Institute suggests Xmas book list to better inform people's views

10:46 am on 2 December 2020

The Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) has decided to get into the Christmas spirit early with a list of books the Prime Minister might like to dip into during the summer break.

Libraries within Canterbury's Selwyn District are undertaking a two year trial to drop fines for overdue books.

Photo: 123RF

The books all deal with some facet of business, economics, or plunge into issues of inequality, insecurity, and decision making in times of crisis.

The NZIER's suggestions aim to promote a better understanding of New Zealand's important economic challenges.

Chairperson of the selection panel, Professor Les Oxley, said the list was of interest to anyone interested in economics and public policy.

He said the selection of books drew on Covid-19 related issues as well as a revival of economic issues related particularly to Māori.

"This is not light reading," he said.

"We feel that these books would basically help inform people in terms of their views, certainly in terms of Covid-19."

The complete list:

  • Calling Bullshit: The art of scepticism in a data-driven world, Carl T Bergstrom and Jevin D West, 2020 (Bergstrom tells Afternoons how to spot BS)
  • Not in Narrow Seas: The economic history of Aotearoa New Zealand, Brian Easton, 2020 (Listen to a review by Max Harris)
  • Precarity: Uncertain insecure and unequal lives in Aotearoa New Zealand, Shiloh Groot, Natasha Tassell-Matamua, Clifford Van Ommen, Bridgette Masters-Awatere, 2017
  • Rebuilding the Kāinga: Lessons from te ao hurihuri, Jade Kake, 2019 ( Learn more about Kake from Mediawatch)
  • Radical Uncertainty: Decision-making for an unknowable future, John Kay & Mervyn King, 2020
  • Whāriki: The growth of Māori community entrepreneurship, Mereata Kawharu and Paul Tapsell, 2019
  • Doughnut Economics: Seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist, Kate Raworth, 2017 (Raworth speaks to Nine to Noon)
  • Superior: The return of race science, Angela Saini