How thinking like economists holds us back (with Elizabeth Popp Berman)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

When it comes to crafting economic policy, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, choice, and competition have reigned supreme among policymakers for decades. Sociologist Elizabeth Popp Berman says that this style of economic reasoning—prioritizing efficiency above all else—makes good ideas seem like bad policy. She walks us through how that short-sighted style of thinking took hold in DC and explains when policymakers are right to lean on purely economic thinking—and when they should reject it in favor of prioritizing more fundamental values. 


Elizabeth Popp Berman is a sociologist at the University of Michigan and the author of “Thinking Like an Economist: How Efficiency Replaced Equality in U.S. Public Policy”. 


Twitter: @epopppp


Economics: Looking Back to Move Forward https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/64/economics-looking-back-to-move-forward 


Thinking Like an Economist: How Efficiency Replaced Equality in U.S. Public Policy

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691167381/thinking-like-an-economist 


Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

More description

When it comes to crafting economic policy, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, choice, and competition have reigned supreme among policymakers for decades. Sociologist Elizabeth Popp Berman says that this style of economic reasoning—prioritizing efficiency above all else—makes good ideas seem like bad policy. She walks us through how that short-sighted style of thinking took hold in DC and explains when policymakers are right to lean on purely economic thinking—and when they should reject it in favor of prioritizing more fundamental values. 


Elizabeth Popp Berman is a sociologist at the University of Michigan and the author of “Thinking Like an Economist: How Efficiency Replaced Equality in U.S. Public Policy”. 


Twitter: @epopppp


Economics: Looking Back to Move Forward https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/64/economics-looking-back-to-move-forward 


Thinking Like an Economist: How Efficiency Replaced Equality in U.S. Public Policy

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691167381/thinking-like-an-economist 


Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

2022-06-07 33 min
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