say about the preconditions for economic growth will be disappointed (and, if you're like me, thoroughly baffled by the omission).
Other chapters are not as bad, but can't reasonably be characterized as discussing anything that can save the world. The chapter on "How to Get Rich" offers some sound advice, but nothing you can't get in dozens of other places and certainly nothing original to Angner. The chapter on "How to Change Bad Behavior" fails to grapple with the inherent difficulties of actually changing the norms that prevail in a society (as does so much of that literature, to be fair to Angner).
Another annoying feature of this book is his over-broad definition of "economics" where virtually anything can count as economics. The opening chapter exhibits a mildly annoying, punchy writing style that is common in pop science books. But it mostly amounts to stuff like: "are you trying to solve a problem? That's economics!" This expanded definition of economics rears its head elsewhere. His chapter on how to raise happy children draws heavily upon the work of Bryan Caplan. And to be sure, Caplan is an excellent economist. But as Angner himself admits, Caplan draws heavily from the literature in behavioral genetics, not necessarily economics. (Should we be talking about how acquaintance with behavioral genetics can save the world instead?)
Overall, I would not recommend this book to someone who wanted to learn more about economics. It makes too many mistakes to be genuinely helpfully informative.
April 12, 2023
This could well be Econ 101 or how economics should be introduced in school. While answers to the how-to’s are interesting, the author spent half the time justifying economics as a useful discipline and why we should take real economist’s seriously. Apparently there are many not so great self proclaimed economists in the market.
This book is published in 2023. It seems like in the past decade or so, econ has evolved into a more scientific and evident based approach (as opposed to theoretical). I like that it always offers practical and actionable solutions to the world’s problems. It may not be a perfect solution but it is better than not having a solution at all.
This book is published in 2023. It seems like in the past decade or so, econ has evolved into a more scientific and evident based approach (as opposed to theoretical). I like that it always offers practical and actionable solutions to the world’s problems. It may not be a perfect solution but it is better than not having a solution at all.
July 23, 2025
buddy read with my dad. happy to report we have unlocked many new convo topics 🙈
mark carney’s values up next stay tuned
mark carney’s values up next stay tuned
July 7, 2024
Passande som introduktion till ekonomi överlag och vad nationalekonomer kan bidra med för samhället.
Det underliggande motivet är mest att slå hål på myter om nationalekonomi som dogmatisk pseudovetenskap, även om det som med allt annat finns undantag som inte representerar (eller åtminstone inte BÖR representera) hela forskningsfältet.
Vad kan nationalekonomi, med rätt värderingar, åstadkomma?
Det underliggande motivet är mest att slå hål på myter om nationalekonomi som dogmatisk pseudovetenskap, även om det som med allt annat finns undantag som inte representerar (eller åtminstone inte BÖR representera) hela forskningsfältet.
Vad kan nationalekonomi, med rätt värderingar, åstadkomma?
October 2, 2024
some ideas are more trivial than others, but definitely a good introduction into the economic perspective on pressing challenges (especially if you’ve never been in contact with the economic science at all, otherwise some topics seem very basic). liked it!
May 11, 2023
“Individuals are part of a dense network of market and non-market relations. Their behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes reflect the fact that they live in a richly textured, polycentric society. In a polycentric society, people are dependent in all sorts of ways. And it’s ultimately the network of social institutions that gets people out of the social dilemmas that imprison narrowly rational, short-sighted, and selfish agents.” (pp. 212-213)
i really liked how the book gave a taste of the practical applications of economics while also giving a bit of a taste of several key economic concepts and theories such as randomized controlled trials and game theory. i especially liked the chapters on how the prevalent issue of overconfidence, concerning financial illiteracy, and tragedy of the commons can all be viewed and addressed in an economic lens
i think that this book is a good introduction to how economics can be applied as it’s framed in a way to justify the role that economics has and defends its use as an effective tool. the balance between the science and theoretical aspects of economics was handled well in this book but the justifications felt unnecessary at some points - i would’ve preferred if it simply delved deeper into the theories and applications, letting them speak for themselves and leaving it up to readers’ own processing
particularly, ostrom’s 8 design principles and polycentric vision were the most striking for me, apart from the section on financial literacy. i enjoyed the way how these concepts were discussed with a clear and well-presented problem, fleshed out through the lens of game theory and the scarcity brought out by the tragedy of the commons
