We've been assigning economic value to intangible stuff, he says. He is concerned about saying we'll just ignore growth and go directly to measuring people's well being. The deep issue is who's responsible for well being? And i find it, i like the idea that it's me, i'm responsible.
Mainstream economics, says author Diane Coyle, keeps treating people like cogs: self-interested, rational agents. But in the digital economy, we're less sophisticated consumer and more monster under the influece of social media. Listen as the economist and former UK Treasury advisor tells EconTalk host Russ Roberts how, for economics to remain relevant, it needs both more diverse methodologies and more engagement with the broader issues of the day.