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The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good

por Robert H. Frank

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Who was the greater economist--Adam Smith or Charles Darwin? The question seems absurd. Darwin, after all, was a naturalist, not an economist. But Robert Frank, New York Times economics columnist and best-selling author of The Economic Naturalist, predicts that within the next century Darwin will unseat Smith as the intellectual founder of economics. The reason, Frank argues, is that Darwin's understanding of competition describes economic reality far more accurately than Smith's. And the consequences of this fact are profound. Indeed, the failure to recognize that we live in Darwin's world rather than Smith's is putting us all at risk by preventing us from seeing that competition alone will not solve our problems. Smith's theory of the invisible hand, which says that competition channels self-interest for the common good, is probably the most widely cited argument today in favor of unbridled competition--and against regulation, taxation, and even government itself. But what if Smith's idea was almost an exception to the general rule of competition? That's what Frank argues, resting his case on Darwin's insight that individual and group interests often diverge sharply. Far from creating a perfect world, economic competition often leads to "arms races," encouraging behaviors that not only cause enormous harm to the group but also provide no lasting advantages for individuals, since any gains tend to be relative and mutually offsetting. The good news is that we have the ability to tame the Darwin economy. The best solution is not to prohibit harmful behaviors but to tax them. By doing so, we could make the economic pie larger, eliminate government debt, and provide better public services, all without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone. That's a bold claim, Frank concedes, but it follows directly from logic and evidence that most people already accept. In a new afterword, Frank further explores how the themes of inequality and competition are driving today's public debate on how much government we need.… (más)
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Robert H. Frank é professor de economia em Yale com diversos livros publicados. Nesse ensaio ele compara as descobertas de Darwin sobre seleção natural com as teorias de livre mercado. É sabido que Darwin leu Adam Smith e que foi influenciado pelas ideias de livre mercado, e, como o próprio autor comenta, incluir Darwin no modelo econômico é também incluir Adam Smith. O que poderia ser uma apologia ao livre mercado e a desregulamentação, o livro busca outro caminho quase oposto. Darwin percebeu que em diversas situações uma espécie se estabelece com características não ótimas. Os cervos (que estão na capa do livro) são um exemplo, pois desenvolvem chifres que muitas vezes são um problema no dia a dia desses animais, pelo peso, dificuldade de locomoção dentro de matas mais fechadas, e desequilíbrio na corrida. Os pavões são outro exemplo com seu rabo imenso que prejudica a agilidade dessas aves. Ambos são fruto de um processo de seletividade baseado na posição relativa de um indivíduo da espécie com relação aos demais para aumentar suas chances de conquistar uma parceira. Essa característica é muito efetiva para perpetuar seu padrão genético. O autor propõe que seria mais efetivo para todos da espécie se os pavões ou os cervos tivessem suas caudas ou galhadas, respectivamente, reduzidas à metade. Pois se manteriam as posições relativas dos indivíduos e portanto suas chances de acasalamento, porém melhorando a mobilidade e agilidade de todos. No mundo humano o exemplo é dado com o uso do capacete pelos jogadores de hóquei. Nesse esporte o uso de capacete diminui a visão periférica do atleta dando uma vantagem àqueles que não usam, porém também, aumentando o risco de uma lesão. Alguns atletas aceitam correr o risco, e isso força os demais a também terem que não usar capacete para se manterem competitivos. No final, se ninguém usar capacete a vantagem comparativa do não uso é elimidada enquanto o risco permanece. Por isso a liga de hóquei obriga o uso de capacete, igualando os atletas numa situação de menos risco. Analogamente as regras de segurança aplicadas pelas associações de corridas de carros trazem o mesmo princípio. Esses acordos que evitam uma corrida de exposição crescente ao risco é trazido para o mundo da economia, mostrando que as regulamentações e os impostos podem ser usados da mesma forma. O autor é especialmente a favor de impostos progressivos ponderando que eles são mais efetivos que regulamentações. Nesse ponto o livro toma um rumo um pouco diferente onde divaga sobre modelos de arbitragem quando há conflito de interesses entre as partes. E mostra, baseado num artigo de Coase, que teoricamente se poderia chegar a acordos baseado nos valores que cada parte atribui ao seu lado da causa. O autor discorre também sobre poder aquisitivo e capacidade de pagar por algo que pode causar um problema (externalidade negativa) ao resto da sociedade e como se pode usar os impostos para desestimular esses comportamentos. Apesar de algumas falácias (principalmente no início do livro) por conta de generalizações erradas, o texto traz novas perspectivas sobre um tema que é praticamente um tabú para economistas Liberais, mostrando o papel importante do governo em diversas situações. O livro todo por sinal é um diálogo com os liberais, comparando onde diferem as posições do autor em relação aos seguidores de Adam Smith e Von Mises. Recomendo a leitura por proporcionar uma visão menos maniqueísta do sistema de livre mercado, e tentar discutir em termos práticos e objetivos formas de resolver os problemas que esse sistema pode trazer. Para os liberais que vão provavelmente rebater os pontos apresentados, serve pelo menos para trazer novos argumentos e novas discussões para a mesa. ( )
  georgeslacombe | Feb 24, 2014 |
Robert Frank contends that in a hundred years from now, economists will have recognized Charles Darwin as the most important economic thinker. Darwin was influenced by Adam Smith, but had a wider conception of competition. A key distinction is between traits that are beneficial for an individual and the species, and traits that are beneficial for an individual but not the species. An example of the latter is the horns of the bull elk, featured on the cover. The horns are an asset when fighting for females, but not when trying to escape predators. Frank believes that had the elks had the opportunity to vote to downsize all the horns, they would have done so unanimously, like hockey players when considering the mandatory use of helmets.

