International Book Award 2020
THE WINNERS
getAbstract International Book Award 2020
“Good Economics For Hard Times”
Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo
Public Affairs, 2020
Interview
Summary
Authors
Bio
Abhijit V. Banerjee is a Nobel laureate, and the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Author
Bio
Esther Duflo is a Nobel laureate, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Publisher Quotes
Jury Vote
"In Good Economics for Hard Times, MIT-economists Esther Duflo and Abhijit V. Banerjee discuss the major societal issues facing humanity – migration, inequality, climate change, democratic recession – along with some economic key concepts such as free trade or the growth imperative. Migration leads to wage dumping? No evidence. Free trade automatically leads to more growth? Nope. On each of the major issues, the 2019 Nobel Laureates expose false statements, myths and popular ideological misconceptions – to counter with surprising empirical data. This pleasingly sober approach alone would be worthy of an award. But the fact that the book also makes exciting and well-founded suggestions for solutions, and is understandable even to non-experts, makes it one of the two best books of the year."- Andreas Neisser, Jury Member
“Think Outside the Building”
Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Public Affairs, 2020
Summary
Author
Bio
Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights guide leaders worldwide.
She is the author of World Class and Confidence.
Jury Vote
"Rosabeth Moss Kanter's book Think Outside the Building inspires readers with the 'optimism of activism.' We already have the leaders we need to solve the world's most pressing problems, the distinguished Harvard professor says – we just need more of them. Since no single institution is in charge of society's most complex issues, they require clever, creative and courageous problem solvers who build bridges and don't let institutional barriers hold them back. Kanter's hopeful book is a passionate and inspiring call to think in larger dimensions, consider more voices, tackle problems from various angles and dare to think big." – Haike Finch-Schattka, Jury Member
READERS’ CHOICE AWARD
For the 20th Anniversary Edition of the Award, You Have Cast Your Votes
“Subtle Acts of Exclusion”
Tiffany Jana & Michael Baran
Berrett-Koehler, 2020
Author
bio
Tiffany Jana is the CEO of TMI Portfolio, a collection of companies working to advance inclusive workplaces. TMI Consulting, a TMI Portfolio company, is a 2018 Best for the World B Corporation.
Jana is also the coauthor of Overcoming Bias and the second edition of the B Corp Handbook
Author
bio
Michael Baran is a social scientist and senior partner and digital solutions lead at inQUEST Consulting. He has taught at Harvard University and worked as a principal researcher at the American Institutes for Research.
BACKGROUND
History & Decision Making Process
Since 2001, the getAbstract International Book Award has been presented annually to books that make a particularly important contribution to current economic, social and business-related topics. In this anniversary year, the prize is awarded symbolically through a series of interviews and digital events.
Recent Winners
Discover the winners of the last 20 years of the getAbstract International Book Award.
THE NOMINEES
Further Nominated Titles in 2020
“Capital and Ideology”
Thomas Piketty
Belknap Press, 2020
Summary
Author
Bio
Thomas Piketty is Director of Studies at L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris and Professor at the Paris School of Economics.
He is the author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century.
Photo: Vincent Muller/laif
“Capitalism, Alone”
Branko Milanović
Belknap Press, 2019
Interview
Summary
Author
Bio
Branko Milanović is a Serbian-American economist. He is a visiting presidential professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Centennial Professor at the International Inequalities Institute, LSE.
He is the author of Global Inequality.
“Hidden Hand”
Clive Hamilton & Mareike Ohlberg
Hardie Grant, 2019
Interview
Summary
Authors
Bio
Clive Hamilton is Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University. He is the Founder and former Executive Director of The Australia Institute.
Author
Bio
Mareike Ohlberg is a senior fellow in the Asia Program of the German Marshall Fund. She previously worked at the Mercator Institute for China Studies. Her articles have been published in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs and Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
“Narrative Economics”
Robert J. Shiller
Princeton University Press, 2019
Summary
Interview
Author
Bio
Robert J. Shiller is a Nobel Prize–winning economist and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University. His other titles include Phishing for Phools and Animal Spirits (with George A. Akerlof). He is a regular contributor to the New York Times.
“No Filter”
Sarah Frier
Simon & Schuster, 2020
Summary
Author
Bio
Sarah Frier reports on social media companies for Bloomberg News out of San Francisco. Her award-winning features and breaking stories have earned her a reputation as an expert on how Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter make business decisions that affect their future and our society.
“The Price of Peace”
Zachary D. Carter
Random House, 2020
Summary
Author
Bio
Zachary D. Carter is a senior reporter at HuffPost, where he covers Congress, the White House, and economic policy. He is a frequent guest on cable news and news radio, and his written work has also appeared in The New Republic, The Nation, and The American Prospect, among other outlets.
“The Rules of Contagion”
Adam Kucharski
Profile Books, 2020
Summary
Author
Bio
Adam Kucharski is an associate professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, working on global outbreaks such as the Ebola epidemic and the Zika virus. He is a TED fellow and the author of The Perfect Bet: How Science and Maths Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling.
Photo: Tom Jamieson/laif