very good book that has some interesting insights and covers a vast variety of intriguing topics ranging from carbon tax, parenting, overconfidence, financial literacy, poverty, happiness, and systems - whether within specific industries, communities, or scenarios
i really liked how the book gave a taste of the practical applications of economics while also giving a bit of a taste of several key economic concepts and theories such as randomized controlled trials and game theory. i especially liked the chapters on how the prevalent issue of overconfidence, concerning financial illiteracy, and tragedy of the commons can all be viewed and addressed in an economic lens
i think that this book is a good introduction to how economics can be applied as it’s framed in a way to justify the role that economics has and defends its use as an effective tool. the balance between the science and theoretical aspects of economics was handled well in this book but the justifications felt unnecessary at some points - i would’ve preferred if it simply delved deeper into the theories and applications, letting them speak for themselves and leaving it up to readers’ own processing
particularly, ostrom’s 8 design principles and polycentric vision were the most striking for me, apart from the section on financial literacy. i enjoyed the way how these concepts were discussed with a clear and well-presented problem, fleshed out through the lens of game theory and the scarcity brought out by the tragedy of the commons
very good book that has some interesting insights and covers a vast variety of intriguing topics ranging from carbon tax, parenting, overconfidence, financial literacy, poverty, happiness, and systems - whether within specific industries, communities, or scenarios
February 26, 2024
Um livro leve, interesse e que aguça a curiosidade na mesma medida em que mostra soluções simples e criativas de economistas e da Ciência Econômica para problemas de políticas públicas e também para problemas relacionados a hábitos, decisões e comportamentos.
É uma leitura leve e como disse o próprio autor, um livro para inspirar e conduzir leitores ao mundo instigante, prático e criativo que a economia se transformou nos últimos anos.
É uma leitura leve e como disse o próprio autor, um livro para inspirar e conduzir leitores ao mundo instigante, prático e criativo que a economia se transformou nos últimos anos.
May 23, 2024
Este livro fez-me querer tirar uma licenciatura em economia
January 15, 2024
My notes:-
- Economics: The study of individual choice under scarcity, and how those choices brings consequences to society.
- How it can change the world, show it as how it is and the process to improve decisions and behaviour.
- Scarcity, how the lack of the matter (money, time, benefits, disadvantages) affects one to react, behave or choose wisely according to the situation to elicit a potential beneficial outcome.
- Mindset / framework: interesting point of view on how adopting economist mindset helps see the world from a different yet influential perspective.
- Mechanical: where how A affects B and the grander scheme.
Examples on how economics can shape the world
1. Elevate poverty
2. How to raise happy children
3. Fixing climate change
4. Changing a bad behaviour
5. How to give people what they need
6. How to be happy
7. Being humble
8. How to get rich
- Save when I can, invest in index funds & not solely in individual stocks, borrow judiciously, improve my skills
9. How to create communities
What I like
- combination of socialism and capitalism.
- Open my eyes to see core and reason for economics is to make the world a better place, social improvements and for humans to flourish.
- How values can shape an economist mind.
- The importance to review data and how to make an informed decision.
- Evidence based, to look at the big picture and long haul.
- Provides a toolkit. How to design a thinking path to decide.
- Provides disclaimer that it’s not the entire solution, and why it fails.
- Suggests to combine with other methodology such as philosophy, morality (e.g. on social welfare rather than a sole focus on GDP).
Dislike
- Could have provided how these examples impact us as a whole. I felt he gave examples but lack of meaning to why and the impact.
- Not everything is mechanical, there are grey areas to consider. How can this work hand in hand? lack of diving in.
- Economics: The study of individual choice under scarcity, and how those choices brings consequences to society.
- How it can change the world, show it as how it is and the process to improve decisions and behaviour.
- Scarcity, how the lack of the matter (money, time, benefits, disadvantages) affects one to react, behave or choose wisely according to the situation to elicit a potential beneficial outcome.
- Mindset / framework: interesting point of view on how adopting economist mindset helps see the world from a different yet influential perspective.
- Mechanical: where how A affects B and the grander scheme.
Examples on how economics can shape the world
1. Elevate poverty
2. How to raise happy children
3. Fixing climate change
4. Changing a bad behaviour
5. How to give people what they need
6. How to be happy
7. Being humble
8. How to get rich
- Save when I can, invest in index funds & not solely in individual stocks, borrow judiciously, improve my skills
9. How to create communities
What I like
- combination of socialism and capitalism.
