Person
Every book John List recommended on podcasts
John List appears on People I (Mostly) Admire as an experimental economist focused on understanding human behavior, market dynamics, and the evolution of economic methodology. Throughout the conversation, List reflects on the foundational texts and intellectual history that shaped his field and his own career trajectory. He discusses utilizing the textbook 'Economics, an introductory analysis' by Paul Samuelson and William Nordhaus in 1985 to illustrate the historical absence of experimentation among economists. Delving further into economic theory, List references Gary Becker's 1957 dissertation, 'The economics of discrimination', to explain economic models where discrimination stems from individuals deriving satisfaction from harming members of different groups. He also discusses Milton Friedman's 'Essays in positive economics' from 1953, highlighting Friedman's perspective on why economists historically relied on naturally occurring evidence rather than running active experiments. Finally, List references his own book, 'The Voltage Effect', discussing it as a reflection of the latter half of his career meant to showcase his early field experiments and argue why the world should embrace them.
Books recommended by John List
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Economics, an introductory analysis
Economics, an introductory analysis by Paul Anthony Samuelson and William D.
Discussed“The first book I used was in 1985. It was by Samuelson and Nordhaus.”
Where to get it
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Essays in positive economics
Essays in Positive Economics by Milton Friedman is a foundational collection of methodological writings that helped shape modern economic thought and empirical analysis.
Discussed“when you look at Friedman's work on say 53 positive economics book he says economists must rely on evidence cast by the experiments that happen to occur”
Where to get it
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The economics of discrimination
Discussed“On the one hand is what Gary Becker wrote about in his dissertation in 1957, which is people just get satisfaction out of hurting another person in a different group—that's one kind of theory.”
Where to get it
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The Voltage Effect
The Voltage Effect by John A.
Discussed“we wrote the y-axis in part to Showcase my early field experiments and why the world should use field experiments and the voltage effect is really what I would call the back nine of my career”
Where to get it
Books John List wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Price of Doing Business With John List | People I (Mostly) Admire | Episode 94 | People I (Mostly) Admire | 2023-01-18 | 4 |