Why people recommend it
Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir investigates how having too little of money or time profoundly shapes human cognition, decision-making, and behavior. On People I (Mostly) Admire, Steve Levitt expressed initial skepticism about the book's title given his background in economics, but ultimately praised the work after reading it in just a few sittings, noting that it successfully introduced entirely new psychological perspectives to the concept of scarcity. Sendhil Mullainathan discussed the gratifying feedback he received from readers who felt the text accurately captured their lived experiences with poverty. Matthew Desmond also strongly recommended the work on The Ezra Klein Show while discussing poverty, highlighting the foundational concept of the bandwidth tax. Additionally, Katie Porter brought up the research on Pod Save America to illustrate how complexity and bureaucratic hurdles disproportionately burden low-income and vulnerable populations, while the announcer on People I (Mostly) Admire encouraged listeners to check out the book during the show outro. Across these various podcast appearances, speakers praised the book for reframing traditional understandings of economic hardship through a psychological framework, demonstrating how scarcity consumes mental bandwidth and alters long-term planning for individuals facing sustained deprivation.
Who recommended it
- Steve Levitt Recommended
- Sendil Mullainathan Discussed
- Matthew Desmond Recommended
- Sendhil Mullainathan Discussed
- Katie Porter Recommended
Steve Levitt — 10 mentions
“But in this week's episode, I pick up in the middle of our conversation with me telling Sendil about my first reaction to hearing that he had written a book entitled Scarcity.”
“you wrote a book and I know must have been almost a decade ago and the book was called scarcity and I love the book I read it in two or three sittings my blurb was on the cover of the book and I raved about it to anyone who would listen”
“you wrote a book and I know must have been almost a decade ago and the book was called scarcity and I love the book”
“I brought up your scarcity book before one of the things I found so unbelievable about that book is that I saw the title and it's called scarcity”
“but in this week's episode I pick up in the middle of our conversation with me telling sandal about my first reaction to hearing that he had written a book entitled scarcity”
“One of the things I found so unbelievable about that book was its title, Scarcity.”
“It reminds me a little bit about what you said about rereading scarcity because when you were saying that, I was thinking I have this experience myself with things I've written.”
“If two episodes of Sendhil weren't enough for you, check out his new app; it's called Peak, P-I-Q-U-E, or his book Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much.”
“you wrote a book and I know it must have been almost a decade ago and the book was called scarcity and I love the book I read it in two or three sittings”
“in his book entitled scarcity I saw the title and it's called scarcity and I thought to myself this is so arrogant”
Sendil Mullainathan — 1 mention
“And for me, the most satisfying thing about the book, it's the sheer amount of feedback I've gotten from people who have experienced poverty or who are experiencing poverty saying, this captures my experience of being poor.”
Matthew Desmond — 1 mention
“the bandwidth tax is an idea that comes from a book called scarcity which is by cindel melanathon and Eldar shafir It's a Wonderful book highly recommend it”
Sendhil Mullainathan — 1 mention
“and for me the most satisfying thing about the book it's the sheer amount of feedback I've gotten from people who have experienced poverty or who are experiencing poverty saying this captures my experience of being poor”
Katie Porter — 1 mention
“so there's actually some really interesting research around this including work done by Elder Shaffir whose books scarcity I highly recommend”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 1
“If two episodes of Sendil weren't enough for you, check out his new app. It's called "Peak P-I-Q-U-E," or his book, "Scarcity," while having too little means so much.”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- Remembrance of Things Past
- Subtract
- A Brief History of Time
- Bowling Alone
- Evicted
- Homelessness Is a Housing Problem
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“You wrote a book, and I know it must have been almost a decade ago, and the book was called 'Scarcity,' and I loved the book.”
“it reminds me a little bit about what you said about rereading scarcity”
“it's called Peak p-i-q-u-e or his book scarcity why having too little means so much”