Some unstructured thought about "Stubborn Attachments" by @tylercowen as I just finished it
tl;dr; Go buy it! amzn.to/2qcK54Y It's the most fun I've had reading an economics/policy since undergraduate Industrial Organization.
tl;dr; Go buy it! amzn.to/2qcK54Y It's the most fun I've had reading an economics/policy since undergraduate Industrial Organization.
1/many As a heavy kindle user it's easily the nicest book I own. First edition, hardback and the pages feel weighty. Kudos to @stripepress
... but due to following @webdevmason and @patrickc it's easily the most marked up book I've ever owned 
It's nice to see a policy book with the confidence to not pad its page count. It's a trim fighting weight of 125 pages
The book actively wants you to argue with it p25 "you will feel I have not pushed hard enough ... no matter how hard I push"
In fact the last 4 paragraphs feels like an intellectual call to adventure/debate
In fact the last 4 paragraphs feels like an intellectual call to adventure/debate
p27 "...think about where free lunches might be hiding and why some of those free lunches might be less than evident."
I'm impressed there's no low hanging fruit pun
I'm impressed there's no low hanging fruit pun
p30 For the idea of WealthPlus (GDP + leisure + household production + environmental sustainability) what's the closest approximation we can get using current metrics?
p32 The emphasis on the environment will cause cognitive whiplash to anyone who comes into this thinking it's a "right wing" book.
p33 However important you think growth is going in the section "How good is growth anyway" will make you feel that you previously undervalued it.
p35 the typical mid-nineteenth century work put in 50% more work hours than us Millenials. Gig economy doesn't seem so bad now, does it.
p40 If U.S. yearly GDP growth had been 1% less since 1870, America of 1990 would have been no richer than Mexico of 1990
p41 "Does economic growth make us happier"
tl;dr; yes. yes it does. Here's proof in numbers, studies and thought exercises.
tl;dr; yes. yes it does. Here's proof in numbers, studies and thought exercises.
Chapter 3 Overcoming Disagreement - TBH this was the chapter I got the least from, but it's only 9 pages so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Chapter 4 "Is Time an Illusion" Clearly titled as a chapter not to read on any mind altering substances
...in all seriousness it makes a convincing argument that we discount the lives of the future to much. I'd like to read a rebuttal because it seemed *very* convincing when I read it
p91 "We need to think carefully about where the most significant gains of the past have come from"
I actually stopped reading to make a list of where this was true in my personal life
I actually stopped reading to make a list of where this was true in my personal life
...a note of caution the last time I asked that question like that I ended up having a kid, changing jobs and moving cross country.
So it worked out for me but YMMV
So it worked out for me but YMMV
p91 Spending less on the elderly is the most concrete policy suggestion in the book, but Cowen says it's unlikely to happen.
p94 "Once-and-for-all-changes vs growth rate changes" compares 2 competing models of how policy might impact growth. The most educational section of the book for me
All sorts of interesting thoughts in this section e.g. The storms caused by global warming might be worse for the economy than having to move the coastal cities. Since the move would be a one time cost vs the storms being constant
This section could really be extracted to its own post on MR. hint hint
Chapter 6 answers the "What if you save a child and they grow up to be HITLER!!!" question among other things. Worth the price of admission alone!
Seriously if you've read this far you really should go read the book as it presents interesting (and much more serious than I've made them sound here) arguments and was fair to all sides
