Authers’ Notes: Benjamin Ho on ‘Why Trust Matters’
A discussion with the Vassar professor on the role trust plays in how we view our modern economic and political institutions.
Democracy at work.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images North AmericaOn Nov. 17, I led a TOPLive discussion with Benjamin Ho, Vassar College professor and author of “Why Trust Matters: An Economist’s Guide to the Ties That Bind Us,” which explores how relationships, expectations and human interaction shape the world around us — be it in trade, employment or democracy. Before Vassar, Ho taught MBA students at Cornell, served as lead energy economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and worked or consulted for Morgan Stanley and several tech startups. He also teaches at Columbia University, where he is a faculty affiliate for the Center for Global Energy Policy. His work has been featured in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Ho holds seven degrees from Stanford and MIT in economics, education, political science, math, computer science and electrical engineering.
I was joined by stacy-marie ishmael, Bloomberg’s managing editor for crypto, to discuss how the book can apply to the latest developments in the ways people relate to one another. Here is the transcript.