A great supplemental text for the teaching of economics, this book offers a clear perspective and a passion for a deeper understanding of the subject. Economics is not merely a game to be played by clever professionals, but a discipline that touches upon the most pressing practical issues at any historical juncture. The wealth and poverty of nations is at stake; the length and quality of life turns on the economic conditions individuals find themselves living within. Touching upon a variety of subjects—including market socialism, political economy, and economics education—this reference contains the wisdom of an expert in the field.
Living Economics: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
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“A superb book. . . . It is vintage Boettke: engaging, witty, and chock full of insight. This book should be put in the hands of every first-year student of economics, if only to show them what they are missing!” —Bruce Caldwell, research professor of economics, Duke University
“A solid book that counters the excessive simulation of modern academic economics while, at the same time, avoiding the temptation to extend application of the logic beyond reasonable limits. Boettke concentrates on the primary purpose of economics, which is to convey an understanding of how, within properly designed institutional constraints, operative markets generate and distribute value without overt conflict.” —James M. Buchanan, distinguished professor emeritus of economics, George Mason University
“Peter Boettke's book Living Economics not only is splendidly characterized by broad erudition, solid analysis, shrewd observation, and expositional clarity, it appears at a propitious moment.” —William R. Allen, professor emeritus of economics, University of California–Los Angeles
“A remarkable book. The volume luminously reflects the amazing breadth of Professor Boettke’s reading, and the deep and careful thoughtfulness with which he reads.” —Israel M. Kirzner, professor emeritus of economics, New York University
About the Author
Peter J. Boettke is a research fellow at the Independent Institute, a professor of economics at George Mason University, and the editor of the Review of Austrian Economics. He is also the recipient of the Golden Dozen Award for Excellence in Teaching from the College of Arts and Sciences at New York University and the author of several books, including Calculation and Coordination: Essays on Socialism and Transitional Political Economy; The Political Economy of Soviet Socialism: The Formative Years, 1918–1928; and Why Perestroika Failed: The Economics and Politics of Socialism Transformation. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
In the History of Economic Ideas, Boettke Takes the Side of Smith, Mises, and Buchanan!
July 3, 2012
Format:Paperback
As a title, Living Economics pretty aptly describes this book. This book is both about teaching economics (the importance of it, some of the lessons one should seek to impart or learn from economics), the great theorists of it, and why those debates are still relevant today. Long and short: Boettke is writing from the perspective of the Austrian economists who were, themselves, descendants of the Scottish Englightenment, and through most of the book, Boettke is particularly keen on explaining why both groups' approach to economics ("economist as student") was superior to the approach of Keynes, Samuelson, and the like ("economist as planner").
Section 1 discusses the hows and the whys of teaching economics. Economics is a way of thinking and should be taught as such. Economics, taught correctly, gives us a way to appreciate the spontaneous order that emerges when individuals make individual decisions coordinated by the price mechanism (which, when interfered with artificially, leads to a host of generally unintended consequences). A possibly radical suggestion, echoed throughout this book's essays, is that economics should not focus on the idea of equilibrium as much as the real-world process of disequilibrium (which, per Kirzner, is the only way to think of the economy as a dynamic and innovative, rather than static and steady, order).
On to section 2, which profiles and discusses some of Boettke's favorite economics teachers (those he learned from in classrooms and through reading). I personally loved the essays dealing with James Buchanan and his many contributions to the field - from "politics without romance," to subjective cost theory, to the realization that any discussion of improvements of societal rules and institutions must take place from the way things are, not from a hypothesized veil of ignorance or other theoretical position. Boettke also brings up Mises and praxeology (which I am still not sold on, but Boettke's explanation is still quite good), the significance of Hayek's knowledge problem, Kirzner's emphasis on the market as a dynamic process, and the recently deceased Vincent and Elinor Ostrom's methodological individualism. (These, just to name a few.)
Section three continues with the history of economics, but instead of focusing on different thinkers, we get Boettke's take on various economic problems: how and why did economics become (to its detriment) a quantitative rather than a qualitative field, where we talked of aggregate demand and consumption functions as actual descriptors of individual behavior). Why did Mises and Hayek's warnings about the calculation problem regarding MARKET socialism go unheeded, and why should they not have been? Why did economics, as a field, become something of a 'secular religion' where social control and planning increasingly became the goals (rather than studying how orders can emerge without planning, and unintended consequences)?
