ECONOMICS FOR THE COMMON GOOD

Jean Tirole won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2014, which is probably as good a reason as any to check out his book, Economics for the Common Good. I know it was my reason.

Here are three thoughts on the book:

1) The best part is that Tirole masterfully articulates what most students of the field know by heart: that economics is ultimately all about the incentives that prompt agents to act. Therefore, to harness economics for the common good entails being very deliberate about the incentives we use to bring about the behavior we would like to encourage.

2) The chapters devoted to specific economic problems, such as competition policy or environmental economics, are arguably where Tirole is clearly in his element. He explores the various issues from a multifaceted perspective, applying the rigor of economic analysis without invoking mathematical formulae or overly esoteric jargon. The result is a substantial discussion of each topic that brings to light their complexity and the challenge of bringing public policy or collective action to bear to address societal problems.

3) It's difficult to determine who the book is for, exactly. The treatment is arguably more advanced than your typical "Econ 101" fare–even the preliminary section that serves as an introduction is more complex that what you would expect from an introductory discussion of the "What is economics?" variety–while the specific topics discussed by Tirole are too varied to be bound by any specific overarching point and also too concise as to be a comprehensive account of any one individual issue.

In all, Economics for the Common Good is perhaps best described thus: a book written by a Nobel Prize-winning that is scholarly without necessarily being pedantic. It's a collection of writings on economics in general as well as specific topics in the field without any overarching theme or argument other than the simple point that the key to understanding economics is to appreciate what incentives are at play to influence behavior.