Praise & Reviews
Advanced Praise and Reviewer Comments for
The Good, The Bad and The Economy
“Why are some countries rich, while others are poor? Why are we humans such confusing mixtures of selfishness and generosity? Are we really driven by rational pursuit of our personal advantage? In this book, the distinguished economist Louis Putterman combines clear writing, delicious anecdotes, and masses of evidence to answer these biggest questions facing our world.”
Jared Diamond, a Professor of Geography at UCLA, is the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of books including Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse.
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“As a young man, Putterman wondered why, despite centuries of expanding of knowledge and material abundance, personal insecurity and material deprivation remain the human condition for so many. Now a top scholar in fields as diverse as ancient societies and the science of economic behavior Putterman provides an answer, one written for the non-specialist in accessible non-technical prose. The Good the Bad and the Economy is a case of the right question by the right author. Read it.”
Samuel Bowles, Research Professor and head of Behavioral Sciences Program, Santa Fe Institute, co-author of A Cooperative Species: Human Reciprocity and its Evolution.
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“Some of the most interesting but puzzling questions facing us today have been addressed by Professor Louis Putterman in this excellent and accessible book entitled, The Good, the Bad, and The Economy. Louis Putterman is a very thoughtful scholar and I strongly recommend this book.”
Elinor Ostrom, School of Human Evolution & Social Change, Arizona State University, and Indiana University, Co-winner of the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science.
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“The “dismal science” deserves a humane face. It needs to connect better with human psychology, and especially with the values of a group living primate, which is what we evolved to be. Louis Putterman offers an excellent, well-written justification for an economics that takes the basic needs of our species into account.”
Frans de Waal, Professor of Primate Behavior, Emory University and director of Living Links at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, author of The Age of Empathy and Our Inner Ape.
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“Putterman uses social sciences to bring hope to millions of us, who face tough times in today’s economies. His insights into human nature allow him to call attention to sources of contentment that tend to escape us. Read it and you will not just sleep better–you will live a better life.”
Amitai Etzioni, author of The Moral Dimension: Toward a New Economics.
