What We Owe Each Other

A transformative new way of tackling the current divisions and future challenges that societies the world over now face from the Director of the LSELONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 FT / McKinsey BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDOne of the world's most influential economists sets out the basis for a new social contract fit for the 21st century.'Excellent... Shafik points us toward...a hopeful framework for social, economic and political renewal' Michael J. Sandel____What does society owe each of us? And what do we owe in return?Our answer to these inescapable questions - known as the social contract - shapes our politics, economic systems and every stage of life, from raising children and going to school to finding work and growing old. Yet today, many believe that this contract is not working for them.Economist Minouche Shafik examines societies across the world and demonstrates that the urgent challenges of technology, demography and climate require a major shift in priorities. This vision-changing book shows us the way to a new model that provides mutual security and opportunity - a social contract fit for the twenty-first century.____'Intelligent and lucid' Martin Wolf, Financial Times'A powerful and persuasive moral argument...rigorous and specific enough to help readers think practically about the policies needed' Melinda Gates'A necessary contribution at a turning-point in history... A must-read' Ursula von der LeyenA PROSPECT MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF 2021

“This erudite book argues that we need to recognise our obligations to each other and to society ... a thought-provoking addition to our current, urgent debates”

A persuasive diagnosis of the present social malaise [with] plenty of suggestions about what policymakers could do ... ranges widely ... impressive -- Diane Coyle Financial Times
A big argument, eloquently written ... eye-catching individual ideas ... entertaining tales ... courageously breaks from the orthodoxies of the pre-crash years Prospect
Shafik is an insider, turned radical ... In this intelligent and lucid book, she calls for a new social contract based on three principles: security for all; investment in capability; and efficient and fair sharing of risks -- Martin Wolf Financial Times
A very thoughtful book -- Robert Peston Daily Telegraph
Wonderfully illuminating of our interdependence -- Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics
What We Owe Each Other examines the role of the social contract and considers how changes in the global economy have undermined the function of the institutions societies rely on to keep the world a reasonably just place ... Shafik reckons that ... if the social contract breaks down, and people do not adequately look after each other, then crises (of finance, public health or the environment, for example) will threaten prosperity Economist
In this timely call for a new social contract, Minouche Shafik invites us to rethink what we owe one another as citizens, within and across generations. In the tradition of Beveridge, one of her predecessors as director of the LSE, Shafik points us toward a more generous social contract, one that shares risks and broadens opportunity. At a time when government seems broken, this excellent book offers a hopeful framework for social, economic, and political renewal -- Michael J. Sandel, author of The Tyranny of Merit: Can We Find the Common Good?
A necessary contribution at a turning-point in history. Minouche Shafik maps out the great challenges of our time and inspires us to rise to them. Her book is a must-read for policymakers - as well as anyone interested in making the world a better place -- Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Minouche Shafik's up-to-the-moment book presents a powerful and persuasive moral argument. She calls for a more generous, more equal world and offers an analysis that is rigorous and specific enough to help readers think practically about the policies needed to bring that world into being. For societies asking how to rebuild, What We Owe Each Other is an important place to start -- Melinda Gates
A thought-provoking, beautifully argued, and easily accessible book. It is a must-read for all those seeking to understand why the bonds that bind society together are so frayed and what we can do about it to create a world fit for our children and grandchildren to live in -- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation

Nemat (Minouche) Shafik is the Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Born in Egypt, she emigrated as a child to the USA, later moving to the UK for post-graduate studies in economics. At 36, she became the youngest ever Vice President of the World Bank and has since held positions as Permanent Secretary of the UK's Department for International Development, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. In these roles she has worked on major policy upheavals across the globe, from the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the Arab Spring, to the financial crash in 2008 and the Eurozone crisis. Following her appointment as Director of the LSE in 2017, she launched a programme of research, 'Beveridge 2.0', to rethink the welfare state for the 21st century. She was made a Dame in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2015 and in 2020 was appointed a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords.

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