SOCIAL SCIENCES

The Undercover Economist Strikes Back: How To Run-or Ruin-an Economy

by Tim Harford
Riverhead. 2014. 272p. notes. index. ISBN 9781594631405. $27.95; ebk. ISBN 9781101613887. ECON
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Per Economics Affairs book reviewers, the world was eager nearly a decade ago for commonsense explanations of microeconomics including Harford's previous work, The Undercover Economist, which offered a clear picture of who gets what and why. Now the Financial Times columnist, author, and occasional BBC host turns to macroeconomics, aiming to answer the question: Why is it so difficult to run an economy? The author sees the takeaway as the knowledge that not all recessions are alike and that economists are arguing about what kind of recession we are experiencing now. His chatty style, sprinkled with slang (e.g., "big glugs of spending power"), may put off a few readers, and some will not appreciate Harford's conceit of a dialog asking readers to think through various economic arguments rather than accepting pat answers to global economic problems.
VERDICT Independent thinkers aspiring to a better understanding of the world economy and of possible fixes for the current downturn will delight in this crisp, readable, and knowledgeable explication and analysis of macroeconomic events and theoretical perspectives.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Wood, Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH , Feb 01, 2014
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