Living Economics - a book clearly and passionately written - is seemingly written by a man on a mission. Economics, the essays tell us, has drifted largely astray from the path it should have taken. Today, economics is about spitting out mathematical problem sets, talking about aggregates (as if they can describe INDIVIDUAL action), the neoclassical paradigm, and macroeconomics. Boettke wants to bring economics back to... living economics - the economics that studies individuals and how they act (rather than aggregate), assumes disequilibrium and a dynamic market rather than a state of static equilibrium, and brings economists back to being students of how order emerges "bottom up" rather than how to create "top down" order. As it is an essay collection, there is a fair amount of repetition both in ideas and in phrases (I didn't count how many times Boettke uses the phrase "economics puts parameters on people's utopias," but it must be more than five). Otherwise, these essays are a real pleasure to read.
Section 1 discusses the hows and the whys of teaching economics. Economics is a way of thinking and should be taught as such. Economics, taught correctly, gives us a way to appreciate the spontaneous order that emerges when individuals make individual decisions coordinated by the price mechanism (which, when interfered with artificially, leads to a host of generally unintended consequences). A possibly radical suggestion, echoed throughout this book's essays, is that economics should not focus on the idea of equilibrium as much as the real-world process of disequilibrium (which, per Kirzner, is the only way to think of the economy as a dynamic and innovative, rather than static and steady, order).
On to section 2, which profiles and discusses some of Boettke's favorite economics teachers (those he learned from in classrooms and through reading). I personally loved the essays dealing with James Buchanan and his many contributions to the field - from "politics without romance," to subjective cost theory, to the realization that any discussion of improvements of societal rules and institutions must take place from the way things are, not from a hypothesized veil of ignorance or other theoretical position. Boettke also brings up Mises and praxeology (which I am still not sold on, but Boettke's explanation is still quite good), the significance of Hayek's knowledge problem, Kirzner's emphasis on the market as a dynamic process, and the recently deceased Vincent and Elinor Ostrom's methodological individualism. (These, just to name a few.)
Section three continues with the history of economics, but instead of focusing on different thinkers, we get Boettke's take on various economic problems: how and why did economics become (to its detriment) a quantitative rather than a qualitative field, where we talked of aggregate demand and consumption functions as actual descriptors of individual behavior). Why did Mises and Hayek's warnings about the calculation problem regarding MARKET socialism go unheeded, and why should they not have been? Why did economics, as a field, become something of a 'secular religion' where social control and planning increasingly became the goals (rather than studying how orders can emerge without planning, and unintended consequences)?
Living Economics - a book clearly and passionately written - is seemingly written by a man on a mission. Economics, the essays tell us, has drifted largely astray from the path it should have taken. Today, economics is about spitting out mathematical problem sets, talking about aggregates (as if they can describe INDIVIDUAL action), the neoclassical paradigm, and macroeconomics. Boettke wants to bring economics back to... living economics - the economics that studies individuals and how they act (rather than aggregate), assumes disequilibrium and a dynamic market rather than a state of static equilibrium, and brings economists back to being students of how order emerges "bottom up" rather than how to create "top down" order. As it is an essay collection, there is a fair amount of repetition both in ideas and in phrases (I didn't count how many times Boettke uses the phrase "economics puts parameters on people's utopias," but it must be more than five). Otherwise, these essays are a real pleasure to read.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Dave Hebert
Format:Paperback
Living Economics by Peter Boettke is an indispensible guide to anyone interested in economics. This book is a fantastic read and is sure to not only educate but also entertain any reader who thinks 1) economics is serious and 2) economics is fun.
The title, "Living Economics" has three meanings. The first is to explain economics as a living discipline, capable of growing and changing over time. Economics as a discipline possesses nearly limitless potential to do good and bad, depending on who its stewards are, what they attempt to do with it, and what they understand to be its limits. In this respect, Peter Boettke masterfully describes what economics was "yesterday," what it is "today," and what it could be "tomorrow." In doing so, he describes the origin, decline, and revival of mainline economics as well as the works and scholars who contributed to its revival. This is a journey that Boettke describes not only after years of research but also by living through it and his personal experience with and love of the the teachers he has had throughout his intellectual development.
The second meaning is the acknowledgement that economics is rooted in sound principles; what Boettke refers to as "the three p's and the three i's." In this lesson familiar to anyone who has heard him deliver a lecture, he explains how property rights generate the incentives, prices generate the information, and the profit/loss system generates the innovation. This lesson, how we lost sight of it, how it has made its resurgence, and the role of economists in saving economics from the grips of social engineers is one of the central themes of this book. To illustrate this, Boettke takes a very Buchanan-esque position, acknowledging that those of us within the profession inherit an existing understanding of what the profession is and what it is capable of (a combination of what economists are doing, what politicians want economists to do, and what the general public expects of economists) and that those who take teaching economics seriously have a responsibility to teach the intellectual hubris inherent in economics as extolled by Mises, Hayek, and Buchanan, among others.
