Most people associate economics with larg-scale wonders like the stock-market, big business, and international trade. Most people also assume that economists are dismally technical. Stephen Landsburg attempts to prove them wrong. He shows how the laws of economics can reveal themselves in surprising and humorous ways. He demonstrates that, no matter what the endeavour, people respond to incentives in understandable, if not always predictable ways. By illustrating how economists think about daily experience, he lays the basis for a richer appreciation of the full range of economic activity. In this guided tour of the familiar, through an unfamiliar lens, Landsburg explains many of the key issues of economics in chapters that read more like detective stories than textbook lessons.
The Armchair Economist
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"This new edition of "The Armchair Economist" is a wide-ranging, easily digested, unbelievably contrarian survey of everything from why popcorn at movie houses costs so much to why recycling may actually reduce the number of trees on the planet. Landsburg valiantly turns the discussion of vexing economic questions into an activity that ordinary people might enjoy." - Joe Queenan
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Steven E. Landsburg is a Professor of Economics at the University of Rochester. He is the author of The Armchair Economist, Fair Play, More Sex is Safer Sex, The Big Questions, two textbooks in economics, a forthcoming textbook on general relativity and cosmology, and over 30 journal articles in mathematics, economics and philosophy.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Most of economics can be summarized in four words: "People respond to incentives." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Most of economics can be summarized in four words: "People respond to incentives." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By richyrich78
Format:Paperback
A joy to read! Insightful, yet beautifully simple, arguments for many key economic ideas, such as why prices are good and arguments in favour of free trade. Some of the arguments are counter-intuitive, such as seatbelts killing people and recycling paper being bad for trees, but are great truisms which make you think differently and more lucidly.
I also like Landsburgh's modesty. For example, he admits that, despite being a top-notch economist, he cannot satisfactorily explain why popcorn is so expensive at cinemas!
And I like his sense of humour -the book is full of jokes which add enormously to the pleasure of reading it. Great for both economists and non-economists who want an introduction to the subject.
I also like Landsburgh's modesty. For example, he admits that, despite being a top-notch economist, he cannot satisfactorily explain why popcorn is so expensive at cinemas!
And I like his sense of humour -the book is full of jokes which add enormously to the pleasure of reading it. Great for both economists and non-economists who want an introduction to the subject.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Armchair Economist is clearly written and interesting, but to me it's real value is in understanding how "supply-side" economists think. Much of the value is in trying to spot the hidden assumption or the logical fallacy.
As an example of the first: he argues that we should decide whether to do anything on global warming based on the monetary value people place on driving cars versus the monetary value other people place on not having their islands flooded. Ok, that's probably a self-consistent way of evaluating a policy, but there are at least two other frameworks for evaluation in common use that he doesn't mention: i) some idea of democracy, whereby the wishes of the (poorer) islanders have the same weight per person as the (richer) car drivers; ii) the idea of an external moral or ethical standard requiring that we avoid or minimise damage to the planet, independent of the opinions of others. Failure to acknowledge standards for decision making other than monetary seems a major flaw in the book.
The second weakness, the logical fallacy, is mainly illustrated whenever he demonstrates that two choices for economic policy have equal cost - e.g. a country paying for a something now versus borrowing money to pay for it; or making cars in the USA versus growing corn for export and buying cars from Japan. To a first approximation, he's correct in saying that the two alternatives are of equal cost. However at this point he should go on to consider the cost of second-order effects - e.g. the rising interest rate as borrowing increases, or the loss of future choice if the industrial capability to build cars is lost.... Read more ›
As an example of the first: he argues that we should decide whether to do anything on global warming based on the monetary value people place on driving cars versus the monetary value other people place on not having their islands flooded. Ok, that's probably a self-consistent way of evaluating a policy, but there are at least two other frameworks for evaluation in common use that he doesn't mention: i) some idea of democracy, whereby the wishes of the (poorer) islanders have the same weight per person as the (richer) car drivers; ii) the idea of an external moral or ethical standard requiring that we avoid or minimise damage to the planet, independent of the opinions of others. Failure to acknowledge standards for decision making other than monetary seems a major flaw in the book.
The second weakness, the logical fallacy, is mainly illustrated whenever he demonstrates that two choices for economic policy have equal cost - e.g. a country paying for a something now versus borrowing money to pay for it; or making cars in the USA versus growing corn for export and buying cars from Japan. To a first approximation, he's correct in saying that the two alternatives are of equal cost. However at this point he should go on to consider the cost of second-order effects - e.g. the rising interest rate as borrowing increases, or the loss of future choice if the industrial capability to build cars is lost.... Read more ›
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Bobbyleeds
Format:Paperback
This is certainly not the best or clearest pop-economics book on the market. I expect an economist to be necessarily inclusive of all sectors of society and the personal diatribes and perpetual introspect into exclusively US economic habits is tedious, irrelvant and intolerable for anyone who doesn't happen to live in America.
