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Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism Hardcover – February 18, 2009

by George A. Akerlof (Author), Robert J. Shiller (Author)

131 customer reviews

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The global financial crisis has made it painfully clear that powerful psychological forces are imperiling the wealth of nations today. From blind faith in ever-rising housing prices to plummeting confidence in capital markets, "animal spirits" are driving financial events worldwide. In this book, acclaimed economists George Akerlof and Robert Shiller challenge the economic wisdom that got us into this mess, and put forward a bold new vision that will transform economics and restore prosperity.

Akerlof and Shiller reassert the necessity of an active government role in economic policymaking by recovering the idea of animal spirits, a term John Maynard Keynes used to describe the gloom and despondence that led to the Great Depression and the changing psychology that accompanied recovery. Like Keynes, Akerlof and Shiller know that managing these animal spirits requires the steady hand of government--simply allowing markets to work won't do it. In rebuilding the case for a more robust, behaviorally informed Keynesianism, they detail the most pervasive effects of animal spirits in contemporary economic life--such as confidence, fear, bad faith, corruption, a concern for fairness, and the stories we tell ourselves about our economic fortunes--and show how Reaganomics, Thatcherism, and the rational expectations revolution failed to account for them.

Animal Spirits offers a road map for reversing the financial misfortunes besetting us today. Read it and learn how leaders can channel animal spirits--the powerful forces of human psychology that are afoot in the world economy today.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

George A. Akerlof, Co-Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics

Robert J. Shiller, Co-Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics

Winner of the 2009 Book Award, getAbstract International

Winner of the 2009 Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security, TIAA-CREF

Winner of the 2009 Finance Book of the Year, CBN (China Business News) Financial Value Ranking

Shortlisted for the 2009 Book of the Year, Financial Times//Goldman Sachs Business

Featured on the Financial Times (FT.com)'s Books of the Year list

Listed on Bloomberg.com in a review by James Pressley as two of "our favorite financial-crisis books this year."

Akerlof and Shiller are the first to try to rework economic theory for our times. The effort itself makes their book a milestone. . . . And their book takes their case not just to economists, but also to the general reader. It is short (176 pages of text) and easy enough for laymen to understand.---Louis Uchitelle, New York Times Book Review

There is barely a page of Animal Spirits without a fascinating fact or insight.---John Lanchester, New Yorker

From the Inside Flap

"This book is a sorely needed corrective. Animal Spirits is an important--maybe even a decisive--contribution at a difficult juncture in macroeconomic theory."--Robert M. Solow, Nobel Prize-winning economist

"This book is dynamite. It is a powerful, cogent, and convincing call for a fundamental reevaluation of basic economic principles. It presents a refreshingly new understanding of important economic phenomena that standard economic theory has been unable to explain convincingly. Animal Spirits should help set in motion an intellectual revolution that will change the way we think about economic depressions, unemployment, poverty, financial crises, real estate swings, and much more."--Dennis J. Snower, president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy

"Animal Spirits makes a very timely and significant contribution to the development of a new dominant paradigm for economics that acknowledges the imperfections of human decision making, a need which the panic in financial markets makes all too apparent. I am not aware of any other book like this one."--Diane Coyle, author of The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why It Matters

"Akerlof and Shiller explore how animal spirits contribute to the performance of the macroeconomy. The range of issues they cover is broad, including the business cycle, inflation and unemployment, the swings in financial markets and real estate, the existence of poverty, and the way monetary policy works. This book is provocative and persuasive."--George L. Perry, Brookings Institution

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Product details

Hardcover: 248 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press; First Edition edition (February 18, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780691142333
ISBN-13: 978-0691142333
ASIN: 0691142335
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 131 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #400,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #372 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Macroeconomics
- #614 in Books > Business & Money > International > Economics
- #693 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Economic Policy & Development

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Keynes for the 21st Century

January 28, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book was designated as a "recommended text" for a graduate-level financial economics course. The reason being, of course, is that it offers an excellent overview of basic Keynesian ideas and introduces the uninitiated to behavioral economics; topics which are only briefly covered in the traditional economics coursework. Akerlof and Shiller are on the forefront of the behavioral economics movement and outline many key ideas of the movement in this book.

They spend most of the book addressing the psychological motivations for the biggest economic crises in the US over the past century and give a refresher course in basic macroeconomics. Throughout their entire discussion, though, the most radical idea they introduce is near the end of the book. They suggest that in order to properly understand macroeconomics, it is essential to discuss the "special poverty among minorities." Or rather, that levels of inequality in a society influence the macroeconomy. This idea is illustrative of the authors' main point on the heavy influence of human psychology on the economy. They craft the argument that the conventional wisdom in economics is flawed because it does not take into account societal constraints and human behavior, which greatly influence the economy.

The questions the reader is left with upon finishing the book are: 1. How can we properly include psychology in economic models? 2. To what extent is the government needed to establish the "rules of the game"? The authors emphasize the importance of these topics, but hardly provide prescriptive solutions.

Overall, this is a well-written, well-argued book on the topic of behavioral economics and finance. Whether you agree or disagree with Keynesian economics, this text will definitely raise some interesting points.

6 people found this helpful

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Excellent practical insights from top-notch academics.

December 11, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book provides an excellent insight in the various elements of human behaviour into the financial markets. It brings together elements of academic studies from both authors and they have proven their worth in the financial and real estate markets (any type of asset). The concepts have a clear pragmatic element and with this book Akerlof and Shiller succeed in popularising their models and academic research. Somehow the reader is left with a feeling that they tried to fit the different parts into one book leaving the reader a bit puzzled when moving from one chapter to another. The book has a bit of an awkward feeling but that does not take away the valuable lessons and insights. By now the elements and details of financial crises of the last decade are fading into the past. The lessons, rightfully, should not and that is the true value of this book.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Wish to have read this book earlier!

February 4, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Well written book that shed lights on the economical issues from a macroeconomic perspective, with the notion of 'animal spirit' and how it influences a person's thinking in common business activities. Wish to have read this book before actually pursuing my MBA degree, nevertheless it left unconventional thoughts that wouldn't be taught in a classroom.

2 people found this helpful

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Ideas of Keynes made clear

May 11, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

What Keynes means by 'animal spirits' is made a lot clear by the authors. They identified five types of human mental states that constitute animal spirits in humans. The notion of animal spirits is particularly useful in explaining the boom-burst cycles in capitalism and rampant corruption in autocratic states. However, for the sake of completeness, I think the authors should endeavour to embed the concept of animal spirits in human self-interest so that the discussion is more in line with mainstream economics.

One person found this helpful

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August 22, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

must read

One person found this helpful

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Steven C. Hortopan

April 1, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Needed it for school

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Alexandra Hopkins

March 5, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I really got a lot out of this book. For one thing, I learned the oddities of how economists look at the world due to how economics is taught these days. Wow! I was surprised at the major lack of common sense that seems to trouble the field. No wonder few economists forecasted the 2008 Recession. I also learned a lot more about economics and some of the key factors that drive the economy. I'd read quite a few books about economics before reading Animal Spirits; it's not the first book you should read about economics. But if you're pretty well oriented to economic terms and views, this book injects a lot of common sense into the field of economics. It's by world class economists, including one who won a Nobel Prize in economics. I hope that this will be a seminal book in directing the field of economics into more successful approaches.

4 people found this helpful

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