"This book advocates for structural reform in macroeconomics, emphasizing the need to address inequality and disruptions from artificial intelligence, climate change, and other challenges. It critiques the assumption in liberal economics, traced back to Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and Alfred Marshall, that markets and capital accumulation alone can improve societal well-being. The book stresses the importance of policies and institutions in various domains, arguing that a strong social contract is as crucial as markets for achieving widespread and lasting progress in living standards.

The central thesis is that the living standards of median households should receive as much policy focus as national wealth or productive output. Achieving broad progress in people's lived experiences requires robust markets and strong institutions in labor and social protection, financial and corporate governance, competition, infrastructure, environmental protection, anti-corruption, and education. The book integrates these institutional aspects of the social contract into macroeconomic theory alongside traditional production factors.

It presents comparative data showing that most countries have significant room to improve their social welfare gap—the disparity in household living standards compared to leading outcomes—and that addressing these gaps can also boost economic growth. The book proposes major reforms to the international architecture, including tripling external finance for developing countries' climate and sustainable development needs, to support nations and the biosphere in this endeavour."

Support: Digital

ISBN (PDF) : 978-3-031-37435-7