The third and final meaning is to consider what it means to actually live economics: about being a "24/7 economist" as opposed to a "9-5 economist." In this sense, the book can be thought of as a massive expansion of the concluding paragraph of Mises's magnum opus, Human Action, with a familiar Boettke-twist. Economics IS a deadly serious subject but it is also the sexiest subject there is. Understanding its lessons can mean the difference between wealth and poverty; happiness and frustration; life and death. But it can also be the subject of joy and amusement, as evidenced by the research of several of Boettke's most successful students over the years. It is this wide range of understanding that he strives to instill in all of his students, from undergraduate to graduate to seminar participants to general audience members, through his lectures and now through this book. Getting students excited about the mystery of the mundane has been Boettke's task as a teacher for the last 25 years and it is this goal that this book emphasizes. With this in mind, Living Economics describes Boettke's approach to convincing students to accept the invitation to inquiry and therefore serves as an indispensible pedogogical guide.
Living Economics represents the culmination of all that is Boettke: the potent combination of Mises, Hayek, Buchanan, Smith, Rothbard, Tullock, Senholz, Lavoie, Elinor and Vincent Ostrom, and countless others mixed with the charm and humility that is classic Boettke. As some have described, this book represents Boettke at his finest: unplugged and loving every second. It is this that t has made him the "global leader of the Austrian School of Economics" as Tyler Cowen recently described. This book should be read by all who think 1) economics is serious 2) economics is fun.
The title, "Living Economics" has three meanings. The first is to explain economics as a living discipline, capable of growing and changing over time. Economics as a discipline possesses nearly limitless potential to do good and bad, depending on who its stewards are, what they attempt to do with it, and what they understand to be its limits. In this respect, Peter Boettke masterfully describes what economics was "yesterday," what it is "today," and what it could be "tomorrow." In doing so, he describes the origin, decline, and revival of mainline economics as well as the works and scholars who contributed to its revival. This is a journey that Boettke describes not only after years of research but also by living through it and his personal experience with and love of the the teachers he has had throughout his intellectual development.
The second meaning is the acknowledgement that economics is rooted in sound principles; what Boettke refers to as "the three p's and the three i's." In this lesson familiar to anyone who has heard him deliver a lecture, he explains how property rights generate the incentives, prices generate the information, and the profit/loss system generates the innovation. This lesson, how we lost sight of it, how it has made its resurgence, and the role of economists in saving economics from the grips of social engineers is one of the central themes of this book. To illustrate this, Boettke takes a very Buchanan-esque position, acknowledging that those of us within the profession inherit an existing understanding of what the profession is and what it is capable of (a combination of what economists are doing, what politicians want economists to do, and what the general public expects of economists) and that those who take teaching economics seriously have a responsibility to teach the intellectual hubris inherent in economics as extolled by Mises, Hayek, and Buchanan, among others.
The third and final meaning is to consider what it means to actually live economics: about being a "24/7 economist" as opposed to a "9-5 economist." In this sense, the book can be thought of as a massive expansion of the concluding paragraph of Mises's magnum opus, Human Action, with a familiar Boettke-twist. Economics IS a deadly serious subject but it is also the sexiest subject there is. Understanding its lessons can mean the difference between wealth and poverty; happiness and frustration; life and death. But it can also be the subject of joy and amusement, as evidenced by the research of several of Boettke's most successful students over the years. It is this wide range of understanding that he strives to instill in all of his students, from undergraduate to graduate to seminar participants to general audience members, through his lectures and now through this book. Getting students excited about the mystery of the mundane has been Boettke's task as a teacher for the last 25 years and it is this goal that this book emphasizes. With this in mind, Living Economics describes Boettke's approach to convincing students to accept the invitation to inquiry and therefore serves as an indispensible pedogogical guide.
Living Economics represents the culmination of all that is Boettke: the potent combination of Mises, Hayek, Buchanan, Smith, Rothbard, Tullock, Senholz, Lavoie, Elinor and Vincent Ostrom, and countless others mixed with the charm and humility that is classic Boettke. As some have described, this book represents Boettke at his finest: unplugged and loving every second. It is this that t has made him the "global leader of the Austrian School of Economics" as Tyler Cowen recently described. This book should be read by all who think 1) economics is serious 2) economics is fun.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Tom
Format:Paperback
Living Economics is a great book for would-be teachers of economics. The author shows a commitment to teaching the principles of his craft and provides insights into the workings of the free market. This book is a useful resource for how to approach teaching economics students at multiple levels of collegiate life. And it does so by drawing from examples of professors (including Nobel Laureates F.A. Hayek, James Buchanan, and Elinor Ostrom) who had a lasting impact on their students, the economic discourse, and seemingly the author himself. Peter Boettke argues that economics professors are the reason that many college students come to despise economics, and that the remedy for this is to get off the blackboard and "look out the window". Life provides the questions economists should answer, and it's through applying economics to real life that makes studying exciting.
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