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Sex, Drugs & Economics
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Sex, Drugs & Economics

An Unconventional Introduction to Economics

Diane Coyle
Thomson Texere, 2002
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Most books about economics tend to be rather dry and technical. Not this one. Diane Coyle writes with humor and grace, infusing her erudition into lively prose, never burdening the reader or demanding that you patiently suffer through academic digressions. She views economics not as a subject but as yoga; it’s not a bunch of stuff you ought to know but rather a way of learning and reflection. Coyle manages to touch on all of the major contemporary economic issues - literally, sex, drugs and rock and roll - and to make it clear how economic logic relates to such phenomena as sexual behavior, drug taking, war, fashion, major league sports and the Internet. This is an interesting, amusing book by an excellent author, both saucy and unconventional. getAbstract.com knows that it might not help you make a lot of money - it’s not that kind of book - but believes that it will make you richer in other ways.

Summary

Economic ThinkingA lot of nonsense pours out of television and radio speakers, peppers newspaper and magazine articles, and colors political speeches and legislative initiatives. Dunderheads deliver absurd economic diagnoses but knowledgeable experts fear to contradict them. Economics has its roots as a science in the skepticism of Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume (1748-1891). Its original name, "political economy," is a better description of what it is about than the contemporary word, "economics." Economics is not a subject or a corpus of knowledge or a set of facts, but rather a whole way of thinking about and looking at social issues, political problems and business or financial challenges. Economists concern themselves with how people try to get what they want when their resources are scarce. What choices do they make and how? What happens under the pressure of change? Nothing could be more practical, so why do many people consider economists to be ivory tower eccentrics, out of touch with the mainstream? Although economists do rely heavily on complex mathematics to describe the world as they see it, their concerns are not at all remote. Recent economic research...

About the Author

Diane Coyle is a regular columnist for The Independent, a presenter of BBC Radio’s Analysis program, and author of Paradoxes of Prosperity, The Weightless World and Governing the World Economy.

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