3 ms·

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences to J. Mokyr, P. Aghion and P. Howitt

10 points by Anon84 1y ago

nabla9 1y ago
Flow of HN discussion every time Economics Nobel is announced: It's not a "real" Nobel Prize. This is because it's officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, created in 1968. This distinction often leads to people downplaying economics itself. They argue it's not a "real" science like physics or chemistry because it can't predict things perfectly and is based on human behavior, which is unpredictable. This critique sets the stage for a more political debate. Libertarian and socialist contribution is oversized.
OhMeadhbh 1y ago
FT chimes in with a bit of context and references at https://www.ft.com/content/f392e6bd-f207-40b6-8b9a-59947d5670ab https://www.ft.com/content/f392e6bd-f207-40b6-8b9a-59947d567...
OhMeadhbh 1y ago
I know this isn't the place to chime in with a conversation about economics, but when has that stopped me before? I read Mokyr's book, A Culture of Growth [[ https://search.worldcat.org/title/964805224 ]] a couple years ago and enjoyed it. I had a few nits about the content, but then again, I'm not a Nobel Prize winning economist, so maybe I should keep my mouth shut about that. If you're interested in either history or economics, you should put it on the list of books to consider reading. If you're interested in both, you probably should read it. But... I can also recommend von Hipple's Innovation series: [[ https://evhippel.mit.edu/books/ ]]. And for the beginnings of a contrasting view to the "yeehaa! growth!" mindset from the timeframe covered by Mokyr's book, I would recommend Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful." [[ https://search.worldcat.org/title/1239792692 ]] To be honest, except for two chapters, I found the writing a little uninspired. But it's worth a read as it introduces concepts you hear from "post industrial" types (thinking of the Slow Food and Slow Money movements.) I have a to-do item to write a book about the "Slow Code" movement, but the industry probably doesn't need help with that. I haven't read Aghion's Endogenous Growth Theory [[ https://search.worldcat.org/title/1027693933 ]], but worldcat tells me it's at my local academic library, so I may have to give it a go.

10 points by Anon84 1y ago

Flow of HN discussion every time Economics Nobel is announced: It's not a "real" Nobel Prize. This is because it's officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, created in 1968. This distinction often leads to people downplaying economics itself. They argue it's not a "real" science like physics or chemistry because it can't predict things perfectly and is based on human behavior, which is unpredictable. This critique sets the stage for a more political debate. Libertarian and socialist contribution is oversized.

OhMeadhbh 1y ago

FT chimes in with a bit of context and references at https://www.ft.com/content/f392e6bd-f207-40b6-8b9a-59947d5670ab https://www.ft.com/content/f392e6bd-f207-40b6-8b9a-59947d567...

OhMeadhbh 1y ago

I know this isn't the place to chime in with a conversation about economics, but when has that stopped me before? I read Mokyr's book, A Culture of Growth [[ https://search.worldcat.org/title/964805224 ]] a couple years ago and enjoyed it. I had a few nits about the content, but then again, I'm not a Nobel Prize winning economist, so maybe I should keep my mouth shut about that. If you're interested in either history or economics, you should put it on the list of books to consider reading. If you're interested in both, you probably should read it. But... I can also recommend von Hipple's Innovation series: [[ https://evhippel.mit.edu/books/ ]]. And for the beginnings of a contrasting view to the "yeehaa! growth!" mindset from the timeframe covered by Mokyr's book, I would recommend Schumacher's "Small is Beautiful." [[ https://search.worldcat.org/title/1239792692 ]] To be honest, except for two chapters, I found the writing a little uninspired. But it's worth a read as it introduces concepts you hear from "post industrial" types (thinking of the Slow Food and Slow Money movements.) I have a to-do item to write a book about the "Slow Code" movement, but the industry probably doesn't need help with that. I haven't read Aghion's Endogenous Growth Theory [[ https://search.worldcat.org/title/1027693933 ]], but worldcat tells me it's at my local academic library, so I may have to give it a go.