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Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics (Hardcover)

by Paul Ormerod (Author)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

Hardcover: 270 pages
Publisher: Faber and Faber (7 April 2005)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0571220126
ISBN-13: 978-0571220120
Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.2 x 2.8 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 320,027 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Brian Appleyard, New Statesman
‘Punchy and entertaining … The real importance of what Ormerod is saying goes far beyond economics... Exhilarating.’

Product Description
From the author of "The Death of Economics" and "Butterfly Economics", a look at a truth all too seldom acknowledged: most commercial and public policy ventures will not succeed.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Right ideas, good examples, but rambling, 27 Nov 2005

By	Ted "tl" (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I sympathize with the critique of traditional economics as too focused on equilibrium and other simplifying assumptions. The author uses examples from biology, dynamic complex systems theory and many other fields to make his point that economic and social interactions are too complex to be fully understood and predicted. But sometimes he is beating the obvious to death. It’s hardly surprising that most corporations eventually fail when viewed over long time periods.

I did learn a little more about the history of economics and its limitations. But I found the book unfocused and rambling. The main point about “Why Most Things Fail” is pretty obvious at a general level, the reasoning about that is long winded, but the examples are interesting.

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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life is not mechanical, so why should economics be?, 26 Sep 2005

By A Customer

I greatly enjoyed the book, certainly it compared very well with Freakonomics, as Ormerod's book told you things you wouldn't have realised, and makes you think more about society. I liked the discussions on complexity of organisation and the natural conclusion that competition and decentralisation of decision making is the safest way for organisations, including societies, to survive.

Nice to read economists acknowledging the limits of the pure 'free-market' approach while stressing the benefits of market capitalism.

Recommended.

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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointing, 26 Aug 2005

By	K. Tune "mustard57" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read Ormerod's 'Death of Economics' around 10 years ago now - and really enjoyed it. He clearly believes he has a mission to challenge orthodox classical equilibrium led linear economics, which has the unfortunate problem of being based on over simplified premises, leading to failure to explain many real world phenomena ( e.g. boom and bust ). That was a great book - arming the interested reader with demonstrations of problems in modern economic theory.

Unfortunately this book, 10 years later is a retread of the same ideas, with a chapter at the end about how governments should act to promote economic health ( competition is not the answer ). You'll probably enjoy it if you didn't read 'Death ...'. If you did - well sadly this contains no extra pearls.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars How evolution explains business failures
This excellent, short work by Paul Ormerod is a worthy successor to his remarkably successful Butterfly Economics. Read more

Published on 21 Nov 2006 by Rolf Dobelli

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - accessible, but the informed will gain more
Another economics text which takes well from other disciplines.
By the time you get to the other end you will have a much better idea about how economics can help you... Read more

Published on 6 Aug 2005 by G. Gavigan

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