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Benjamin Ho

Why Trust Matters: An Economist's Guide to the Ties That Bind Us Hardcover – June 29, 2021

by Benjamin Ho (Author)

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Have economists neglected trust? The economy is fundamentally a network of relationships built on mutual expectations. More than that, trust is the glue that holds civilization together. Every time we interact with another person―to make a purchase, work on a project, or share a living space―we rely on trust. Institutions and relationships function because people place confidence in them. Retailers seek to become trusted brands; employers put their trust in their employees; and democracy works only when we trust our government.

Benjamin Ho reveals the surprising importance of trust to how we understand our day-to-day economic lives. Starting with the earliest societies and proceeding through the evolution of the modern economy, he explores its role across an astonishing range of institutions and practices. From contracts and banking to blockchain and the sharing economy to health care and climate change, Ho shows how trust shapes the workings of the world. He provides an accessible account of how economists have applied the mathematical tools of game theory and the experimental methods of behavioral economics to bring rigor to understanding trust. Bringing together insights from decades of research in an approachable format, Why Trust Matters shows how a concept that we rarely associate with the discipline of economics is central to the social systems that govern our lives.

Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Columbia University Press
Publication date

June 29, 2021
Dimensions

6.02 x 1.18 x 8.86 inches
ISBN-10

0231189605
ISBN-13

978-0231189606
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Illustrating how a seemingly noneconomic concept is, in fact, at the heart of many fundamental economic concepts, Why Trust Matters looks back in history to develop the idea that trust undergirds most human interactions. Ho has written a timely, interesting, and fun work for specialists and nonspecialists alike. -- Charles J. Wheelan, author of Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science

Benjamin Ho writes about one of the most important and underexplored factors in how well society functions: trust. Why Trust Matters is clear, engaging, and persuasive: trust me! -- Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are

This blurb is an act of trust between you, the potential buyer, and me, the esteemed writer who risked his literary reputation to endorse this book. I do so with no fear. Mostly because Benjamin Ho has written a great, necessary, fun, hopeful book that makes you rethink the very basics of society and partly because my rep isn’t all that great. -- Joel Stein, author of In Defense of Elitism: Why I'm Better Than You and You're Better Than Someone Who Didn't Buy This Book

Why Trust Matters validates my long-standing membership in the Ben Ho fan club. His deep knowledge of the historical record, his careful application of economic reasoning, and his charm shine through on every page of this highly readable account of the role of trust in economic and social life. -- Robert H. Frank, author of Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work

Trust is critical to civilization and its economy. Benjamin Ho provides a concise, sweeping, accessible, and fascinating summary of the different aspects of trust and their effect on a broad set of social institutions. Whether you are a seasoned economist seeking to broaden your knowledge of the field, a student beginning your journey, or a casual reader looking to deepen your understanding of the world, trust me, you will find this book invaluable. -- Ed Conard, author of Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the Economy Is Wrong

Ho steps away from the mathematical formalisms of his subfield and writes lucidly and compellingly about the foundational concept of all social science. ― New Yorker

Highly recommended. ― Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Benjamin Ho is an associate professor of economics at Vassar College and a faculty affiliate for the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. He was also lead energy economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press (June 29, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0231189605
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0231189606
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.18 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.02 x 1.18 x 8.86 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #443,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #670 in Theory of Economics
- #1,224 in Economic History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
14 ratings

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Benjamin Ho

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Ben Ho is an associate professor of behavioral economics at Vassar College and author of the book Why Trust Matters: An Economist's Guide to the Ties that Bind Us. Ho applies economic tools like game theory and experimental design on topics like apologies, identity, inequality and climate change. Before Vassar, he taught MBA students at Cornell, served as lead energy economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and worked/consulted for Morgan Stanley and several tech startups. Professor Ho also teaches at Columbia University where he is a faculty affiliate for the Center for Global Energy Policy. His work has been featured in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Ho holds seven degrees from Stanford and MIT in economics, education, political science, math, computer science and electrical engineering.

