Rachel Kranton

Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work Wages and Well-Being by Rachel Kranton and George A. Akerlof (Princeton University Press, 978-0-691-14648-5)

When did you start reading, and what did you like to read as a kid?

I began reading intensively probably around second grade. I was the type of child who played outside in the mornings and spent the afternoons horizontal, on my bed reading.

I loved the classics of my generation: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte’s Web, and, when I was older, To Kill a Mockingbird. I also read all the Nancy Drew mysteries. I still have the special hardcover copy of To Kill a Mockingbird that was gift from my parents, as well as Sounder and Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee.

When you were growing up did you have books in your home?

We had many books in my home. My parents were always reading and buying books of all kinds. In the den there were floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and I found it relaxing to pull books off the shelves and leaf through the pages. I even remember one day taking down Paul Samuelson’s Economics and mulling over the graphs that I could not then decipher. Maybe it all started way back then.

When did you think about becoming a writer? Was there someone who got you interested in writing?

My day job is a professor of economics. I never imagined writing a book. Only with the encouragement of our editor, Peter Dougherty of Princeton University Press, could I envision writing a book for a general audience.

How do you write? How did you write a book with another person?

Writing academic articles has always been a daily part of my work. The book is jointly written with George Akerlof. George and I had written four articles together before we started the book, so we had experience with each other’s writing styles and work habits. This book was different, though, since—unlike journal articles—we had no template to follow. It was fully collaborative project. At times, I would spend a month writing every day. Then George would take over and edit and revise. And vice versa. And many times, we wrote together, conferring daily, sentence-by-sentence, word-by-word over the phone. By the end, we were discussing semi-colons and commas.

What’s some advice that you could offer young writers?

I would think that the advice I give to my graduate students would apply to young writers. Work on what you like; follow your passion. This is how you will do your best work.

How did you find the publisher for this book? What has your experience with the publisher been like?

Peter Dougherty (Princeton University Press) found us. He attended a presentation of the early work at a seminar, and he had the idea for a book. He has encouraged and coached us every step of the way.

What are you reading now?

The Girl Who Played with Fire, and Order Without Law