Building a Better World - Happiness Depends on the Environment

Our guest on episode 382 of the show is Professor Erik Angner of Stockholm University, who joins me to discuss his book How Economics Can Save The World. “Economics has the power to make the world a better, happier and safer place: this book shows you how Our world is in a mess. The challenges of climate change, inequality, hunger and a global pandemic mean our way of life seems more imperilled and society more divided than ever; but economics can help! From parenting to organ donation, housing to anti-social behaviour, economics provides the tools we need to fix the biggest issues of today.

Far from being a means to predict the stock market, enrich the elite or track money around the globe, economics provides a lens through which we can better understand how things work, design clever solutions and create the conditions in which we can all flourish. With a healthy dose of optimism, and packed with stories of economics in everyday situations, Erik Angner demonstrates the methods he and his fellow economists use to help improve our lives and the society in which we live. He shows us that economics can be a powerful force for good, awakening the possibility of a happier, more just and more sustainable world.”

“Erik Angner is Professor of Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University, where he directs the PPE Program. As a result of serious mission creep, he holds two PhDs – one in Economics and one in History and Philosophy of Science – both from the University of Pittsburgh.

He is the author of two other books, Hayek and Natural Law (2007) and A Course in Behavioral Economics (3rd Ed., 2020), as well as multiple journal articles and book chapters on behavioral and experimental economics; the science and philosophy of happiness; and the history, philosophy, and methodology of contemporary economics.”