Just Economics

A bold new idea from the Nobel Prize-winning economists: how radical cooperation between rich and poor countries can build a future in which we can all thrive

‘Phenomenal...the best book ever written on climate change’ Cass R. Sunstein

Why does a fisherman in Dakar work even longer hours when temperatures rise?
What makes extreme heat in Seattle fifteen times more deadly than in Houston?
Why can’t Indigenous communities in Brazil get the help they desperately need?

The lives of the world’s poorest are already harder, hotter and shorter, with much of it due to the actions of the world’s wealthiest. But just as the rich world’s emissions are finally falling, those from poorer countries are set to increase drastically. We seem to be caught in an impossible bind, but it’s not too late to find a way out.

Just Economics proposes a radical new approach, arguing that progress is possible if the wealthiest countries compensate the poorest for the continuing harm and, in exchange, poorer countries reduce their emissions. Drawing on meticulous original research and years of fieldwork around the world, witnessing the impact of climate change on those most affected, Banerjee, Duflo and Greenstone quantify the damage inflicted on the poor and calculate how we could fund such an ambitious plan. They show how their grand bargain adds up and why it will work. That we can protect the poor while protecting our future. It’s just economics.