GINN ECONOMIC CONSULTING
  • Home
  • SERVICES
  • Media
  • RESEARCH
  • Speaking
  • Blog
  • About
  • Home
  • SERVICES
  • Media
  • RESEARCH
  • Speaking
  • Blog
  • About

Experts often cause tyranny in society. Be cautious, let markets work.

11/15/2016

 
​Here's my review of the book. 

The Tyranny of Experts by William Easterly highlights the failure of "experts" to improve economic development such that poverty is reduced and prosperity takes hold. It is a nice complement to the book Why Nation's Fail by Acemoglu and Robinson that discusses the importance of economic and political institutions for economic development, especially inclusive versus extractive institutions.

The underlying theme of Easterly's book, and Acemoglu and Robinson, in my opinion, is Hayek's "knowledge problem" whereby a select group of people do not have all available information nor efficient price signals no matter how many experts. Too often, these experts call for more government intervention (extractive institutions) that further distorts market activity and leads to distorted prices that lead to worse outcomes, or at least no better outcomes.

Instead, economic development should be driven by market-related factors that starts with private property rights and the rule of law (inclusive institutions) that provide the necessary conditions for economic prosperity and freedom to thrive. Easterly does a great job of explaining this with multiple historical examples.

Ultimately, ending the practices of technocrats and autocracies, and the like, will go a long way towards improving the lives of everyone, especially the poor.
Here's my review of the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1164115885?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Comments are closed.

    Vance Ginn, Ph.D.
    ​@LetPeopleProsper

    Vance Ginn, Ph.D., is President of Ginn Economic Consulting and collaborates with more than 20 free-market think tanks to let people prosper. Follow him on X: @vanceginn and subscribe to his newsletter: vanceginn.substack.com

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Categories

    All
    Antitrust
    Banking
    Biden
    Book Reviews
    Budgets
    Capitalism
    Carbon Tax
    China
    Commentary
    Congress
    COVID
    Debt
    Economic Freedom
    Economy
    Education
    Energy Markets
    ESG
    Fed
    Free Trade
    Ginn Economic Brief
    Healthcare
    Housing
    Immigration
    Inflation
    Interview
    Jobs Report
    Kansas
    Let People Prosper
    Licensing
    Louisiana
    Medicaid
    Medicare
    Minimum Wage
    Occupational Licensing
    Pensions
    Policy Guide
    Poverty
    Price Control
    Property Taxes
    Regulation
    Research
    School Choice
    Socialism
    Speech
    Spending Limits
    Taxes
    Technology
    Testimony
    Texas
    This Week's Economy
    Transparency
    Trump

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly