When economist Angus Deaton immigrated to the United States from Britain in the early 1980s, he was awed by America’s strengths and shocked by the extraordinary gaps he witnessed between people. Economics in America explains in clear terms how the field of economics addresses the most pressing issues of our time—from poverty, retirement, and the minimum wage to the ravages of the nation’s uniquely disastrous health care system—and narrates Deaton’s account of his experiences as a naturalized US citizen and academic economist.
Deaton is witty and pulls no punches. In this incisive, candid, and funny book, he describes the everyday lives of working economists, recounting the triumphs as well as the disasters, and tells the inside story of the Nobel Prize in economics and the journey that led him to Stockholm to receive one. He discusses the ongoing tensions between economics and politics—and the extent to which economics has any content beyond the political prejudices of economists—and reflects on whether economists bear at least some responsibility for the growing despair and rising populism in America.
Blending rare personal insights with illuminating perspectives on the social challenges that confront us today, Deaton offers a disarmingly frank critique of his own profession while shining a light on his adopted country’s policy accomplishments and failures.
Awards and Recognition
- A Financial Times Best Book of the Year: Economics
- A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year
"[An] excellent new book . . . exploring everything from inequality to deaths of despair to the failures of the field in which he won the Nobel prize. It's all leavened with sardonic humor."—Nicholas Kristof
"Deaton recounts his journey to understanding the political and economic dysfunctions of his adopted home. It's sort of like Alexis De Tocqueville's classic Democracy in America, but with more numbers, more economics, and more vitriol. . . . Rare for an economist, Deaton offers a lucid and unsparing critique of America's political system."—Greg Rosalsky, NPR’s Planet Money
"Inviting and readable."—Jennifer Szalai, New York Times
"Highly enjoyable. . . . Deaton emerges from the book as a decent human being who wants to make the world a better place."—Martin Wolf, Financial Times
"Deaton’s prose is lucid and tartly down-to-earth (the U.S. government works 'to help rich predators make ordinary people poorer,' he writes), and he makes a convincing case that 'economics should be about understanding the reasons for and doing away with the sordidness and joylessness that come with poverty and deprivation.' The result is a refreshing take on America’s economic discontents."—Publishers Weekly
"This brilliant economics study will likely engage general readers and hold their attention to the end."—Library Journal (Starred review)
"The book is informative, given the wide range of subjects; compelling, given Deaton’s obvious authority and rich experience; and, given his flair for writing, enjoyable."—Vivek Arora, Finance & Development
"The degree to which orthodox economics is complicit in this unequal, greed-ridden house of cards is honestly faced by Angus Deaton, one of the profession’s giants, in Economics in America. A powerful mea culpa, it is also a milestone in restoring the profession to the family of human sciences."—Paul Collier, Times Literary Supplement
"Completely fascinating. . . . The book is a great read, thoughtfully and well written."—Bridget Rosewell, Society of Professional Economists
"It is a good read. . . .Deaton also knows how to entertain while informing and there are some fascinating insights and anecdotes concerning some of the economists he most respects, from James Meade to Anthony Atkinson."—Paul Fisher, Financial World
"I really enjoyed reading Angus Deaton’s Economics in America. . . .The book would be an ideal read for students, or just people who want to understand better the economic mess we’re in – we, and particularly the US. . . .This is a great read. Highly recommended."—Diane Coyle, The Enlightened Economist
"Economics in America is a beautiful read, easily done in an afternoon, and one that will stay in the mind much, much longer."—Robert A. Margo, EH.net
“If you would like to know more about economics, and what economists do, but the last thing you want to read is a dry economics text, then Angus Deaton’s often controversial but never dull Economics in America is the book you should read.”—Peter Singer, author of Ethics in the Real World
“How delightful to find a witty, thoughtful, and informative work that answers a question I once asked Angus Deaton and gives answers to so many more that I wish I had asked.”—Kwame Anthony Appiah, author of The Ethics of Identity and the weekly “Ethicist” column for the New York Times
“Angus Deaton’s beautiful mind and generous spirit are on full display in this insightful and charming book on the strengths and sins of economics. Covering topics ranging from poverty and health care to monetary policy and climate change, with characteristic brilliance and warmth, the great economist builds a powerful case for his discipline to return to its original calling: to promote human flourishing and justice.”—Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
“Deaton presents a number of entertainingly written and sometimes ironic vignettes of life in America, telling stories ranging from the financial crisis to the cutthroat competition for the Nobel Prize. We get to know three Deatons in these pages: the top economist, the longtime resident and student of the United States, and the immigrant with the background and sensibility of Scotland, the country of his birth.”—Branko Milanovic, author of Worlds Apart: Measuring International and Global Inequality
“Economics in America is a masterful tour of key topics in economics by a wise, witty, and experienced guide. Human welfare, Deaton reminds us, is about more than money—it is about living a dignified life in a democratic society. Vivid in style and rich in examples, Deaton’s far-reaching humanistic take on economics—and economists—deserves a wide audience.”—Debra Satz, author of Why Some Things Should Not Be for Sale: The Moral Limits of Markets
