Economics for the common good, de Tirole

Otro de esos libros que me encantaría que leyeran mis hijas: ofrece una visión honesta, sensata y completa de la investigación económica, y de lo que tiene que aportar al debate social.

Eso sí, seguramente porque está pensado para un público más bien generalista, hay algunas partes que aportan poco en cuanto a contenidos (aunque siempre viene bien leer las reflexiones de un tipo sensato como Tirole). Hay otras partes que sí me han aportado mucho: la parte de la digitalización no la conocía y me ha resultado muy interesante...la de regulación sectorial también me ha aportado ideas valiosas.

El libro parte de una concepción bastante ortodoxa de la ciencia económica:

p3. The basic point of departure of the book is that people respond to (material or social) incentives, whatever is their place in society. These incentives, combined with their personal preferences, define their behavior; and this behavior may or many not be in the general interest. The quest for the common good therefore involves constructing institutions to reconcile, as far as possible, the interests of the individuals with the general interest. From this perspective, the market economy is not an end in itself. At most, it is an instrument - and an imperfect one at that - when we consider how to align the common interest and the private interests of individuals, social groups, and nations.

Pero enseguida Tirole muestra que, como Rodrik, un buen economista sabe mirar mucho más lejos, y que la cosa no es tan sencilla como algunos neoliberales incultos se empeñan en contarnos:

p5. Economics is not in the service of private property and individual interest, nor does it serve those who would like to use the state to impose their own values or to ensure the their own interest prevail....Economics works toward the common good; its goal is to make the world a better place. To that end, its task is to identify the institutions and policies that will promote the common good.

p28. We shall see later in the book how hubris - in this case, a governments excessive confidence in its ability to make complex choices in the realm of economic policy - can lead to harmful environmental and labor-market outcomes especially if combined with the desire to retain oversight and thereby the power to distribute favors.

Este buen planteamiento permite que replique bien a los que como Sandel dicen que el mercado es la fuente de muchos males:

p48. Acemoglu: A deep and important contribution of the discipline of economics is the insight that greed is neither good nor bad in the abstract. When channeled into profit-maximizing, competitive and innovative behavior under the auspices of sound laws and regulations, greed can act as the engine of innovation and economic growth. But when unchecked by the appropriate institutions and regulations, it will degenerate into rent-seeking, corruption and crime.

p49. It is also true that, by allowing us to choose our trading partners, the market makes it easier to break some traditional ties. This is, though, a transformation of inherited ties into chosen ties, not simply a deterioration of social cohesion.

p50. The market is sometimes made a scapegoat for our own hypocrisy. Even when it neither strengthens nor weakens our social bonds, the market becomes a mirror to our souls that reflects realities of our societies, facets of our aspirations, and preferences that we would rather conceal - from ourselves as well as others. We can break the mirror by doing away with the market, but to do so only suspends judgment on our personal and collective values.

Después Tirole pasa a contarnos la vida del investigador en economía. Por supuesto, coincido con muchas de sus apreciaciones, por ejemplo:

p66. The researcher's profession is without question a privileged one, offering great freedom and, furthermore, intense moments when confusion suddenly gives way to simplicity and clarity. Then the researcher has, like every teacher, the pleasure of sharing this knowledge.

Y claro, también estoy de acuerdo en que los investigadores no deben quedarse en la torre de marfil:

p69. Research driven only by the thirst for knowledge, no matter how abstract it may be, is indispensable - even in the disciplines that are naturally closest to real-world applications. But academics must also collectively aim to make the world a better place; consequently, they cannot refuse, as a matter of principle, to take some interest in public affairs.

Researchers have an obligation to society to take positions on questions on which they have acquired professional competence.

Eso sí, con cuidado de no dejar que aparezcan conflictos de interés, para lo que nos deja algunas recomendaciones:

p76. There is no perfect way to regulate the interactions between researchers and society outside the academic milieu, but a few practices can clarify researchers' relationship to society without diminishing its potential synergies.

Individual behavior:
- debate ideas, never persons
- never say anything you are not prepared to defend before your peers in a seminar or at a conference

Institutional partnerships:

The partnerships formed between a group of researchers and any private or public organization also have to obey certain rules. The challenge for research institutions is to preserve complete freedom for their researchers - even at the risk that the external partner will not renew its funding - while at the same time responding to the legitimate demand that research funded in this way must have some bearing on the funders' interests. The world greatest universities all face this challenge and have responded to it in a way that is mostly satisfactory, offering their researchers extraordinary intellectual freedom. This too is a complicated question, and there are possible models.

There are at least six foundations of intellectual independence: agreement regarding the objective of the contract and its terms and conditions; a long-term perspective; a diversity of partnerships; the right to publish freely; validation of the research by the best international journals; and independent governance.

Después Tirole entra en distintos asuntos que me han aportado menos, aunque sigue habiendo cosas interesantes, como cuando habla de la necesidad de contar con reguladores independientes:

p164. However society defines justice, its impartial application is best guaranteed by independent judges. The same goes for decision making in economic policy. Economics is a science of the means, not of the ends. Consequently, an independent authority should be trusted with a general mandate within which it can evaluate options and find technical solutions, a mandate that guarantees coherence in that authority's policies and its independence with regard to pressure groups.

p168. To limit the risks of independent agencies drifting away from serving the common good, independent and respected people must be selected to run them, must submit to appointment hearings focused on their qualifications, and if possible should be appointed with bipartisan support. Favors or loyal service to a party or a politician should never be taken into account.

La parte de cambio climático no demasiado interesante para mí, sí para otros. Aunque mola ver cómo cuenta esencialmente lo mismo que yo en mi asignatura del MEPI, aunque lo del global tax no vuela mucho. El capítulo del sector financiero no viene mal después del libro de Mazzucato (o antes incluso). Tirole sí reconoce que un buen sector financiero crea valor.

La parte final, donde analiza política industrial y de innovación sí me ha resultado valiosa, más en estos tiempos en que es tan relevante. Los mensajes que me han parecido más valiosos:

p366. The evidence suggests that industrial policies creating the fastest growth have been competitively neutral.

p371. Guidelines for industrial policy
- Identify the reason for the market failure
- Use independent, qualified experts to select projects to receive public funding
- Pay attention to the supply of research capability as well as the demand for it
- Adopt a neutral industrial policy that does not distort competition between companies
- Evaluate interventions after they have taken place, and publish the results; include a sunset clause
- Involve the private sector closely in the risk taking
- Bear in mind how the structure of the economy is evolving

p375. Companies spend a lot of resources trying to identify sources of public funding for projects they would go ahead with anyway.

p431. Value creation is increasingly based on innovation. The wealth of nations increasingly depends on their ability to locate at the top of the value chain.

p456. Asymmetries of information concerning costs, technological choices and demand prevent even a well-intentioned and competent regulator from guaranteeing the best services at the lowest prices for citizens.

p462. The stronger the incentives a network utility faces, the greater its potential profits, unless the regulatory authority has enough detailed information about the costs of production (which is very unlikely) or succeeds in bringing about effective competition in the market.

p464. Opportunistic behaviors by the regulator and the regulated. Incomplete contracts, or anything that allows one of the two parties to behave in an opportunistic way ex-post reduces the incentive to invest in a mutual relationship. Putting this in terms of the principal-agent problem, there is a reciprocal danger of expropriation, either of the agent's (company's) investment by the principal (regulator) or otherwise.

p467. Who should cover fixed costs? User or taxpayer? Tirole apuesta por lo primero