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John V. Wylie, MD

A must read

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2021

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I was introduced to Why Trust Matters by a major review in the New Yorker. I am an evolutionary psychiatrist, and, for me, this is the most interesting and important book on human nature I have read since Michael Tomasello’s "Becoming Human" (2019) and Richard Prum’s "Evolution of Beauty" (2017). An economist who is a first fate scholar with real-world experience, Dr. Ho thoroughly and entertainingly weaves the important story of how trust is the crucial capital that accumulates when hard-nosed self-interested individuals cooperate in the game theory paradigm. One fascinating tidbit follows the next. For example, when he was in charge of ethanol policy, Dr. Ho found it so complicated that he regularly changed his opinion as he delved deeper. This book is about trust, and he categorically won my trust in his vetting of the fascinating survey research he chooses to present, such as the finding that all the florid cable news, including social media, has not changed any minds, but merely made both sides more confident that they are correct.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

3 people found this helpful

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Rovaniaina R.

Excellent examination of how trust structures our world.

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

I bought this book seeking to learn more about why trust is important in unilateral decisions. The author, Dr. Benjamin Ho, goes beyond this and talks about how trust structures our religions, our workplaces, our behaviors, and even politics. Ho brings to light the historical context of trust and how it brought people together to form functioning governments; and how trust is used in the modern economy—how money works in the market economy and why currency is based on trust. He concludes the book with a section on interpersonal trust, which incites the reader to look within and think about the ideas brought up in the book.
Overall, this is a must-read for anyone interested in economics, behavior, or simply curious about the nature of everyday interactions and transactions.

4 people found this helpful

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YS

A must read for the current time!!!

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

A timely book for the current social and economic context! The author provided a comprehensive and insightful analysis on one of the cornerstones of the modern economic system. Trust is so important for the modern world yet it’s almost invisible and under appreciated. Not anymore! The author shines a bright light on this critical topic. The book explains some of the complex topics in an approachable and intuitive way. A must read!

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

A deep analysis of trust, thoughts from a behavioral economics perspective, and throughout history.

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2021

Benjamin Ho has a background in behavioral economics, and he uses that perspective to discuss how trust is at the center of not just economics, but all of modern civilization. The book discusses trust as it applies to many different fields, and how it has been key throughout history; but Ho also explains the effects of trust as it applies to the more narrow scope of economics.

In the first chapter, Ho describes some aspects of trust, and even how it can be difficult for scholars in many fields to even precisely define what trust means. He also introduces the concept of the“trust game” experiment, as one way that economists study behavior. Chapter Two describes how trust has been central to human civilization over the years. Ho discusses how our social structures have evolved over the years, and even gets into human biology and how the brain process social interactions. Chapter Three investigates trust as it applies specifically to economics, and how economists use models and experiments to try to translate trust into a mathematical framework. Chapter Four deals with trust in other institutions, and Chapter Five discusses interpersonal trust, in individual relationships and interactions with others. In Chapter 6 Ho ties it all together, gives a summary and offers some future predictions.

Overall, I thought that this book was very well written, and approached the topic of trust from a few different perspectives that I hadn't considered before. Ho was able to explain these technical behavioral economics concepts in a way that was fairly easy to understand. He was able to move fluidly from history to biology to math and back to economic theory, with enough knowledge of each subject to make clear points; without ever being too overwhelming. It took me a little longer to read than some other books of similar length; and that was partly because I was unfamiliar with most of the economics, and partly because I sat and thought about some of the ideas for long periods of time between chapters. I won't promise that you will find it as interesting as I did, but I have to give it 5/5.

5 people found this helpful

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Pseudoym2018

Interesting book with a wonderful flow

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2021

This is a book about the role of trust in economics. The writing is fluid and charming, and it's a very nice read. I would highly recommend it for adults with interest in economics / social sciences, for undergraduates, and even for interested high + middle school students. The book introduces one to a breadth of ideas, and does so effortlessly...by effortlessly, one feels that the writing comes off naturally for the author because reading it is also effortless for the reader.

2 people found this helpful

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