Economics Without the Boring Bits

Economics Without the Boring Bits PDF Author: Tejvan Pettinger
Publisher: Welbeck
ISBN: 1802790624
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Where does wealth come from? How is it different from money? Does division of labour mean that the best people are hired to do the job? Does government intervention prevent or create crises? What is the most effective way to protect the environment? The great Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle dismissed economics as "the dismal science", yet it is at the heart of everything we do. Economics without the Boring Bits is a clear, comprehensive and richly anecdotal guide to debt, finance, trade, money, taxation, supply, demand and all the other big issues that worry us all yet relatively few truly understand. Oxford-trained economist Tejvan Pettinger takes readers on an enlightening tour of the powerful, counter-intuitive and frequently startling insights of economic research, showing us that middlemen are good, recycling is bad (sometimes) and why some people get rich and others don't. If you want to understand the wealth of nations without wading through The Wealth of Nations, this is the ideal place to start.

Economics Without the Boring Bits

Economics Without the Boring Bits PDF Author: Tejvan Pettinger
Publisher: Welbeck
ISBN: 1802790624
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Get Book Here

Book Description
Where does wealth come from? How is it different from money? Does division of labour mean that the best people are hired to do the job? Does government intervention prevent or create crises? What is the most effective way to protect the environment? The great Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle dismissed economics as "the dismal science", yet it is at the heart of everything we do. Economics without the Boring Bits is a clear, comprehensive and richly anecdotal guide to debt, finance, trade, money, taxation, supply, demand and all the other big issues that worry us all yet relatively few truly understand. Oxford-trained economist Tejvan Pettinger takes readers on an enlightening tour of the powerful, counter-intuitive and frequently startling insights of economic research, showing us that middlemen are good, recycling is bad (sometimes) and why some people get rich and others don't. If you want to understand the wealth of nations without wading through The Wealth of Nations, this is the ideal place to start.

Capitalism without Capital

Capitalism without Capital PDF Author: Jonathan Haskel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691183295
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Early in the twenty-first century, a quiet revolution occurred. For the first time, the major developed economies began to invest more in intangible assets, like design, branding, and software, than in tangible assets, like machinery, buildings, and computers. For all sorts of businesses, the ability to deploy assets that one can neither see nor touch is increasingly the main source of long-term success. But this is not just a familiar story of the so-called new economy. Capitalism without Capital shows that the growing importance of intangible assets has also played a role in some of the larger economic changes of the past decade, including the growth in economic inequality and the stagnation of productivity. Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake explore the unusual economic characteristics of intangible investment and discuss how an economy rich in intangibles is fundamentally different from one based on tangibles. Capitalism without Capital concludes by outlining how managers, investors, and policymakers can exploit the characteristics of an intangible age to grow their businesses, portfolios, and economies.

The Armchair Economist

The Armchair Economist PDF Author: Steven E. Landsburg
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471112233
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Air bags cause accidents, because well-protected drivers take more risks. This well-documented truth comes as a surprise to most people, but not to economists, who have learned to take seriously the proposition that people respond to incentives. In The Armchair Economist, Steven E. Landsburg shows how the laws of economics reveal themselves in everyday experience and illuminate the entire range of human behavior. Why does popcorn cost so much at the cinema? The 'obvious' answer is that the owner has a monopoly, but if that were the whole story, there would also be a monopoly price to use the toilet. When a sudden frost destroys much of the Florida orange crop and prices skyrocket, journalists point to the 'obvious' exercise of monopoly power. Economists see just the opposite: If growers had monopoly power, they'd have raised prices before the frost. Why don't concert promoters raise ticket prices even when they are sure they will sell out months in advance? Why are some goods sold at auction and others at pre-announced prices? Why do boxes at the football sell out before the standard seats do? Why are bank buildings fancier than supermarkets? Why do corporations confer huge pensions on failed executives? Why don't firms require workers to buy their jobs? Landsburg explains why the obvious answers are wrong, reveals better answers, and illuminates the fundamental laws of human behavior along the way. This is a book of surprises: a guided tour of the familiar, filtered through a decidedly unfamiliar lens. This is economics for the sheer intellectual joy of it.

The End of Progress

The End of Progress PDF Author: Graeme Maxton
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470830018
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
A cold, hard look at how modern economics has failed us and why we need a new measure of progress Modern economics has fallen short. It has widened the gap between rich and poor. It has not allocated the world's resources fairly. It has brought the West to the brink of financial ruin. It has placed short-term gain before long-term progress. And it has made us focus on the individual, not the society. The end result is a worldwide financial crisis of epic proportions and a planet being scraped clean of the resources needed by future generations, and things are only getting worse. In The End of Progress: How Modern Economics Has Failed Us popular economist Graeme Maxton looks at what went wrong, and what we can do to get ourselves back on track. During the Age of Enlightenment society flourished, propelled by the wonder of new discoveries, radical ideas for economic and social development, and a sense that we all had a responsibility to improve our world. It's time to get back to those ideals, step back and examine our values, and work out what humankind really needs. Presents a chilling look at our current financial system along with a compelling argument for what we need to change Argues for new measures of progress that emphasize what really matters, not personal greed Offers a timely look at our broken society and where we're headed next A thought-provoking, informative book, The End of Progress looks at what got us into our present mess, and shines light onto the road ahead.

