Jason Furman's Book Recommendations (Updated for 2026)

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1

The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies - New Edition

Bryan Caplan

4.1

The greatest obstacle to sound economic policy is not entrenched special interests or rampant lobbying, but the popular misconceptions, irrational beliefs, and personal biases held by ordinary voters. This is economist Bryan Caplan's sobering assessment in this provocative and eye-opening book. Caplan argues that voters continually elect politicians who either share their biases or else pretend to

Recommended by Jason Furman.

Jason Furman

@achilleas999 Love that book. Hs a number of themes in common with The Myth of the Rational Voter which we do read. [source]

2

Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States

Albert O. Hirschman

4.3

An innovator in contemporary thought on economic and political development looks here at decline rather than growth. Albert O. Hirschman makes a basic distinction between alternative ways of reacting to deterioration in business firms and, in general, to dissatisfaction with organizations: one, "exit," is for the member to quit the organization or for the customer to switch to the competing produc

Recommended by Jason Furman and Richard B Freeman.

Jason Furman

Economics is largely the study of what the brilliant Albert Hirschman called ‘exit.’ If you don’t like a product, you stop buying it and instead purchase an alternative, exercising your ability to exit the product. Hirschman, however, points out that in society more broadly, and even in the economy specifically, ‘exit’ is not our only option—we also have voice. [source]

Richard B Freeman

What did Hirschman mean by exit and voice? Say you are in a restaurant and your soup is too salty. One option is too storm out. That’s exit. The other option is to call the waiter over and say, ‘Please bring the soup back and ask the chef to make it less salty.’ That’s voice. [source]

3

Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists: Unleashing the Power of Financial Markets to Create Wealth and Spread Opportunity

Raghuram G. Rajan, Luigi Zingales

4.3

Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists is a groundbreaking book that will radically change our understanding of the capitalist system, particularly the role of financial markets. They are the catalyst for inspiring human ingenuity and spreading prosperity. The perception of many, especially in the wake of never-ending corporate scandals, is that financial markets are parasitic institutions that fe

Recommended by Jason Furman.

Jason Furman

At the risk of offending every economist friend of mine who has ever written a book, this is my favorite title of any economics book, the one I most wish I had come up with. And it’s an excellent book, too. The basic thesis is that capitalists—like the CEOs that run major corporations—do not actually like competition or markets. They like to be insulated from competition, to receive subsidies from the government, and inside the corporation it is more like Soviet-style central planning than the stereotypical American capitalism. Rajan and Zingales hate this. But they love markets, competition and capitalism, and see capitalism as a powerful force for allocating resources and propelling innovation. This leads them to want to save “capitalism” from the “capitalists”. [source]

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4

Antitrust Paradox: A Policy at War with Itself

Robert H. Bork

3.7

Shows how antitrust suits adversely affect the consumer by encouraging a costly form of protection for inefficient and uncompetitive small businesses. Bork sees antitrust law as a microcosm which reflects the larger movements of our society, such as the tension between liberty and equality.

Recommended by Jason Furman.

Jason Furman

The Antitrust Paradox was an extremely important book, a real example of how ideas can have a major impact in the world, for better or for worse. It was an important corrective to some of the badly thought-out overreaches in antitrust policy at the time and advocated for concepts that are still relevant today. [source]

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5

Lectures on Antitrust Economics

Michael D Whinston

4.1

Antitrust law regulates economic activity but differs in its operation from what is traditionally considered regulation. Where regulation is often industry-specific and involves the direct setting of prices, product characteristics, or entry, antitrust law focuses more broadly on maintaining certain basic rules of competition. In these lectures Michael Whinston offers an accessible and lucid accou

Recommended by Jason Furman.

Jason Furman

When I was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, one of my outgoing staff members gave me this book as a present on their last day. Lectures on Antitrust Economics is definitely not light reading. But this book of lectures by MIT economist Michael Whinston is important reading, and it played an important role for me. [source]

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6

Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society

Eric A. Posner

4.1

Revolutionary ideas on how to use markets to bring about fairness and prosperity for all

Many blame today's economic inequality, stagnation, and political instability on the free market. The solution is to rein in the market, right? Radical Markets turns this thinking--and pretty much all conventional thinking about markets, both for and against--on its head. The book reveals bold new ways to organ

Recommended by Jason Furman.

Jason Furman

I love reading economics and I love reading science fiction. Radical Markets is a great combination of both. This book is by E. Glen Weyl and Eric Posner, son of the Richard who played a critical role in the spread of the Chicago School view. It centers around five ideas for promoting more inclusive growth. Each idea gets its own chapter, beginning with a fictional vignette set in the near future, depicting their idea in action and explaining the economics of the idea. [source]