After mall economics: high-speed internet and under sea cables

Abstract

The Nobel prize-winning economist Robert Shiller (2019) has argued that simple stories can have a powerful influence on how markets and economies perform. In his 2019 book, Narrative Economics: How stories go viral and drive major economic events, Shiller seeks to show how compressed, catchy narratives have shaped macro-economic change over the past 100 years; and how and why certain stories go viral, and what happens when they do. He argues that people are more inclined to latch onto simple, persuasive stories in times of crisis than during periods of certainty and stability in the economy. When new stories catch fire, driven by uncertainty and emotion, they can have a major impact on the decisions people make, the way they view the world, and how they invest and spend their money. Shiller uses the rapid rise of crypto currency as an example of the power of narrative economics.