Inside the Economist's Mind: Conversations with Eminent Economists [Paperback]

Paul A. Samuelson (Editor), William A. Barnett (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2006

By focusing on the human side as well as the intellectual dimensions of how economists work and think, this collection of interviews with top economists of the 20th century becomes a startling and lively introduction to the modern world of macroeconomics. A fun read!

For more information, frequent updates, and to comment on the forthcoming book, visit William A. Barnett's weblog at http://economistmind.blogspot.com/.

Acclaim for Inside the Economist's Mind

"In candid interviews, these great economists prove to be fabulous story tellers of their lives and times. Unendingly gripping for insiders, this book should also help non-specialists understand how economists think."
Professor Julio Rotemberg, Harvard University Business School, and Editor, Review of Economics and Statistics.

"Economics used to be called the 'dismal science'. It will be impossible for anybody to hold that view anymore ... This is science with flesh and blood, and a lot of fascinating stories that you will find nowhere else."
Dr. Jean-Pascal Bénassy, Paris-Jourdan Sciences Économiques, Paris, France

"This book provides a rare and intriguing view of the personal and professional lives of leading economists ... It is like A Beautiful Mind, scaled by a factor of 16 [the number of interviews in the book]."
Professor Lee Ohanian, University of California at Los Angeles

" ... if you want an insider view of how economics has been developing in the last decades, this is the (only) book for you."
Professor Giancarlo Gandolfo, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza,’ Rome

"Here we see the HUMAN side of path-breaking research, the personalities and pitfalls, the DRAMA behind the science."
Professor Francis X. Diebold, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Editorial Reviews

Review

Inside the Economist's Mind is a very rare thing--an economic page-turner. The personalities behind the frontiers of economic research make for compelling reading. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Stephen Kinsella, University of Limerick

"A wonderful collection of personal and professional insights by Economics' leading intellectuals. Each one is worth reading."
Professor Mark Watson, Princeton University

"In candid interviews, these great economists prove to be fabulous storytellers of their lives and times. Unendingly gripping for insiders, this book should also help non-specialists understand how economists think."
Julio Rotemberg, Harvard University Business School

"The interviews in this volume are unique intellectual documents in the history of economic thought, economic policy, and biography. Scholars will value them as primary sources. Readers with only a passing interest in economics will be delighted by their entertaining insights into the minds and lives of these great thinkers. This is one of the most valuable projects in academic economic publishing for a long time, and we should all be grateful to the journal, Macroeconomic Dynamics, for collecting these archival treasures over a number of years."
Professor Douglas Gale, New York University

"Economics has made swift progress in the past few decades and its role in policy-making has radically increased. The interviews of many of the most prominent researchers and policy-makers offer a unique insider view of these developments. This book is fascinating reading to anyone interested in contemporary economics and its role in modern societies."
Seppo Honkapohja, University of Cambridge

"Economics used to be called the 'dismal science'. It will be impossible for anybody to hold that view anymore after reading these interviews. This is science with flesh and blood, and a lot of fascinating stories that you will find nowhere else."
Dr. Jean-Pascal Bénassy, Paris-Jourdan Sciences Économiques (PSE) and Centre pour la Recherche Economique et ses Applications

"This book provides a rare and intriguing view of the personal and professional lives of leading economists, and the circumstances that facilitated their creative breathroughs. It is like A Beautiful Mind, scaled by a factor of 16 [the number of interviews in the book]."
Professor Lee Ohanian, UCLA

"Histories of economic analysis abound, but if you want an insider view of how economics has been developing in the last decades, this is the (only) book for you."
Giancarlo Gandolfo, University of Rome

"Here we see the human side of path-breaking research, the personalities and pitfalls, the drama behind the science."
Professor Francis X. Diebold, University of Pennsylvania

"These 25-page conversations quickly hone in on what makes these leading economists from the academic world and public policy corridors tick, and how they--and the profession itself--evolved in research and thinking." CHOICE

