Can Economic Theory Help You Have a Good Life? Matthew Nagler on PYP 574

Plant Yourself - Embracing a Plant-based Lifestyle

Matt Nagler is a professor of Economics at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

He’s also one of my oldest friends - and since he was the first person in our friend group to get Intellivision (look it up), we spent a lot of time at his house playing tank battles and other advanced video games.

We’ve been talking for a few months about the book he’s writing, titled Capital, Actually. It aims to enlist economic theory, not to predict or explain global economic trends or suggest hot new investment strategies (sorry, we’re not going to give you the inside scoop on when to buy GameStop or dump Dogecoin), but rather to live a happier, more meaningful life.

We spend some of the conversation exploring Matthew’s roller coaster career trajectory, from antitrust consulting to Federal Communications Commission to startup to academia. Then we move on to the concepts in the book, including the fundamental distinction between two types of capital: stocks and flows. Matt explains why a flow orientation is important in crafting a fulfilling life.

We discuss the distinction between the experiencing self and the remembering self, with Matt coming down firmly on Team Experiencing.

We also look at the endowment effect, altruism, and the impact of a scarcity mindset on individuals and society at large. And we finish up by considering practical applications and policy considerations for achieving a balanced and meaningful life.

Links

Matthew Nagler's Faculty Profile

Ishmael and My Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn

Capital in the 21st Century, by Thomas Piketty

A Theory of Moral Sentiments, by Adam Smith

Flow, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand

Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America, by Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata