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mburnamfink's review
3.0
Atkinson attempts a balanced, considered account of supply-side economics, and why it is not effective policy. He offers a good synthesis of the core beliefs of supply-side economics, as it focuses on the micro-level incentives of individuals to act productively, and how it has allied itself with a libertarian, small-government ideology. Much of the book then concerns the impact of the Reagan revolution, and the lack of evidence for the success of these policies. Of course, since this book was published in 2006, it doesn't include anything on the financial crisis, but the analysis can easily be extended. Atkinson says he wants to replace the insults and invective of liberal critics with scholarly analysis, and he does (AFAIK) a good job of summarizing the scholarly literature. But on the balance, it's hard to look at supply-side doctrine and rhetoric without shouting, "You lie! You lying liars lie!"
The final section, on innovation economics, is far less satisfying. Personally, I'm with Atkinson in that neo-classical and Keynesian explanations of wealth and growth are fundamentally inadequate to describe the 21st century. But the innovation economics he offers is more a grab bag of interesting ideas than a coherent theory. What would it really mean to make Schumpeter's creative destruction the center of our economic policy?
The final section, on innovation economics, is far less satisfying. Personally, I'm with Atkinson in that neo-classical and Keynesian explanations of wealth and growth are fundamentally inadequate to describe the 21st century. But the innovation economics he offers is more a grab bag of interesting ideas than a coherent theory. What would it really mean to make Schumpeter's creative destruction the center of our economic policy?
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