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The Undercover Economist, by Tim Harford
Download PDF The Undercover Economist, by Tim Harford
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Product details
Paperback: 265 pages
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (January 30, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345494016
ISBN-13: 978-0345494016
Product Dimensions:
5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.1 out of 5 stars
243 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#109,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
A lot of people are going to draw comparisons between The Underground Economist and the inexplicably popular Freakonomics particularly since the author of Freakonomics is used as the leading quote on the cover. The fact of the matter is that Freakonomics had very little to do with traditional economics per se while Underground is pretty much an economics books with some coolness added to keep it entertaining. The first chapter is essentially a primer on supply and demand.Tim Harford is an economist from England who pushes a free-trade, pro-globalization agenda. In fact two of the five authors with quotes on the back cover have pro-globalization books in their `Author of' section. The second to the last chapter is a hard sell of globalization and the final chapter is a portrait of the happy results of globalization in China. Harford also comes down on taxes saying they are inefficient and destroy competitiveness. Instead of a progressive income tax he argues in support of a flat sales tax. It all sounds like a sale of conservative economics which isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as it's done with honesty and clear thinking (many conservative economists have such an ideological bias that they become useless).The author spends a chapter on healthcare in the United States and demonstrates how flawed it is. The system is hugely expensive, highly bureaucratic, extremely patchy and unpopular to most American's. Harford writes, "United States government alone spends more than the combination of public and private expenditure in Britain, despite the fact that the British government provides free health care to all residents" In fact no country spends more as a percentage of the GDP as American's. Not even close. And as a final kick in the teeth American's aren't even particularly healthy when compared to the rest of the developed nations. However, rather than look to his own country's model for health care or Germany's or Canada's Mr. Harford looks to Singapore. It seems as if the author has mind melded with the Bush administration in believing that American's are over insured and need to look into Health Savings Accounts which to the best of my knowledge don't address ANY of the problems the author recounted. The book contains some real insight on why health insurance is often incompatible with a market based economy but the idea that we should just scrap it in favor of only catastrophic health insurance seems to deny that anyone could possibly be nickeled and dimed into poverty.The author also has some interesting views on handling pollution. The idea is that companies can buy the right to pollute using vouchers. Initially it seems to be a horrible idea but the thinking is that since businesses regularly inflate the cost of keeping clean we ask them to put their money where there mouth is. If the vouchers cost enough businesses will try to find cheap ways to stay under the emissions threshold rather than pay the voucher cost and the problem is solved in a very market based manner. On the other hand the author tends to discount environmentalism as a small cost (2 percent of manufacturing) and of little real concern to businesses. If this is true than why do business interests in the United States spend millions on think tanks and lobbying if it's no big deal? Global Warming is a huge deal and business seems willing to do just about anything to suppress legislation.Besides globalization the author doesn't seem to really be an ideologue. He is clearly a fan of market based economies but admits that participants often don't act sensibly. He's no cheerleader for the stock market by pointing out that price to earning ratios of companies are still vastly inflated and gives a great explanation on why internet companies lack any scarcity power making their ridiculous stock values in the late 90's look like nothing more than a fools dream. The Underground Economist is a very good book. Unlike Freakonomics it is legitimately an economics book and most assuredly has an agenda. Not that that's a bad thing.
I remember one lesson from this book, which I read 10 years ago, that a coffee shop will often pay $1.00, $1.10 and $1.20 for three sizes or qualities of coffee, but will charge the consumer $2.00, $3.00, and $4.00 respectively. The customer then dictates the level of luxury (and profit) they desire, without the business having to do so. Even though I could figure as much, they put it in a way that changed my life and business approach, and they provided an example I often share. I would give this book five stars if I remembered another example!
Summary and review of The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford (Kindle edition)I bought this book as a layman trying to understand how economists think. The first few chapters were interesting, as the author attempts to explain basic notions such as “the world of truthâ€, marginal value, free trade, game theory, and more. The explanations were clear and the writing quite engaging. Things fall off in the final chapters, revealing some of the bigger problems with economic thought, or at least with this economist’s thinking. Specifically, chapter 8 attempts to discuss why poor countries are poor. Clearly the author is trying to show us that the reason is the lack of free markets and correct incentives. But that begs the question: Why are some countries able to get this right and others not? The author fails to provide an answer because he ignores an important factor: culture. Chapter 9 is even worse, as the author discusses the grand benefits of globalization. Sure, there are benefits, but he ignores the disadvantages and also the fact that these benefits are not spread evenly throughout society, at all - some sectors are getting killed. The author writes like someone who is so busy drinking Belgium draught beer in a pub in London and flitting about the world in pursuit of new sights and sounds, that he cannot hear nor see the suffering that is being caused to others ("sweatshops are great compared to the alternative", as he puts it). Perhaps such attitudes are why economists are considered to be soulless… The final chapter sets up China as a shining example of the successes of globalization. The really funny thing here is that the author completely ignores the fact that China’s success is built on a consistent policy of protectionism through subsidies, tariffs, and currency manipulation – the exact same things that the author spends the entire book condemning! So apparently, protectionism is great when it helps China but awful for everyone else?? I don’t know how else I’m supposed to understand this chapter.Bottom line: This is an inconsistent book by an economist who seems to be madly in love with himself. I’m sure there are better books to serve as an introduction to economics.
My 17 year old grandson told me of this book. He liked it and I read it to talk with him about it. I found it very delightful from the first page and have been discussing the issues the author raises with my mid 50 year old children. Can't recommend it enough. The author provokes thinking about our economic life and how it creates our world. It is easily read and understood.
Very interesting book, expecially the final chapters:--how China ascended from utter economic oblivion to being the 2nd largest world economy--why the poorest nations in the world are poor and may never changeIf you like this, be sure to listen to or read Tim Harford's "50 things..." https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735216134 . It is available as BBC podcasts or book. IMHO, it should be required reading/listening for everyone.
This particular book changed my perspective on how to think. The analysis of normal things and phenomenon is so logical and intelligent. I absolutely love the way of logical deduction from Tim Harford. This book is also surprisingly easy to read. It doesn't have equations or graphs that a regular economy textbooks would have. You need to read this book if you haven't read it yet!
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