Daniel Altman’s New Book Brings Economics to the Decisions We Make Every Day
14 Oct 2026
We make decisions all day long, but more information does not always make those choices easier.
In his new book, The Best Decisions You’ll Ever Make: An Economist’s Guide to Saving Time, Making Money, and Living Well, economist and international bestselling author Daniel Altman shows how the principles of economics can become practical tools for navigating everyday choices. The book arrives November 10 and is now available for preorder.
Rather than treating economics as something limited to markets, forecasts, and financial policy, Altman applies microeconomic thinking to the decisions people face in real life. Across 30 different scenarios, he explores how a clearer understanding of trade-offs, constraints, and priorities can help people move past decision paralysis and make better use of their time and money.
Daniel Altman on Better Decisions, Economics, and Business Strategy
The ideas behind the book also translate naturally to the workplace. Leaders frequently have to make consequential decisions with incomplete information, competing priorities, limited resources, and people whose needs may not always align.
Altman explores those challenges in his keynote 1-2-3 Decide!, which introduces a three-step approach to making decisions more quickly and effectively. Drawing from the same ideas at the heart of the book, he helps audiences think differently about how they evaluate options and move forward when there is no obvious answer.
Altman brings a wide-ranging perspective to that work. His career has included economics journalism, government advising, academia, consulting, technology, and global economic research. In 2027, he will join the faculty of Columbia Business School to teach the economic foundations of business decisions.
With The Best Decisions You’ll Ever Make, Altman brings economics down to a human scale, showing how a discipline often associated with big markets and global trends can help people make clearer choices at work and in everyday life.