Paul Krugman

I put this book on my 22 books to read in 2022 list, and I ended up very glad for the deadline. I am never in the MOOD to read a nine million page book on economics, but it was a much easier read than I had imagined, and I am very glad to have read it.

Most of these essays were originally published as newspaper columns, which is, as always, a mixed blessing. On the plus side, each essay is concise and self-contained, making it east to digest them chapter by chapter or individual essay at a time. On the negative side, they are each self-contained, and I was sometimes left wanting more context, deeper analysis, or greater connection between essays.

I hope it will be handy to keep this on the shelves as a reference.… (more)

In this 2012 work economist Paul Krugman makes that case that the policies of austerity so popular right now are wrong headed and counterproductive. While the supply side theorists tried to say that the Keynesian theories of the 1930s were wrong Krugman convincingly makes that case that Keynes was right all along and that his theories were right all along. The high unemployment, loss of good jobs and lack of growth could be quickly fixed according to Krugman. He makes his case well. To0 bad his advice has not been followed.… (more)

The book is becomming a little dated, in that it was written before the 2008 election, and his discussion of the policies of some of the candidates in that election are no longer relevant. However, that's a very minor element, since the more relevant discussions involving the New Deal and the Reagan years aren't changing. Krugman, as an economist, does a good job of describing his views, and may reinforce these ideas among liberal and progressive readers, but is unlikely to convert many conservatives. One thing that Krugman discusses is that income inequality is rising in recent years, and while Krugman may have a desire to see that reversed, which will resonate with his liberal readers, finding the limits and way to reverse that trend is more problematic. A public policy that sounds like redistribution of wealth from the richest to the poor will not win the hearts and minds of many conservative readers.… (more)