Demystifying Economics : The Book That Makes Economics Accessible to Everyone--Expanded Second Edition [Paperback]

Allen W., Ph.D. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2000

DEMYSTIFYING ECONOMICS: EXPANDED SECOND EDITION is a survey of basic economics written in simple language with the use of concrete examples that relate economics to ordinary daily life. The book is designed to make economics accessible to everyone regardless of educational background. The book provides substantial coverage of federal budget deficits and the more than five-fold increase in the national debt just during the past 20 years. The book also deals with such important topics as, "Unemployment and Inflation," "Money and Banking and the Federal Reserve System," "International Trade and Finance," and "Unions and Collective Bargaining."

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Smith, a teacher of economics for more than 25 years at the high school and college levels, has a career ambition of waging war against economic illiteracy, and his purpose in writing this book is to make basic economics accessible to everyone. Written in textbook style with a set of economic highlights listed at the end of each chapter, he uses simple language and concrete examples that relate economics to ordinary daily life. The author notes that good economics and good politics are often in direct conflict, and when politicians have to choose between the two, they almost always select good politics. Therefore, it is doubly important that the public understands basic economic issues. Smith explains concepts such as supply and demand; business organizations and market structures; labor economics; gross domestic product; inflation; fiscal policy; money and banking; and international trade. This handbook is an excellent resource for beginners as well as those seeking to review their understanding of economic principles. Mary Whaley --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

"On a recent nationwide test of basic economic principles, two thirds of the 1,085 high school students who took it did not even know that the stock market is where people buy and sell shares--never mind that investments can tumble. Worse, few understood that scarcity drives up prices or that money loses value in times of inflation--two consumer fundamentals. Average grade: F"

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT--June 14, 1999 The above article refers to a study conducted by Louis Harris & Associates on behalf of the National Council on Economic Education. The survey is based on interviews with a national cross-section of 1,010 adults aged 18 and over and a representative sample of 1,085 high school students. The results of the survey are shocking. On average, adults got a grade of 57 percent for their knowledge of basic economics compared to an average score of only 48 percent for high school students. Only 54 percent of adults and 23 percent of high school students knew that if the government spends more than it collects there is a budget deficit! The American public must become better informed about economic issues. Good economics and good politics are often in direct conflict, and when politicians have to choose between the two, they almost always choose good politics. This book makes basic economics accessibe to everyone. It is written in simple language with the use of concrete examples that relate economics to ordinary daily life. Welcome to the world of economic literacy!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Ironwood Pubns; 2 Expanded edition (April 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964850478
• ISBN-13: 978-0964850477
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,514,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allen W. Smith has devoted much of his adult life to battling economic illiteracy and promoting economic education. He taught economics to college students for 30 years before retiring as Professor of Economics at Eastern Illinois University in 1998 to become a full-time writer. Over the years, Smith has written numerous books in his effort to help readers understand economics and government economic policy. Understanding Inflation and Unemployment, Smith's first book, became an alternate selection of Fortune Book Club when it was published in 1976. Understanding Economics, published by Random House in 1986, was used in more than 600 schools in 48 states.

In recent years, Smith has focused his research and writing on government finance and Social Security. He published The Alleged Budget Surplus, Social Security, and Voodoo Economics in 2000, The Looting of Social Security: How the Government is Draining America's Retirement Account in 2004, and Social Security: The Attempt to Kill It in 2005. In 2008, Dr. Smith published a third edition of his popular layman's guide to economics, Demystifying Economics: The Book That Makes Economics Accessible to Everyone.

Dr. Smith has discussed economics and Social Security on national television, and he has been a guest on more than 100 radio talk shows. He holds a B.S. in Education degree from Ball State University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Indiana University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reader's response to Demystifying Economics, May 1, 2000

By 

Victor Stoltzfus (Goshen, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demystifying Economics : The Book That Makes Economics Accessible to Everyone--Expanded Second Edition (Paperback)

DEMYSTIFYING ECONONOMICS takes a complex subject and makes it possible for both beginning students and older adults who have forgotten a lot from school days, to understand the basics of economics. The author has over 28 years of teaching experience and it shows. He is a writer who cares about students and the public, not just other economists. The careful reader will learn about the basic problem of economics, that is scarcity. Nations and citizens must choose because we have unlimited wants and limited resources. Readers will learn: the varied ways in which business firms are organized, labor economics, government policies designed to keep from boom and bust excesses, money and banking and international trade etc. The book also tells the story of how our national debt zoomed from 290.5 billion in 1960 to 5 trillion,711.4 billion (est) in 2000. This book belongs in libraries, as a companion text in schools and colleges and in the personal libraries of citizens who wish to make informed choices.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great primer on the US Economy, June 10, 2003

By 

Steve (Rockford, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demystifying Economics : The Book That Makes Economics Accessible to Everyone--Expanded Second Edition (Hardcover)

With all this talk lately about the condition the economy is in, I thought I'd do myself some good and actually read up a little bit on what the economy is actually all about - I'm in my 30's and it's been some years since those highschool economics classes.

I actually picked this up at my local library - but I liked it so much it's now on my Wish List.
The author takes a subject that's frankly not very exciting or clear to most, and puts it in words almost anyone can understand and states examples of how different concepts would work.

In this book I learned about such things as:

-The laws of Supply and Demand
-Different types of business organizations and what monopolies, oligopolies, and anti-trust laws are all about
-Labor unions and their effect on the workforce, and why some trades tend to make so much more than others due again to supply and demand
-What the gross domestic product is and how fiscal policies effect the economy
-Where the money for unemployment checks comes from and how the government determins what the unemployment rates are
-What causes inflation and why it's not necessarily a bad thing
-How the Federal Reserve System works and what banks do with my money after I make a deposit
-How internation trade effects the economy, and why buying foreign goods is actually good for the economy

Although this book doesn't cover everything there is to know about economics, it certainly is a great book for "US Economics in a Nutshell," and I feel I have a much better understanding of how the economy works now.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Economics/Business Reinforcer, June 9, 2006

By 

the anarchist - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demystifying Economics : The Book That Makes Economics Accessible to Everyone--Expanded Second Edition (Hardcover)

I picked this book up when I realized I needed to brush up on some economics and cover some bases I did not study adequately enough in school. As an introduction to economics for the layman, it does its job, thus the 4 stars I give it.

I knew since reading Paul Krugman that the national debt was a serious problem, but Table 10-1 of this book, which shows its growth over the past few decades, leaves haunting images within me. I am very concerned about our national debt, in a way I was not before, with the author clarifying for me the nature of the national debt and its relationship to the budget deficits. Clarifying concepts is what Dr. Allen W. Smith does best.

The book covers the characteristics of individual proprietorships, partnerships and corporations, and explains supply-side economics, monetarism, and absolute and comparative advantage, among many other things. The clarity with which the writer expresses these concepts has made me think hard about the pitfalls of starting my own business, in which I would be totally liable for any debts that I incur.

Dr. Smith's explication of the importance of marginal revenue and marginal cost to determine optimal production levels is very good. In school I learned that you can maximize profit when marginal revenue equals marginal cost, but the book allowed me to understand the reasoning behind it.

It's a short book, with a mini-dictionary at the end, and is never boring. It is strongly recommended for those who want to learn more about economics or at least brush up on some topics.

I suspect the book is too elementary for those hard-core into economics, but it has great value for most of the "educated" public.