Book · 2013 · Business & Economics
Scarcity
Why Having Too Little Means So Much
Why people recommend it
Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir examines the profound psychological and cognitive impacts of having too little, whether of money or time, and how scarcity captures human attention and diminishes mental bandwidth. On People I (Mostly) Admire, the host recommended the book during the episode outro, while Steve Levitt similarly suggested it and recalled how his blurb had ended up on the cover after reading it in just a few sittings. Matthew Desmond strongly recommended the text on The Ezra Klein Show while breaking down the concept of the bandwidth tax. Aryeh Bourkoff mentioned Scarcity on The Tim Ferriss Show to illustrate the broader societal transition from abundance to a period of scarce resources. Katie Porter brought up Eldar Shafir's work on Pod Save America to highlight how bureaucratic hurdles and complexity disproportionately burden low-income individuals. During their conversation, Steve Levitt and Sendhil Mullainathan also discussed Levitt's initial skepticism regarding the title, and Mullainathan shared the deeply positive feedback he received from readers who felt the book accurately captured their lived experiences with poverty.
Who recommended it
- Steve Levitt Recommended
- Sendhil Mullainathan Discussed
- Stephen Dubner Discussed
- Matthew Desmond Recommended
- Aryeh Bourkoff Recommended
- Katie Porter Recommended
Steve Levitt — 7 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.”
“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”
Sendhil Mullainathan — 2 mentions
“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.”
“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”
Stephen Dubner — 2 mentions
“I would have given a very similar answer because Sendel and Eldar published a book called scarcity not that long ago”
“and I think the book that Sendel and Eldar wrote called scarcity is a little bit different in that they're talking about often actual scarcity”
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”
Aryeh Bourkoff — 1 mention
“The third one is a book called Scarcity. I think we're moving from a period of abundance to scarcity.”
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
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“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”