The Big Question, Isn't It?

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Economists focus on g d p and growth, but isn't material well being more important than outcomes? The left is obsessed with the material so's the right. We don't want people to go hungry after basic needs have been taken away from us. Is it beyond imagining that our profession doesn't over emphasize imagining stuff? And as economists, haven't we relentlessly over-emphasized Materialism since adam smith?

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.