Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-09-01
Richard R. Nelson of Columbia University and the University of Manchester reviews “Morals and Markets: An Evolutionary Account of the Modern World” by Daniel Friedman,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Explores how human morals and markets work together to shape the world. Discusses the Savanna Code--what good morals are; bazaar and empire--how we became civilized and why we started shopping; the great transformation--why the modern world is so rich; utopias of cooperation--romantics, communists, and other antimoderns; Russia’s transition to kleptocracy--when markets need morals; Japan’s economic bubbles and crashes--when morals choke markets; towers of trust--the rise (and occasional crash) of financial markets; the move from Hudson’s Bay to eBay--why some people like going to work; markets for crime and for punishment; mullahs’ revenge--gangs, cults, and antiterrorists; cooling the Earth--environmental markets and morals; and future morals and markets--whether this marriage can be saved. Friedman is Professor of Economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Bibliography; index.”