Cracking Economics

Cracking Economics PDF Author: Tejvan Pettinger
Publisher: Cassell
ISBN: 1844039765
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
An easy-to-understand guide to the most difficult topics: Cracking Economics is a must-have for anyone looking to broaden their knowledge of the world of finance and the economy.

The Little Book of Economics

The Little Book of Economics PDF Author: Greg Ip
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118391578
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
An accessible, thoroughly engaging look at how the economy really works and its role in your everyday life Not surprisingly, regular people suddenly are paying a lot closer attention to the economy than ever before. But economics, with its weird technical jargon and knotty concepts and formulas can be a very difficult subject to get to grips with on your own. Enter Greg Ip and his Little Book of Economics. Like a patient, good-natured tutor, Greg, one of today's most respected economics journalists, walks you through everything you need to know about how the economy works. Short on technical jargon and long on clear, concise, plain-English explanations of important terms, concepts, events, historical figures and major players, this revised and updated edition of Greg's bestselling guide clues you in on what's really going on, what it means to you and what we should be demanding our policymakers do about the economy going forward. From inflation to the Federal Reserve, taxes to the budget deficit, you get indispensible insights into everything that really matters about economics and its impact on everyday life Special sections featuring additional resources of every subject discussed and where to find additional information to help you learn more about an issue and keep track of ongoing developments Offers priceless insights into the roots of America's economic crisis and its aftermath, especially the role played by excessive greed and risk-taking, and what can be done to avoid another economic cataclysm Digs into globalization, the roots of the Euro crisis, the sources of China's spectacular growth, and why the gap between the economy's winners and losers keeps widening

U. S. Government, Economics and Citizenship 4-5

U. S. Government, Economics and Citizenship 4-5 PDF Author: Imogene Forte
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780865304345
Category : Citizenship
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This set of standards-based reproducible activity pages is basic, not boring. In this book, students tour the American government and economy with a sassy American eagle named Egbert. They’ll review important facts about the structure of the government, the workings of the economy, and the rights and responsibility of citizens. An assessment, glossary, and helpful lists are included.

Economics Explained

Economics Explained PDF Author: Robert L. Heilbroner
Publisher: Touchstone
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Two of America's most respected economists clarify the basics of economics for everyone who wants to understand the nature of the economic forces that seem to rule our lives. "Clarity triumphant, whether the topic is inflation or government, markets or Marx".--Newsday.

Identity Economics

Identity Economics PDF Author: George A. Akerlof
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 140083418X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
How identity influences the economic choices we make Identity Economics provides an important and compelling new way to understand human behavior, revealing how our identities—and not just economic incentives—influence our decisions. In 1995, economist Rachel Kranton wrote future Nobel Prize-winner George Akerlof a letter insisting that his most recent paper was wrong. Identity, she argued, was the missing element that would help to explain why people—facing the same economic circumstances—would make different choices. This was the beginning of a fourteen-year collaboration—and of Identity Economics. The authors explain how our conception of who we are and who we want to be may shape our economic lives more than any other factor, affecting how hard we work, and how we learn, spend, and save. Identity economics is a new way to understand people's decisions—at work, at school, and at home. With it, we can better appreciate why incentives like stock options work or don't; why some schools succeed and others don't; why some cities and towns don't invest in their futures—and much, much more. Identity Economics bridges a critical gap in the social sciences. It brings identity and norms to economics. People's notions of what is proper, and what is forbidden, and for whom, are fundamental to how hard they work, and how they learn, spend, and save. Thus people's identity—their conception of who they are, and of who they choose to be—may be the most important factor affecting their economic lives. And the limits placed by society on people's identity can also be crucial determinants of their economic well-being.

Stone Age Economics

Stone Age Economics PDF Author: Marshall Sahlins
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000159876
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Stone Age Economics is a classic study of anthropological economics, first published in 1974. Ambitiously tackling the nature of economic life and how to study it comparatively, the book includes six studies which reflect the author's ideas on revising traditional views of the hunter-gatherer and so-called primitive societies, revealing them to be the original affluent society. The book examines notions of production, distribution and exchange in early communities and examines the link between economics and cultural and social factors. It consists of a set of detailed and closely related studies of tribal economies, of domestic production for livelihood, and of the submission of domestic production to the material and political demands of society at large.