Applied Economics, Second Edition: Thinking Beyond Stage One: Revised and Enlarged [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Thomas Sowell (Author), Bill Wallace (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

Applied Economics is an accessible guide to how our economic decisions develop. It explains the application of economics to major world problems, including housing, medical care, discrimination, and the economic development of nations, illustrating with examples from around the world. This new, expanded edition has been updated to address economic questions that are particularly relevant to our times, with chapters on the economics of immigration, the economics of organ transplants, the creative financing of home buying that led to the current mortgage crisis, and the political and economic incentives that lead to money earmarked for highways being diverted to mass transit and to a general neglect of infrastructure. The book retains its easy readability, even for people with no prior knowledge of economics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Applied Economics...is simply the must-have field guide to our economic landscape. --Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times columnist

Applied Economics is full of...good sense and serves as an excellent defense against the counterproductive promises of political candidates. --Wall Street Journal

About the Author

THOMAS SOWELL graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. degree in economics from Harvard University, received an M.A. in economics from Columbia University, and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago. He has taught economics at Howard University, Cornel, Brandeis, and UCLA. Since 1980 he has been a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he holds a fellowship named after Rose and Milton Friedman. He is also the author of several books, including Basic Economics and his recent Economic Facts and Fallacies.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; 2nd Unabridged edition (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433291304
• ISBN-13: 978-1433291302
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > Books on CD > Business > Investing

More About the Author

Thomas Sowell has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst and other academic institutions, and his Basic Economics has been translated into six languages. He is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has published in both academic journals in such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine and Fortune, and writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for every voter!, April 20, 2009

By 

K. Hammond "software engineer" (Olathe, KS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One (Hardcover)

Once again, Sowell clearly explains everyday economic concepts with a series of interesting real-life examples from around the world and throughout history. The focus of the book is not only to explain sound economic concepts but also to explain why it is often in the personal interest of the political class to act contrary to these principles. The negative effects of their actions are often not felt until they are long out of office and few are likely to trace these effects back to their original cause. In the short term, doing the wrong thing gets them elected or re-elected.

Every voter should read this to inoculate themselves from the lies of our politicians. The book is non-partisan, exposing the political thinking of both US parties, as well as many others in other countries.

If you don't think you are interested in economics, you should be, because it affects the life of every man, woman and child on the planet. This book makes what can be a dry subject interesting. It's hard to put down!

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Economics for Dummies, March 8, 2009

By 

John P. Kennedy "Jack Kennedy" (Ruidoso, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One (Hardcover)

This book explains the world of economics better than any other I have ever read. Dr. Sowell demonstrates why he has been so successful in the academic world by reducing a boring, complex subject to that which is easy to read and understand.

I highly recommend this book to the reader who wants fact, not fiction. It will be a hard read for many liberals but a necessary one if they ever hope to understand the world as it really is!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Applied Economics, March 3, 2009

By 

C. Wilburn (Pontotoc, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One (Hardcover)

Very good book, well written and informative. Provides an in depth view of current economic problems and why they exist. This author also explains why politicians make decisions that are a "quick fix" for current economic problems to get them re-elected but the decisions they make are often harmful to the economy in the long run.