Success and Luck with Robert H. Frank

How important is luck? No question more reliably divides conservatives from liberals. As conservatives correctly observe, people who amass great fortunes are almost always talented and hardworking. Yet liberals are also correct to note that countless others have those same qualities yet never earn much. In recent years, social scientists have discovered that chance events play a much larger role in important life outcomes than most people once imagined. In Success and Luck, Robert Frank explores the interesting and sometimes unexpected implications of those findings for how best to think about the role of luck in life.

Most of the chance events that shape important life outcomes are of course beyond any individual's control. But collectively we have considerable say over what is perhaps the biggest stroke of good fortune that anyone can experience—to have been born in an environment that enables talented, hardworking people to succeed. Such environments don't arise by chance. They require high levels of continuing investment. Frank argues that our failure recognize the external underpinnings of our own success has made us reluctant to support the necessary investment. But the good news is that supportive environments can be maintained without demanding painful sacrifices from anyone.

Robert H. Frank is the HJ Louis Professor of Economics at Cornell's Johnson School of Management.  He is an "Economic View" columnist for The New York Times and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos. His books, which include Choosing the Right Pond, Passions Within Reason, Principles of Economics (with Ben Bernanke), Luxury Fever, Falling Behind, The Economic Naturalist, and The Darwin Economy, have been translated into 22 languages. The Winner-Take-All Society, co-authored with Philip Cook, received a Critic's Choice Award, was named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times, and was included in Business Week's list of the ten best books of 1995.

6:00-6:30pm cash bar reception; 6:30pm lecture, gratis. Copies of Success and Luck will be available for purchase at the event. Advance reservations required. Attendees are invited to dine at The Club with Professor Frank following the lecture. The cost is $40 per person, inclusive of tax, gratuity and one glass of wine with dinner. Dinner reservations are required 48 hours prior to the program. Same-day cancellations and no shows will be charged.