Book review of “Fragile futures. The uncertain economics of disasters, pandemics, and climate change”, by Vito Tanzi

This paper reviews the book "Fragile futures. The uncertain economics of disasters, pandemics, and climate change", by Vito Tanzi. It shows how the theory of public finance, which underpins public sector intervention in a market economy, suffers from a clear lack of consideration of public action in the face of uncertain future events with potentially extremely serious economic and social consequences. The absence of guidelines and the lack of appropriate mechanisms and resources make it difficult, when the time comes, to adopt the needed measures. Moreover, the rigid application of fiscal rules can further complicate the situation. The book provides a taxonomy of uncertain events, as well as a synthesis of the most significant cases recorded in history. Special attention is given to the problems of global warming and climate change. The author defends the thesis that global public "bads" require the intervention of a global government or, failing that, of strong international institutions.