Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much

Scarcity takes the economic concept and approaches it from a psychological standpoint. It attempts to explain why your one friend can’t ever show up on time, why food industry workers are known to forget simple requests, and why free community finance classes don’t work very well.

You’ll understand yourself better, and others as well. This is like a crash-course in compassion. Poor, busy, and generally stressed people are examined to determine what's causing them to operate and think the way that they are. It's a commonly discussed topic, but rarely the main topic. By being willing to work with general terms and broad behavioral aspects, Mullainathan is able to forge new progress in the scarcity mindset. Bandwidth, slack, willpower, talent, personality, tunneling, and loneliness are some key topics discussed. I highly recommend this one.

Fascinating examination of the psychological studies that illustrate how scarcity affects and impairs thinking, and how this explains some of the choices people in poverty make, even though some may seem contrary to their self-interest. It’s useful in provoking thought about how we might change public policy to help alleviate some of this burden and ultimately, better help those in need.