Part I: The beginnings of narrative economics
An adventure in consilience
Contagion, contstellations, and confluence
Why do some narratives go viral?
The Laffer curve and Rubik's Cube go viral
Diverse evidence on the virality of economic narratives
Part II: The foundations of narrative economics
Causality and constellations
Seven propositions of narrative economics
Part III: Perennial economic narratives
Frugality versus conspicuous consumption
The gold standard versus bimetallism
Labor-saving machines replace many jobs
Automation and artificial intelligence replace almost all jobs
Real estate booms and busts
Boycotts, profiteers, and evil business
The wage-price spiral and evil labor unions
Part IV: Advancing narrative economics
Future narratives, future research
Appendix: Applying epidemic models to economic narratives.