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The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor--and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car! 56255th Edition
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The Undercover Economist is for anyone who's wondered why the gap between rich and poor nations is so great, or why they can't seem to find a decent second-hand car, or how to outwit Starbucks. This book offers the hidden story behind these and other questions, as economist Tim Harford ranges from Africa, Asia, Europe, and of course the United States to reveal how supermarkets, airlines, and coffee chains--to name just a few--are vacuuming money from our wallets. Harford punctures the myths surrounding some of today's biggest controversies, including the high cost of health-care; he reveals why certain environmental laws can put a smile on a landlord's face; and he explains why some industries can have high profits for innocent reasons, while in other industries something sinister is going on. Covering an array of economic concepts including scarce resources, market power, efficiency, price gouging, market failure, inside information, and game theory, Harford sheds light on how these forces shape our day-to-day lives, often without our knowing it.
Showing us the world through the eyes of an economist, Tim Harford reveals that everyday events are intricate games of negotiations, contests of strength, and battles of wits. Written with a light touch and sly wit, The Undercover Economist turns "the dismal science" into a true delight.
- ISBN-100195189779
- ISBN-13978-0195189773
- Edition56255th
- PublisherOxford University Press
- Publication dateNovember 1, 2005
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions9.2 x 1.1 x 6.3 inches
- Print length288 pages
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Bookmarks Magazine
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
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Book Description
From the Back Cover
"Harford writes like a dream--and is also one of the leading economic thinkers of his generation. From his book I found out why there's a Starbucks on every corner, what Bob Geldof needs to learn to make development aid work properly, and how not to get duped in an auction. Reading The Undercover Economist is like spending an ordinary day wearing X-ray goggles." --David Bodanis, author of E=mc2 and Electric Universe
"If you need to be convinced of the ever-relevant and fascinating nature of economics, read this insightful and witty book by Tim Harford. Using one interesting example after another, The Undercover Economist demonstrates how economic reasoning -- often esoteric and dull, but totally accessible in Harford's hands -- helps illuminate the world around us. Indeed, Harford's book is a tour de force." --Jagdish Bhagwati, author of In Defense of Globalization
"As Tim Harford demonstrates brilliantly in this enjoyable book, the powerful underlying ideas of economics can, in the hands of the right person, illuminate every aspect of the world we inhabit." --Martin Wolf, Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times, and author of Why Globalization Works
"Most people think economists are boring, opinionated and wrong. Tim Harford is often right, always opinionated, but never boring. He shows how economics can be used to illuminate our everyday lives. Whether you want an explanation of the price of a cup of coffee or of poverty in the third world, Harford has it all." --John Kay, author of Culture and Prosperity: The Truth About Markets
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Oxford University Press; 56255th edition (November 1, 2005)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0195189779
- ISBN-13 : 978-0195189773
- Item Weight : 1.2 pounds
- Dimensions : 9.2 x 1.1 x 6.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,117,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #212 in Econometrics & Statistics
- #1,759 in Economic Conditions (Books)
- #2,244 in Economic History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Tim is an economist, journalist and broadcaster.
He is the author of nine books including “How To Make The World Add Up”, “Messy”, and the million-selling “The Undercover Economist”. Tim is a senior columnist at the Financial Times, and the presenter of Radio 4’s “More or Less”, “Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy”, and the new podcast “Cautionary Tales”.
Tim has spoken at TED, PopTech and the Sydney Opera House. He is an associate member of Nuffield College, Oxford and an honorary fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. Tim was made an OBE for services to improving economic understanding in the New Year honours of 2019.
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Have you heard of price elasticity and price signals, scarcity power, market failures, marginal cost, externalities, asymmetric and imperfect information, moral hazard, stock prices and random walk, and game theory?
Mr. Harford manages to explain the concepts behind this jargon in simple words with everyday life examples, allowing you to understand why the production cost of the cheapest oil fields in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait is just around $2 a barrel but we ended paying $50 (or up to $140 last year); why we pay $3 for a cappuccino but coffee growers in the third world just get a few cents for each cup; the rationale behind congestion pricing (the entire Chapter 4 is devoted to this controversial policy and how it also applies for curbing pollution); the economic reasons behind the failures of the US health insurance system; and the predictability of the stock market (the current financial crises proves Harford's point, who wrote about the "rational fools" in March 2005, and within the context of the dot-com bubble). In general terms, the first seven chapters provide the reader an opportunity to grasp key concepts and principles in the field of microeconomics.
The three last chapters of the book take a different approach as the book turns more into the territory of macroeconomics, exploring equally interesting and up-to-date issues regarding economic growth, international trade, competition, the theory of comparative advantage, and of course, globalization. The reader is introduced to these concepts with a chapter on Cameroon, used as a case study to explain the reasons for poor countries being poor, and highlighting the role corruption, weak institutions, and trade barriers. The last chapter in contrast, presents how China was able to achieve explosive growth rates during the last three decades, growing faster than any country in history, rising from Mao's disastrous economic experiments through the power of market and prices. Chapter 9 is a must read, as he discusses the main issues regarding globalization in a nutshell. Here Mr. Harford courageously debunks several myths regarding the alleged negative environmental impacts and other associated evils of globalization. Not surprisingly he wisely chose the examples of Cameroon and China to support his point of view.
This book comes very handy for the layman especially during these days of global economic crisis. I have a background on economics, and I do highly recommend it for anyone planning or having second thoughts about studying economics, the book will provide you with quite a general picture of what economics is really about. I also recommend it for those citizens interested in understanding a bit more about key economic principles, its everyday application, and who do not want to be easily fooled by politicians, interest groups, the media, nor even by many of the so-called "experts" and "gurus". The world would be a better place if every voter in the planet could grasp the basic concepts presented in this book.
I do agree with another reviewer that the used car argument made by the author is not that tight. But an important concept is being advanced nonetheless.
One of the many good takeaways for me is the economists' notion of truth, wherein the truth is determined by what people do and not what they say. What is important to people is shown by what they freely choose when they have the chance, and may have little to do with what they want their government to do or provide for them.
It clearly is pro-capitalist, and well defends that view. E.g., while not being in favor of harsh conditions, it notes that sweatshops are not the problem but rather a symptom of worse alternatives the workers in a sweatshop have available to them. Sweatshops didn't cause terrible poverty, but even sweatshops make the lives of workers better.
Overall I found this to be great fun to listen to. Intellectually, it is a powerful source of information and ideas to anyone who is not familiar with economics (I can't speak for those who are).
A lot of topics are covered, but none are removed from situations that intimately effect all of us. You get a lot of insight on how various retailers struggle to set the highest price (this chapter alone paid for the price of the book, because it has made me a smarter, better armed shopper.) You learn how the concept of "missing information" makes it hard to buy a good used car as well as for a free market system to create afforable health insurance (the relationship between used cars and health insurance was as eye opening as it was fascinating.) You also learn that ecnonomists have some very good solutions to handling traffic congestion and pollution, if only the politicians would learn and listen.
This is just a sample of what is available, all written in a friendly, accessible style. No math, no graphs. Just a lot of clear reasoning and mind expanding information. Reading it was well worth my time. Hats off to the author.
Top reviews from other countries
Absolutely recommended.
If English isn't your native language you can still go for it, it's pretty comprehensible.