Cogs and Monsters

What Economics Is, and What It Should Be

Diane Coyle

$34.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Princeton University Press
01 August 2023

Public finance

Digital technology, big data, big tech, machine learning, and AI are revolutionising both the tools of economics and the phenomena it seeks to measure, understand, and shape. In Cogs and Monsters, Diane Coyle explores the enormous problems — but also opportunities — facing economics today if it is to respond effectively to these dizzying changes and help policymakers solve the world’s crises, from pandemic recovery and inequality to slow growth and the climate emergency.

Mainstream economics, Coyle says, still assumes people are 'cogs' — self-interested, calculating, independent agents interacting in defined contexts. But the digital economy is much more characterised by 'monsters' — untethered, snowballing, and socially influenced unknowns. What is worse, by treating people as cogs, economics is creating its own monsters, leaving itself without the tools to understand the new problems it faces. In response, Coyle asks whether economic individualism is still valid in the digital economy, whether we need to measure growth and progress in new ways, and whether economics can ever be objective, since it influences what it analyses. Just as important, the discipline needs to correct its striking lack of diversity and inclusion if it is to be able to offer new solutions to new problems.

Filled with original insights, Cogs and Monsters offers a road map for how economics can adapt to the rewiring of society, including by digital technologies, and realise its potential to play a hugely positive role in the twenty-first century.

By: Diane Coyle
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780691231044
ISBN 10: 0691231044
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 01 August 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. Her books include GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History, The Economics of Enough: How to Run the Economy as If the Future Matters, and The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why It Matters (all Princeton). She lives in London. Twitter @DianeCoyle1859

Reviews for Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be

Financial Times Best Economics Book of the Year 2021 A CapX Book of the Year Winner of the Gold Medal in Business Commentary, Axiom Business Book Awards Eloquent. . . . Thought-provoking. ---Felix Martin, Financial Times Coyle's contribution is valuable. The book reads like a timely intervention delivered by a perceptive friend, in the kindest tone they can muster. Economists would do well to listen. ---James Plunkett, Prospect [Coyle] is extremely wise, and the best friend economics could have-one willing to offer some serious tough love. ---Tim Harford, timharford.com Full of illuminating anecdotes about the gap between theory and practice. ---Simon Torracinta, Boston Review