The examples all seemed very old too and I suspect the majority of this book was written at least several years ago.
The examples all seemed very old too and I suspect the majority of this book was written at least several years ago.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Dave C
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you're not an economist, then this book has plenty of examples of how economic thinking contradicts conventional wisdom. Landsburg has plenty of stories showing that all alternatives to free markets are inferior. I found his example that cars can be made in Michigan or grown in Idaho very clear and well described, and useful in these protectionist times. However, he comes across as an economic absolutist. Little mention of the limits of free markets or immeasurable externalities. If you know anything about economics, then you might be bored reading this book.
(To grow a car: plant corn, harvest corn, put corn on ship, send ship across the pacific, ship returns full of Toyotas. Farmers and welders are competing directly in the labour market. Ditto in Japan).
(To grow a car: plant corn, harvest corn, put corn on ship, send ship across the pacific, ship returns full of Toyotas. Farmers and welders are competing directly in the labour market. Ditto in Japan).
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By M. Glover
Format:Paperback
I found the armchair economist a fantastic glimpse at the mindset of an economist and the effect economics has on us all. I am currently studying accounting and finance at university and used this book as a useful tool in understanding the economics modules which formed an intergral part of my course. This meant the introduction to terms such as marginal cost and the 'invisible hand'. Overall i think the book is very well written, it takes a vast subject area and does a very good job of condensing it down into a concise, 'student friendly' form, whilst still maintaining the key fundamental principles associated with micro and macro economics.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By R. Hill
Format:Paperback
If you're anything like me, you enjoy reading interesting subject matter written by a passionate author, and whilst this book certainly counts as such, it isn't without its flaws. Steven Landsburg provides an introduction to the field of economics for the uninitiated, and then walks us through various unlikely and often entertaining consequences of viewing the world through an economist's eyes.
At the moment I can't seem to get enough of pop-economics, and this book, being billed as the progenitor of the breed, seemed a little too irresistible. Published as it was in 1995, the material is starting to show its age, but its examples are still very relevant. Far more distracting is the author's tendency to sensationalise his assertions before justifying them. The entire book would read better if the audience were allowed to digest the enormity and validity of his proposals for themselves.
If you were looking for a lay introduction to the subject of economics, I'd recommend Tim Harford's Undercover Economist, which is intrinsically more pleasant to read. If that whets your appetite, you might want to continue with this.
At the moment I can't seem to get enough of pop-economics, and this book, being billed as the progenitor of the breed, seemed a little too irresistible. Published as it was in 1995, the material is starting to show its age, but its examples are still very relevant. Far more distracting is the author's tendency to sensationalise his assertions before justifying them. The entire book would read better if the audience were allowed to digest the enormity and validity of his proposals for themselves.
If you were looking for a lay introduction to the subject of economics, I'd recommend Tim Harford's Undercover Economist, which is intrinsically more pleasant to read. If that whets your appetite, you might want to continue with this.
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3.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
Took me a while to get into even though I'd read several books ion economics before but a great worth while read nonetheless.
Published 1 month ago by oliverfk93916
1.0 out of 5 stars
Right-wing, US-centric, old-school economics
Being a more left-leaning person this book managed to make me raise my eyebrows several times.
Landsburg's thinking is a prime example of old-school economics where the... Read more
Landsburg's thinking is a prime example of old-school economics where the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by T. JENNI
1.0 out of 5 stars
low grade thinking
I've recently bought a lot of pop economics texts, and this is by far the worst. The book is the most Panglossian text I ever read. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Broken iPod owner
5.0 out of 5 stars
So elucidating it leaves you baffled.
This is without a doubt the best pop-econ book I've read. It's clear, lucid, and thought provoking. Although I'm an economics student I still on occasion find it hard to apply all... Read more
Published 18 months ago by andrew.s
1.0 out of 5 stars
A weak copy-cat of Freakonomics, of poor quality
Landsburg tries to jump onto the bandwagon of popular introductions to economic theory using rebuttals of generally held views. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Sam Featherston
3.0 out of 5 stars
spritely, entertaining but published at the wrong time
Well written and entertaining, this book may appear more superficial and fashionably opinionated than it actually is. In a sense, this edition has come out at the wrong time. Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2009 by windwheel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elucidating
Although i agree with Gareth about the immorality of the authors approach to the environment in the end of the book i must say it is one of the very best pop economics books i have... Read more
Published on 6 Sep 2009 by Lt Haggerty
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too cocky by half
Parts of this book delighted me and parts infuriated me. From a conventional economic perspective, Landsburg does a standard demolition job on many popular misconceptions about how... Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2008 by Gareth Greenwood
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