BUSCADOR

AUTORES

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

ÚLTIMAS NOTICIAS

TOP LIBROS

David Stuckler | Sanjay Basu

The Body Economic is a refreshing change in the monotonous age of blogs that have no accountability,articles that haven't been reviewed by critical peers, and books that are backed up with nothing but ideology (and a willing publisher).

The book starts by saying that we are all part of a clinical trial. This sounds cute at first but becomes more chilling as you read along. The book looks at populations around the world (Iceland, Greece, historical and contemporary United States, the UK, Sweden, Thailand, post-Soviet Nations etc) and how they fared based on which decisions their governments made (cut spending or maintain social programs). The results are unequivocal and will threaten the ideologues on the right but can actually change their minds, if they give data a chance.

This book has the passion of "Pathologies of Power", but takes a more direct look at the economic determinants of health. It has the empathy and global reach of "Development as Freedom" but has a remarkably accessible language, especially given that the authors are academicians (sorry Amartya Sen, you are a brilliant economist but you work faster than Ambien for the average Jane). It has the data-driven approach of "Poor Economics" but it is unapologetic in its conclusion that austerity kills.

The last point is sure to ruffle some feathers. Academics who make conclusions that are backed by politically-neutral data often take a cautious approach in their language, perhaps in an attempt to engage those who might be turned off by a subtitle as seemingly polarizing as "Why Austerity Kills". However, The Body Economic is unapologetic and strongly backed by solid data. Kudos to the authors for using something like 60 pages for notes and references so that you can look at the primary sources if you wanted to (also made for a faster read!) And these aren't your bogus speeches/opinions/whatnot that are referenced as some scholarly work (I am looking at you, NYT best-selling author Glenn Beck). The papers that this book is based on are published in some of the most prestigious journals in the world (The Lancet, BMJ etc), meaning they have undergone a very critical review process that peruses data and rips apart conclusions that have no empirical backing. I didn't recognize all the journals (that doesn't mean much) but it is hard to ignore a book that is based on data and statistical methods that were closely scrutinized. Like I said, a refreshing change in the wordpress era where everyone is an expert on anything.

Idioma Inglés
Publicación 2013
Editorial Basic Books
Categoría Ensayos


Descargar The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills de David Stuckler | Sanjay Basu