Book Description

By focusing on the human side as well as the intellectual dimensions of how economists work and think, this collection of interviews with top economists of the 20th century becomes a startling and lively introduction to the modern world of macroeconomics. Acclaim for Inside the Economistrsquo;s Mind In candid interviews, these great economists prove to be fabulous story tellers of their lives and times. Unendingly gripping for insiders, this book should also help non-specialists understand how economists think. Professor Julio Rotemberg, Harvard University Business School, and Editor, Review of Economics and Statistics. Economics used to be called the 'dismal science'. It will be impossible for anybody to hold that view anymore ... This is science with flesh and blood, and a lot of fascinating stories that you will find nowhere else. Dr. Jean-Pascal Beacute;nassy, Paris-Jourdan Sciences Eacute;conomiques, Paris, France This book provides a rare and intriguing view of the personal and professional lives of leading economists ... It is like A Beautiful Mind, scaled by a factor of 16 [the number of interviews in the book]. Professor Lee Ohanian, University of California at Los Angeles ... if you want an insider view of how economics has been developing in the last decades, this is the (only) book for you. Professor Giancarlo Gandolfo, University of Rome lsquo;La Sapienza,rsquo; Rome Here we see the HUMAN side of path-breaking research, the personalities and pitfalls, the DRAMA behind the science. Professor Francis X. Diebold, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (October 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405159170
• ISBN-13: 978-1405159173
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading for Economists, January 21, 2007

By 

Stephen Kibsella "Stephen Kinsella" (Limerick, Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inside the Economist's Mind: Conversations with Eminent Economists (Paperback)

This is a collection of interviews commissioned for a journal, Macroeconomic Dynamics. The idea is to gauge the position of the profession by asking the people who invented large swathes of the theory their motivations for doings what they did, when they did it, and how they did it. Readers find eccentric and irascible characters behind some of the major innovations in economic science. I loved this book, and read it cover to cover in a day.

The book purports (pg. xi) to "contain[] unique insights into the thinking of some of the world's most important economists, whose work contributed to the evolution of modern economic thought", and indeed it does.

Scientific biography is a passion of mine, ever since reading Richard Feynman's writings on his life and work. Looking at the path integral method as an undergraduate, you can see how he came up with it (if, in fairness, I didn't really understand it), how startlingly original he was in doing his physics, because that's how he lived his life---he followed different paths as he felt he needed to, and arrived at different destinations that others because of his personality.

So it's great that William Barnett, the editor of Macroeconomic Dynamics, and the co-editor of this book, decided to ask these men these questions.

In future editions of this book and the further volumes to come, I'd love to see a focus on the characters behind different approaches to economics and their reasons for taking contrarian positions to the mainstream---Foley, Nell, Solow and Velupillai (my thesis advisor, in full disclosure), as well as more traditional mainstays of the profession. A focus on economists regarded primariy as great teachers would be great as well, not just the theoretical giants.

The book is a very rare thing---an economic page-turner, like The Worldly Philosopher, Adam's Fallacy, and Freakonomics. The personalities behind the science's blleding edge make for compelling reading.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bloomberg on the Economy, January 7, 2007

By 

a reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside the Economist's Mind: Conversations with Eminent Economists (Paperback)

Thomas Keene has an Amazon Listmania List called "Book Reviews: Must Reads." It links to each of the books in Amazon that he recommends as a "must read," and there currently are eighteen of them on his list. But oddly the Amazon system does not provide reverse links from the Amazon page for each of the recommended books back to his review.

He is the very influential Host of the radio program, "Bloomberg on the Economy." This book is on his list of "must reads." Here is his review:

"Rules are meant to be broken. Samuelson & Barnett goes on the list without a complete read. Sixteen stunning interviews; the candor shocking. But then, this is Samuelson. Taylor interviews Friedman; Blanchard interviews Fischer. You get the must-read picture."

Keene's rule that he says he is breaking is never to put a book on his "must read list" before he has finished reading the book. When he finishes reading this book, as I have, I am sure that he will not change his mind.

I have only one criticism of the book. The stellar endorsement quotations that appear on the back cover are set in a rather small font on a black background. It would seem that the publisher could have found a way to make those quotations more inviting to read. But of course this is not a criticism of what is in the book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Early Review, November 12, 2006

By 

Mindy "Mindy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside the Economist's Mind: Conversations with Eminent Economists (Hardcover)

A review of this new book just appeared on the British blog, New Economist, in London. The first line of the review is "Published earlier this week, Inside the Economist's Mind: Conversations with Eminent Economists, has all the hallmarks of an economic bestseller."

I have read the book, and indeed the New Economist is right. What most distinguishes this book is its "no holds barred" revelations and astonishing statements by many of the world's most famous "celebrity" economists, including eight Nobel Laureates, a former Federal Reserve Board chairman, the current Governor of the Bank of Israel, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, along with other economists of similar importance. This book is filled with inside information from those who know the truth, but had not previously revealed it.

The book contains some unusual photos, such as photos of Franco Modigliani with the Kings of Sweden and Spain and Paul Samuelson with Bill Clinton.