“A stunning rebuke of conventional assumptions that describe our economic system as a robot-like machine. In this deeply intelligent and personally engaging book, Julie Nelson emphasizes the tremendous influence of ethics and emotions on economic outcomes. She challenges both the Left and the Right to think more creatively about the relationship between love and money. Everyone who studies care—or cares about social science—should read this book.”--Nancy Folbre, author of The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values
— Nancy Folbre
“Economics, as it is often taught today, portrays us as homo economicus—someone who doesn’t vote in presidential elections, doesn’t return lost wallets, and doesn’t leave tips when dining out of town. Julie Nelson reminds us that most people aren’t really like that. She helps point the way to a richer, more descriptive way of thinking about economic life.”--Robert H. Frank, author of Luxury Fever: Money and Happiness in an Era of Excess
— Robert H. Frank
“Julie Nelson cares. She cares enough about her home discipline, economics, to demand that it jettison the crippling assumption that the economy is a clockwork machine. She cares enough about people to insist that we recognize the full range of our economically valuable activities, from the unpaid provision of personal care to the ethical management of corporations. In this sparkling, passionate, personal book Nelson shows how to humanize economics without abandoning its commitment to rigorous description and explanation.”--Viviana A. Zelizer, author of The Purchase of Intimacy
— Vivianna Zelizer
"Clarity and brevity are her book's greatest strengths--almost unheard-of virtues when economics is the subject. . . . It's good to read about business and not feel dirty."
— John Allemang, Globe and Mail
"Nelson is insightful and makes good arguments to show why neoclassical machine metaphors do not hold for economics in reality. She passionately argues for reconnecting economics with ethics. . . . Her book is exceedingly accessible, clearly organized and well-written. She examines much within a slim 127 pages of main text, and Economics for Humans will stimulate all readers--knowledgeable in economics or not."
— Michelle Wenderlich, Intergenerational Justice Review
"This is a great, fun and interesting read, appropriate for college classrooms as well as a thoughtful gift for erudite friends and family. No prior experience in economics is necessary, and perhaps we would do well to ensure its incorporation in the standard economics education. The (human) world could only benefit from better economic science, after all."
— Elissa Braunstein, Eastern Economic Journal
""[Nelson's] market theories are marked and shaped by deliberate focus on marginalized people...Nelson's Economics for Humans calls for a reimagining of the market, replacing the long-standing 'machine' metaphor with the more personal 'beating heart.'...This book is also an excellent introduction to economics in general."
— Political Theology
"Economics for Humans is intended for a popular audience, and I highly recommend it to students and scholars in many fields, to professionals in the media (including political pundits), and to policy makers....[Nelson] offers not only critique, but vision. Social economists have long thought it possible to integrate the study of the economy with ethics and values, and it is unfortunate that the mainstream has not. Nelson's third way, a more pragmatic view of the economy, allows for policies to sustain the environment, to provide for paid family and medical leave, to prevent economic concentration and rely on more progressive taxation, to encourage social and corporate responsibility, for the benefit of real-world economics and the human race."
— Review of Social Economy