Narrative economics : how stories go viral & drive major economic events / Robert J. Shiller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shiller, Robert J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic history.

Economics--Sociological aspects.

Economics.

Economics--Psychological aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, [2020]

Summary:

"From Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times bestselling author Robert Shiller, a groundbreaking account of how stories help drive economic events-and why financial panics can spread like epidemic viruses. Stories people tell-about financial confidence or panic, housing booms, or Bitcoin-can go viral and powerfully affect economies, but such narratives have traditionally been ignored in economics and finance because they seem anecdotal and unscientific. In this groundbreaking book, Robert Shiller explains why we ignore these stories at our peril-and how we can begin to take them seriously. Using a rich array of examples and data, Shiller argues that studying popular stories that influence individual and collective economic behavior-what he calls "narrative economics"-may vastly improve our ability to predict, prepare for, and lessen the damage of financial crises and other major economic events. The result is nothing less than a new way to think about the economy, economic change, and economics. In a new preface, Shiller reflects on the major challenges facing narrative economics"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Figures

Preface to the 2020 Paperback Edition

Preface: What Is Narrative Economics?

Acknowledgments

1. The Bitcoin Narratives

2. An Adventure in Consilience

3. Contagion, Constellations, and Confluence

4. Why Do Some Narratives Go Viral?

5. The Laffer Curve and Rubik’s Cube Go Viral

6. Diverse Evidence on the Virality of Economic Narratives

7. Causality and Constellations

8. Seven Propositions of Narrative Economics

9. Recurrence and Mutation

10. Panic versus Confidence

11. Frugality versus Conspicuous Consumption

12. The Gold Standard versus Bimetallism

13. Labor- Saving Machines Replace Many Jobs

14. Automation and Artificial Intelligence Replace Almost All Jobs

15. Real Estate Booms and Busts

16. Stock Market Bubbles

17. Boycotts, Profiteers, and Evil Business

18. The Wage- Price Spiral and Evil Labor Unions

19. Future Narratives, Future Research

Appendix: Applying Epidemic Models to Economic Narratives

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691210261

0691210268

OCLC:

1184761301