I enjoyed reading and thinking about this book. The comments in this review are made in the spirit of inquisitiveness and appreciation. They are not criticisms. Indeed, the afterword chapter of the book notes several of the comments that will be made below.

The approach taken in this easily read and entertaining book is to provide brief outlines of the work of 28 people who have had a significant impact on economic thought. This is done over 24 chapters.

The time span covers Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) to Esther Duflo (born 1972). Those who have won the Nobel memorial prize in economics figure prominently. Each chapter is about ten pages. There are no charts, graphs or figures. This makes the ideas easily accessible. Whilst writing the book, the author ran a seminar on the history of economic thought at Herriot-Watt University for undergraduate students. They are lucky students to have such a capable teacher as Robert Mochrie.

One thing that troubles me is the title: “How to Think like an Economist: Great Economists Who Shaped the World and What They Can Teach Us”. I am left wondering whether the book lives up to its title.

The implication of the title is that economists think in a particular way. This is not the case. Differences of opinion have always been highly evident amongst economists. The impression should not be given to the non-specialist reader that economists think in a particular way. The afterword recognises this stating “New economic ideas usually emerge as a response to changes in the economy……We can be certain that the next major turning point in economics will reflect changes in the economy which economics as it is now simply cannot explain. That makes it almost impossible to predict what it will mean to think like an economist 50 years from now.” (p.276) I

Indeed, one of the interesting aspects of this book is that it highlights many of the differences of opinion between noted economists (or how economists think about the issues in society that they study). In that case, I should try for a better title. Something like “Disputed thoughts: a history of different ways of thinking about society and the economy through the writings of great economists” may do it. However, it does not have the zing of the original title.

The approach of highlighting the work of the “enNobeled” forces a focus on mainstream ideas. This leaves little room for the challenges to mainstream thought, such as from those who propose network or evolutionary approaches. I didn’t find any discussion about finance (Robert Merton? Myron Scholes?). The afterword recognises the concentration on mainstream approaches noting that “There could have been a much deeper exploration of the variety of ways of thinking about the economy that emerged in the nineteenth century. Concentrating on the British tradition has meant that the ideas of the French engineers, the German Historical Schools and the American Institutionalists were scarcely mentioned.” (p.274)

My first thought when picking up the book was the absence of women amongst those featured on the contents page - only Elinor Ostrom and Esther Duflo feature. I was proved wrong. Several chapters make specific mention of women working in collaboration with the featured male. In many cases, the man and woman worked in partnership both academically and as husband/wife. A useful addition to any further edition of this book would be to have an appendix specifically noting the contribution of these women. At the end of this review, I have listed those mentioned in the book. Hopefully I have not missed any names.

Similarly, those featured in the book are almost all white Europeans or Americans. There are no Asians, Africans, Latin Americans, people from the Middle East. This is a problem with economics rather than the book. The book accurately reflects the economics “profession”. A 2018 VoxEU article titled “Where are the Chinese economists?” partially addresses this question.

Having thrown out the challenge, I should provide the names of some potential candidates. From India, Abhijit Banerjee (he is mentioned in the chapter covering Esther Duflo), Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati would qualify. Apart from that, I am left floundering.

Another addition to the book would be to add a timeline of major publications by those chosen. My physical copy of the book now has the birth and death years of each person written alongside their names on the contents page. This helps give an idea of how the ideas developed by one person were being formed around the same time as another. There is plenty of overlap.

There are a number of good books targeted at a general audience that try to explain the writings of noted economists. This book adds to these in a meaningful way. If you want a quick overview of why, for example, Robert Lucas is considered an influential economist, here is a handy resource.

List of women economists mentioned in the book:

Around 1850s: Harriet Taylor collaborating with John Stuart Mill

Around 1900s: Mary Paley collaborating with Alfred Marshall

Around 1930s: Elizabeth Boody collaborating with Joseph Schumpeter

Around 1950s: Rose Friedman (nee Director) collaborating with Milton Friedman

Around 1950s: Dorothea Pye collaborating with Herbert Simon

Around 1960s: Barbara Lewis collaborating with Robert Solow

Around 1970s: Elinor Ostrom (husband Vincent Ostrom appears to have worked closely with her founding the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis (the Ostrom Workshop) at the University of Indiana)

Around 1960s: Joan Robinson

1980s onwards: Janet Yellen collaborating with Paul Akerlof and then taking on senior positions at the US Federal Reserve and as US Secretary of the Treasury

2000s onwards: Esther Duflo (husband Abhijit Banerjee) and Rachel Glenerster