The Undercover Economist
On sale
6th September 2007
Price: £18.99
Who makes most money from the demand for cappuccinos early in the morning at Waterloo Station? Why is it impossible to get a foot on the property ladder? How does the Mafia make money from laundries when street gangs pushing drugs don’t? Who really benefits from immigration? How can China, in just fifty years, go from the world’s worst famine to one of the greatest economic revolutions of all time, lifting a million people out of poverty a month?
Looking at familiar situations in unfamiliar ways, THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST is a fresh explanation of the fundamental principles of the modern economy, illuminated by examples from the streets of London to the booming skyscrapers of Shanghai to the sleepy canals of Bruges. Leaving behind textbook jargon and equations, Tim Harford will reveal the games of signals and negotiations, contests of strength and battles of wit that drive not only the economy at large but the everyday choices we make.
Looking at familiar situations in unfamiliar ways, THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST is a fresh explanation of the fundamental principles of the modern economy, illuminated by examples from the streets of London to the booming skyscrapers of Shanghai to the sleepy canals of Bruges. Leaving behind textbook jargon and equations, Tim Harford will reveal the games of signals and negotiations, contests of strength and battles of wit that drive not only the economy at large but the everyday choices we make.
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Reviews
Steven D. Levitt, author of FREAKONOMICS
As lively and witty an introduction to the supposedly 'dismal science' as you are likely to read
As lively and witty an introduction to the supposedly 'dismal science
Economists do indeed think differently from the rest of us. This book gives an excellent introduction as to quite why they do
Required reading … It brings the power of economics to life
An eye-opening bestseller...the first page hooks you on the science involved ... Harford is explaining nothing less than how the world works in a language we can all understand
As much popular zeal [as a competing title], but is more ambitious and practical
Reading this book is like spending an ordinary day wearing X-ray goggles
David Bodanis, author of ELECTRIC UNIVERSE
THE TIMES
An excellent Undercover Introduction to Economics. If you think that sounds boring, you probably ought to read it