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Podcast: New Books in Economics
Episode: Diane Coyle, "Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be" (Princeton UP, 2021)
Description: InĀ Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should BeĀ (Princeton UP, 2021), Diane Coyle explores the enormous problemsābut also opportunitiesāfacing economics today if it is to respond effectively to these dizzying changes and help policymakers solve the worldās crises, from pandemic recovery and inequality to slow growth and the climate emergency.Ā Mainstream economics, Coyle says, still assumes people are ācogsāāself-interested, calculating, independent agents interacting in defined contexts. But the digital economy is much more characterized by āmonstersāāuntethered, snowballing, and socially influenced unknowns. Coyle argues that economic policy is fundamentally normative, as any policy decision will...