Angus Deaton

From the Nobel Prizewinning economist and New York Times bestselling coauthor of Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, candid reflections on the economists craftWhen economist Angus Deaton immigrated to the United States from Britain in the early 1980s, he was awed by Americas strengths and shocked by the extraordinary gaps he witnessed between people. Economics in America explains in clear terms how the field of economics addresses the most pressing issues of our timefrom poverty, retirement, and the minimum wage to the ravages of the nations uniquely disastrous health care systemand narrates Deatons account of his experiences as a naturalized US citizen and academic economist.Deaton is witty and pulls no punches. In this incisive, candid, and funny book, he describes the everyday lives of working economists, recounting the triumphs as well as the disasters, and tells the inside story of the Nobel Prize in economics and the journey that led him to Stockholm to receive one. He discusses the ongoing tensions between economics and politicsand the extent to which economics has any content beyond the political prejudices of economistsand reflects on whether economists bear at least some responsibility for the growing despair and rising populism in America.Blending rare personal insights with illuminating perspectives on the social challenges that confront us today, Deaton offers a disarmingly frank critique of his own profession while shining a light on his adopted countrys policy accomplishments and failures.

The world is a better place than it used to be. People are healthier, wealthier, and live longer. Yet the escapes from destitution by so many has left gaping inequalities between people and nations. In The Great Escape, Angus Deaton--one of the foremost experts on economic development and on poverty--tells the remarkable story of how, beginning 250 years ago, some parts of the world experienced sustained progress, opening up gaps and setting the stage for today's disproportionately unequal world. Deaton takes an in-depth look at the historical and ongoing patterns behind the health and wealth of nations, and addresses what needs to be done to help those left behind. Deaton describes vast innovations and wrenching setbacks: the successes of antibiotics, pest control, vaccinations, and clean water on the one hand, and disastrous famines and the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the other. He examines the United States, a nation that has prospered but is today experiencing slower growth and increasing inequality. He also considers how economic growth in India and China has improved the lives of more than a billion people. Deaton argues that international aid has been ineffective and even harmful. He suggests alternative efforts--including reforming incentives to drug companies and lifting trade restrictions--that will allow the developing world to bring about its own Great Escape. Demonstrating how changes in health and living standards have transformed our lives, The Great Escape is a powerful guide to addressing the well-being of all nations.

Ensayo histórico económico en que su autor señala las rutas de escape que permiten a unos salir de una condición social marginal y a otros quedarse en el intento, tanto a nivel individuo como país.