- Open my eyes to see core and reason for economics is to make the world a better place, social improvements and for humans to flourish.
- How values can shape an economist mind.
- The importance to review data and how to make an informed decision.
- Evidence based, to look at the big picture and long haul.
- Provides a toolkit. How to design a thinking path to decide.
- Provides disclaimer that it’s not the entire solution, and why it fails.
- Suggests to combine with other methodology such as philosophy, morality (e.g. on social welfare rather than a sole focus on GDP).
Dislike
- Could have provided how these examples impact us as a whole. I felt he gave examples but lack of meaning to why and the impact.
- Not everything is mechanical, there are grey areas to consider. How can this work hand in hand? lack of diving in.
November 10, 2023
I disagree with the author, I don't like this book, I think it is wrong. Well, strong words, I guess. He seems to be saying that economics is everything, and economics doesn't say anything. If so, then how can it help?
I had a discussion once a couple of years back with a woman who thought we should have a bin-based, flat-rate charge for rubbish services in our area. I preferred the current system where you paid an amount per-bag which covered the cost of the service. She felt that per-unit costing was hurting underprivileged, poor families with lots of children. I felt that people putting out more rubbish should pay more, and people putting out less rubbish should pay less. That this was fairer, and would encourage recycling etc.
Eric Angner says that utility is a personal thing, and what is good for me may not be good for you, economics doesn't care. So where are we then? And how is economics any use in that case?
By defining economics so broadly, so that every possible thought can be an economic thought, it becomes value-free and cannot be right or wrong. Well, I disagree. Economics is about the best use of money and not wasting money, isn't it? Or by proxy the best use of a scarce resource?
I had a discussion once a couple of years back with a woman who thought we should have a bin-based, flat-rate charge for rubbish services in our area. I preferred the current system where you paid an amount per-bag which covered the cost of the service. She felt that per-unit costing was hurting underprivileged, poor families with lots of children. I felt that people putting out more rubbish should pay more, and people putting out less rubbish should pay less. That this was fairer, and would encourage recycling etc.
Eric Angner says that utility is a personal thing, and what is good for me may not be good for you, economics doesn't care. So where are we then? And how is economics any use in that case?
By defining economics so broadly, so that every possible thought can be an economic thought, it becomes value-free and cannot be right or wrong. Well, I disagree. Economics is about the best use of money and not wasting money, isn't it? Or by proxy the best use of a scarce resource?
January 16, 2026
"How to oversell the book by giving it a very brazen title"
I've expected some interesting, even if controversial, ideas. I've expected food for thought. I've expected objective analysis - considering both pros and cons, maybe proposing some adjustment techniques. I've expected data & facts - based on real experiments and implementations. And honestly - I've got VERY LITTLE of that. VERY. LITTLE.
What I've got (instead) was:
1. the preach for universal basic income ("trust me, they won't misspend it" ...)
2. even worse chapter on carbon taxes (in fact - a very primitive intervention technique)
3. "soft" chapters on kids upbringing and happiness
4. quite interesting chapter on kidney transplants (the best in the book)
5. rather generic chapter on confidence
6. oversimplified one on investing (in index-linked funds, patiently, which is not a bad idea)
7. chaotic chapter on game theory (& how it can be used e.g. to avoid the tragedy of commons)
Seriously, that's pretty much it (I think I may have forgotten 1 or 2). I've made zero notes, except two anecdotes (the ones about burgers was really funny). I can't recommend this book, sadly.
I've expected some interesting, even if controversial, ideas. I've expected food for thought. I've expected objective analysis - considering both pros and cons, maybe proposing some adjustment techniques. I've expected data & facts - based on real experiments and implementations. And honestly - I've got VERY LITTLE of that. VERY. LITTLE.
What I've got (instead) was:
1. the preach for universal basic income ("trust me, they won't misspend it" ...)
2. even worse chapter on carbon taxes (in fact - a very primitive intervention technique)
3. "soft" chapters on kids upbringing and happiness
4. quite interesting chapter on kidney transplants (the best in the book)
5. rather generic chapter on confidence
6. oversimplified one on investing (in index-linked funds, patiently, which is not a bad idea)
7. chaotic chapter on game theory (& how it can be used e.g. to avoid the tragedy of commons)
Seriously, that's pretty much it (I think I may have forgotten 1 or 2). I've made zero notes, except two anecdotes (the ones about burgers was really funny). I can't recommend this book, sadly.
