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Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know About Wealth and Prosperity [Hardcover]

James D. Gwartney , Richard L. Stroup , Dwight R. Lee , Tawni Hunt Ferrarini
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 3, 2010

“The authors tell us what everyone should know about economics in language we can all understand. It’s refreshing when four of the best in the profession avoid the all-too-common practice of writing in a code that only other economists can comprehend.” ---Robert McTeer, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

With the global economy recovering from a steep recession, those who fail to grasp basic economic principles such as gains from trade, the role of profit and loss, and the secondary effects of government spending, taxes, and borrowing risk falling behind in their professional careers--even their personal lives. Common Sense Economics discusses key principles and uses them to show how to make wise personal and policy choices.

This new edition of a classic, with reflections on the recent recession and the policy response to it, illuminates our world and what might be done to make it better.


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Common Sense Economics: What Everyone Should Know About Wealth and Prosperity + How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes + Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance In Your Twenties and Thirties
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Economic Journalism is often based on slip-shod analysis; scientific treatises are analytically coherent but unintelligible.  This book is an effort to
bridge the awesome gap between these levels of discourse.  It is solid economic analysis, simply presented.” --Nobel Laureate James Buchanan

“If this book had been written a century ago the wasteful experiments with command economies might have been avoided. After my college-age children read this new edition, their understanding of how markets create social cooperation and wealth and how they can personally be guided in their finances sharply advanced.” —Gary M. Walton, Professor of Economics, University of California, Davis and President of the Foundation for Teaching Economics

"I gave a copy of Common Sense Economics to one of my colleagues who teaches accounting here. He read it this weekend and thought it was so good that he is considering paying his students (half the cost) to read it. We both think the lessons are perfect."—Kelly Hunter Markson, Ph.D., Instructor of Economics, Wake Technical Community College

"My high school students really enjoy this book. It is easy for them to understand and it presents important economic concepts in plain language using clear, often clever, examples. They read the whole book, and we discuss it page by page during class discussion. I believe they get more out of it than their regular text."—David Gardner, Principal and Teacher, Frederica Academy (Georgia)


Common Sense Economics is about both personal prosperity and the wealth of nations. It explains how and why ordinary people are able to accomplish extraordinary things when they are economically free and when the policies and institutions of their government are supportive of that  freedom.”     —Wayne Angell, Member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (1986–1994)

Common Sense Economics makes economic principles as obvious and simple as they can be. By weaving careful reasoning with memorable examples and clear writing, the authors explain how economies grow (or don’t grow); how prices coordinate economic activity; and how governments promote or deter economic progress. This is an extraordinary contribution to economic education.”     —Kenneth G. Elzinga, Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics, University of Virginia

 “Economics is not only fun and exciting, it’s mostly plain common sense. The authors have done a yeoman’s job in proving just that. Common Sense Economics is not only a fun, readable read but can serve as a handy and important reference for students, teachers, businessmen, members of the media, politicians, and trained economists.”       —Walter E. Williams, John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics, George Mason University

Common Sense Economics takes the economic way of thinking to the next level. If every high school graduate understood the principles in this book, people would make wiser choices as consumers, producers, and citizens and the United States would be more prosperous.” —John Morton, former Vice President for Program Development, National Council on Economic Education

“In a time when public policy is being influenced primarily by need, greed, and compassion, this text sets out, in laymen’s terms, the most basic understanding of how the economy really works. Common Sense Economics is a must-read for anyone interested in the truth about wealth creation and effective public policy.” --J. R. Clark, Probasco Chair, The University of Tennessee and Executive Director, Association of Private Enterprise Education

 

About the Author

James Gwartney holds the Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida State University and is the director of the Stavros Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Economic Education. 

Richard Stroup is the author of Eco-Nomics and an adjunct professor of economics at North Carolina State University. 

Dwight Lee is coauthor of Getting Rich in America and holds the William J. O’Neil Chair of Global Markets and Freedom at Southern Methodist University.

Tawni Hunt Ferrarini is the Sam M. Cohodas Professor of Economics and the Director of the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship at Northern Michigan University.

 


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Revised Edition edition (August 3, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312644892
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312644895
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Every American Should Read This Book January 8, 2011
Format:Hardcover
Common Sense Economics should be read by every person in the world. It is that important.

