Economics for the Common Good

摘要

The book provides a very good case on how economics can help advance the public good through insightful accounts of institutional frameworks, organizational relationships, industry structures, and the challenges that define the global economy. The author starts with an informative discussion of what economics is, why people might be intrigued and confused by it, and the recent convergence of the social and behavioral disciplines of which economics has become a critical part. The author points to the biases that dominate economic thinking and how developments in other social sciences, most notably psychology, explain how those biases impact human decisions. The biases toward markets as a primary way of dealing with economic problems involving resource allocations have sometimes led policy makers to ignore the information problem that is inherent in decision making. In chapter 2, Tirole presents strong argument for the moral limits of the markets in cases with significant noncommercial components like valuing a life and organ donation, where incentives are poorly understood. In this and other parts of the book, Tirole carefully attempts to explain instances where market transactions lead to large externalities and convey that the public good will be enhanced by intuitive and informed approaches as societies deal with problems such as inequality, poverty, and environmental degradation.