December 6, 2024
There's one thing more important than economics that's needed to save the world - will power to implement the findings of economists.
That said, this was a fun read that explored various ways to address world issues and introduce economic concepts. Angner also did justice explaining how economics as a field is not very accessible, or well understood by the public, and shares the ideas and research in a way that anyone can read. Some of my favorite chapters covered the economics of happiness, parenting, and designing community organizations.
That said, this was a fun read that explored various ways to address world issues and introduce economic concepts. Angner also did justice explaining how economics as a field is not very accessible, or well understood by the public, and shares the ideas and research in a way that anyone can read. Some of my favorite chapters covered the economics of happiness, parenting, and designing community organizations.
July 9, 2025
A great introduction to some basic economic ideas. However, the proposals often rest on neat, theoretical solutions — Pigouvian taxes, behavioral nudges, and incentive realignments — that assume rational, responsive systems, but the book largely ignores the real-world messiness of implementation: bureaucratic resistance, political inertia, voter irrationality, cultural pushback, and misinformation. Economics may offer elegant models, but Angner fails to address how those models collapse when they meet flawed human institutions.
Read
July 25, 2024Fantastic read - introduced me to some new concepts from economics and how they can be applied to problems like poverty, climate change, etc. The writing is super easy to follow and it felt like having a conversation with a much more knowledgeable friend -- approachable and interesting. If you're looking for an elevated version of Freakonomics but with a bit more depth on each topic, this is a great read!
April 4, 2026
Overall it does have some interesting perspectives on the economy, stock markets and theories, I do think it is potentially for people who are more mature in age or genuinely interested in Economics or basic finance because this book was very hard to pay attention to because it was extremely boring and felt repetitive, one of the sections talks about how to save money and what to do with it, my advice to you, is save your money and do not purchase this book because that’s the “economist” way.
April 12, 2025
Interesting, but two fatal flaws. First is conflating micro for macro (the poor misunderstood economist lark). None of the substantive problems with celebrated Nobels are even discussed (e.g. Becker, Nordhaus), nor the influence of central bank PhDs. Spoiler alert: conclusion is essentially that non-economists wouldn’t understand, which felt insultingly unsatisfactory.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2025
3.5ish
This gave me a lot to think about and I think I did learn a good bit. The only issue is that most of the book was just the author saying that everyone hates economists and that you probably shouldn't which I found to be kind of annoying. It also mostly just referenced other economist's works instead of him talking about his own research.
This gave me a lot to think about and I think I did learn a good bit. The only issue is that most of the book was just the author saying that everyone hates economists and that you probably shouldn't which I found to be kind of annoying. It also mostly just referenced other economist's works instead of him talking about his own research.
January 31, 2023
Inspiration for how we can make the world a better place - what's not to like? Erik Angner writes a funny, accessible and actionable book filled with original ideas and optimism. Read now if you want to switch your perspective and start thinking in new ways
Read
June 26, 2023My interview with Professor Erik Angner on "How Economics Can Save the World" for The Armen Show:
http://www.armenshirvanian.com/podcas...
http://www.armenshirvanian.com/podcas...
July 19, 2024
Inspiroiva katsaus siihen miten taloustiede voi muuttaa maailmaa paremmaksi. Ehkä vähän vedetty mutkia suoriksi, mut toisaalta koko kirjan pointti on tuoda taloustiedettä tieteenalana lähestyttävämmäksi joten ymmärrettävää.
July 22, 2024
A good introduction to Economics, gives simple answers to complex questions which won't agree with everyone but still explains quite well what Economics is supposed to be and how Economists are supposed to help.
April 16, 2026
Some chapters were really bad, others were fine and even interesting. Economists just really shouldn't talk about social processes that they don't study or clearly don't understand lmao. Not everything can be and should be classified as something economics can solve...
April 11, 2023
I think this is a great book for someone who is interested in economics, but is unsure what it can be used for.
September 18, 2023
Econiful Fall Book Club 2023. Optimistic, very little jargon, and a good read for humanizing the “dismal science.”
December 20, 2023
Might be a recommendation to someone with an early interest in national economics, and how it can be useful. A tad verbose. I ended up doing more skimming than reading.
December 29, 2023
Ok läsning, men hade förväntat mig mer om nationalekonomernas lösningar på klimatkris, fattigdom och svält.
September 24, 2024
unfortunately i found this hard to get into. he seemed to say the same thing several times
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