Frank believes such head to head competition is important for humans as well, as much of what we care about is “graded on the curve”. He starts with the example of competing to have the best/most expensive suit. This may seem trivial, but he follows up with more important cases, most importantly of how people overinvest in houses, both because of trying to keep abreast of one’s neighbors and because school quality is related to certain areas. Cars and parties are other goods that make people try to outcompete each other, to the detriment of the common good. As people compare themselves with those slightly higher on the curve, “expenditure cascades” result.

Since we have these strong positional concerns, one’s consumption imposes a negative externality on others, and should be taxed like other externalities. The way to do this is by way of a progressive consumption tax – take income minus savings, and tax that at a progressive rate. This avoids the negative effects of income and payroll taxes (on saving and job creation). And in the long run, everyone will be richer as a result of the increases investments. This seems like a good idea regardless of what one believes about expediture cascades.

I find Frank’s thoughts very appealing. One difficulty is that many types of expenditure can be seen as investments. If I pay for education rather than saving, should that be treated as consumption? I am not sure how one would deal with that and other similar issues. But the book is definitely recommended.

Hits to both the left (tax rather than regulate; there is no conspiracy among capitalists) and right (public spending is too low, we should increase it by taxing harmful activities). ( )
  ohernaes | Oct 23, 2013 |
There are some aspects of this book I really did not like: most notably, the insistence on the "silver bullet" insight that ranking are what matters most to economic agents. While of course I do agree that this is the case in many instances, in many others which are economically relevant the absolute distance in the ranking does matter (which may work either reinforcing or weakening Frank's line of argument, depending on context). More in general, the fervour with which Frank insists on the primacy of relative positions as the key to understanding the role of government smacks of ideological fervour as much as the libertarian doctrines against goverment that Frank is trying to counter.

Having said this, and with this caveat, Frank's central argument is compelling, and his justifications for taxation and heterogeneity in a society intriguing, insightful and convincing. ( )
  PaolaM | Mar 31, 2013 |
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Who was the greater economist--Adam Smith or Charles Darwin? The question seems absurd. Darwin, after all, was a naturalist, not an economist. But Robert Frank, New York Times economics columnist and best-selling author of The Economic Naturalist, predicts that within the next century Darwin will unseat Smith as the intellectual founder of economics. The reason, Frank argues, is that Darwin's understanding of competition describes economic reality far more accurately than Smith's. And the consequences of this fact are profound. Indeed, the failure to recognize that we live in Darwin's world rather than Smith's is putting us all at risk by preventing us from seeing that competition alone will not solve our problems. Smith's theory of the invisible hand, which says that competition channels self-interest for the common good, is probably the most widely cited argument today in favor of unbridled competition--and against regulation, taxation, and even government itself. But what if Smith's idea was almost an exception to the general rule of competition? That's what Frank argues, resting his case on Darwin's insight that individual and group interests often diverge sharply. Far from creating a perfect world, economic competition often leads to "arms races," encouraging behaviors that not only cause enormous harm to the group but also provide no lasting advantages for individuals, since any gains tend to be relative and mutually offsetting. The good news is that we have the ability to tame the Darwin economy. The best solution is not to prohibit harmful behaviors but to tax them. By doing so, we could make the economic pie larger, eliminate government debt, and provide better public services, all without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone. That's a bold claim, Frank concedes, but it follows directly from logic and evidence that most people already accept. In a new afterword, Frank further explores how the themes of inequality and competition are driving today's public debate on how much government we need.

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