Four economics professors (Gwartney, Stroup, Lee, Ferrarini) set out to make economics easy to understand for the layperson, and with Common Sense Economics they have succeeded. This is the book that I will give to my Mom, who wants to understand how markets work but has no interest in reading through the dense academic treatises of Mises. This is the book that I will give to my friend who wants to gain a deeper understanding of the objective facts of economics, but doesn't want the "free market biases" associated with Hayek. This is the book that I would recommend to other college students that want specific examples of how they can use economic analysis to evaluate current public policy decisions without traveling 70 years into the past with Hazlitt to commiserate on FDR's New Deal policies.

Common Sense Economics is split into four parts, titled: (1) Twelve Key Elements of Economics, (2) Seven Major Sources of Economic Progress (3) Economic Progress and the Role of Government, and (4) Twelve Key Elements of Practical Personal Finance. In this review I will cover the first three.

In Twelve Key Elements of Economics, the authors present the basic, fundamental rules of economics. They introduce the key concepts of incentives, marginal analysis, trade, division of labor, specialization, prices, profits and economic institutions. They also use this section to debunk popular economic fallacies; most notably, the myth of the free lunch, and the belief that more jobs, not increased productivity, raise living standards.

In Seven Major Sources of Economic Progress, the authors answer the question, "Why are some countries rich and others poor? They describe how the legal system, competitive markets, limited government regulation, an efficient capital market, monetary stability, low tax rates and free trade are requirements for prosperity. By the end of this section even the Marxist will realize why North Korea is poor and Hong Kong rich.

Economic Progress and the Role of Government is my favorite section because the authors specifically describe the features of government that lead to economic prosperity and the actions it can take to hinder it. Most notably, I learned that certain "public goods", are not easily provided by the market, and that government must do the job. To learn which goods are public goods, you'll have to read the book, but I'll give you a hint: they're not health care and education.

My favorite part of the book comes at the end of this section, when the authors propose eight constitutional amendments that would compose an Economic Bill of Rights. They argue that the Constitutional safeguards on government powers have been imperfect and ineffective, and that only through an amendment process are we to escape the doomed march towards default or hyperinflation. Instead of simply pointing out problems, these suggested amendments give me concrete solutions that I can use as talking points when discussing economic issues with my peers.

I do believe that everyone in the world should read this book, because even if you don't live in a country with free markets, this book will convince you of their merit. However this book is especially important for Americans to read. Consider it a course in economic literacy. Most of our population, and alas, many of our political leaders, are economically illiterate. If every voter had a solid grasp on the ideas presented here, there would be a vast shift in the political discussion. No longer would taxpayers be fooled into supporting the American auto industry or bailing out its banks. No longer would we tolerate pork barrel legislation and restraints on free trade. No longer would we trust the government to control our health care and education industries. No longer would we tolerate the welfare state. No longer would we be ignorant to the dangers posed by soaring budget deficits, a bloated national debt, and runaway inflation.

Instead, Americans will learn again the lesson that many of us have forgotten; that the founding principle of this country is not unrestrained democracy in which the majority votes away the rights of the minority, but a limited government charged with protecting the rights of the smallest minority there is: the individual.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Readable! September 15, 2012
Format:Hardcover
Outstanding book and a great read! Broke things down into basic concepts. Never thought economics could be interesting, but this book helped!
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4.0 out of 5 stars Common Sense Economics made easy! December 14, 2011
Format:Hardcover
This book was very helpful in the understanding of economics. It helps people get a better perspective on personal finance, democracy, and especially macroeconomics. I think this book should be a required textbook for government and economics classes because it gives you a down to earth understanding of all the different aspects in economics. The authors of this book made it simple for anyone of any age to comprehend the material. There is an abundance of concepts and detailed information to assist people with their struggles in understanding economics.

In each part of the book the reader can grasp specific information on personal finance, economic progress, economics in our government, and lastly basic economics itself. This book helped me understand how the American government system worked and it clarifies liberal thoughts that conservatives should see. There are parts that describe competition and that is very important. My generation needs to understand that college needs to be a necessity because we are going to competing for our jobs and futures with other very well educated people from various intelligent countries. The book expands on investing and saving and those are both crucial actions that need to be done by future college attendees like myself.

There are several aspects of this book that I will keep with me. This booked has helped me better understand the flow of money, political problems in our economy, and the elements of economics that I have previously learned in my Econ class. I would suggest this book to anyone who doesn't fully understand economics or anyone who is just interested in a good read.
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