Sex, Drugs and Economics: An Unconventional Introduction to Economics [Hardcover]

Diane Coyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 2002

A refreshing look at economics with topics ranging from sex, drugs, arms and music to energy, movies and farming, the Internet and Aids, Diane Coyle plunges herself and the reader into some of the world’s most contentious political and social issues. Diane Coyle shows how economic principles apply to headline issues in an entertaining, humane and highly intelligent way. Harvard-educated Coyle is an economist and award-winning writer specializing in business, technology and global economics.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Coyle, an economist, author, and journalist, sets out to explain economics as a method for thinking about any subject--marriage, sports, and even sex. She provides a checklist of rules to remember in order to think like an economist: for example, everything has a cost, things always change, supply and demand work, there is no easy profit, prices make the best incentives, people do what they want when common sense and economics conflict, and common sense is wrong. The first part of the book demonstrates that economics offers a rigorous analysis of most topics common to daily life. The next four sections are devoted to government and public policy, the changing structure of the economy, global issues, and traditional subject matter, such as growth and inflation. This is an excellent book, presenting economics as an important subject for readers with many different interests and concerns. Mary Whaley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"A fun read, it will give both the novice and the technician a great deal of food for thought." -- Dr. Sherry Cooper, Executive Vice-President and Global Economic Strategist, Bank of Montreal Group of Companies

"Diane Coyle delivers a most enjoyable tour and an effortless education in economics by exploring everyday subjects." -- Peter Sutherland, Chairman, BP

"Diane Coyle has done the best job yet of showing how economic thinking can be applied to life . . ." -- Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics and International Trade, Princeton University

"This is a highly engaging and remarkably literate survey of economics . . . Dr. Coyle has a rare talent . . ." -- Andrew W. Lo, Harris & Harris Group Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Director, MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Texere; 1 edition (October 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587991470
• ISBN-13: 978-1587991479
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, an easy-to-read book about economics, October 14, 2002

By 

Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty (Port Orford, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sex, Drugs and Economics: An Unconventional Introduction to Economics (Hardcover)

If you think economics is really the "dismal science," then Diane Coyle, a Harvard-trained economist who lives and works in London, is out to change your mind. And what a job she does in her new book on the basics of general economics. This work is indeed an easy read on a complex subject but Coyle never insults the intelligence of her readers and fully intends to explain in a readable style exactly what the study of economics is all about.

Right at the beginning, Dr. Coyle tells us precisely what she intends her book to do: "This book aims to demonstrate that economics is essentially a particular way of thinking about the world that can be applied to almost any situation affecting individuals, companies, industries, and governments." Then, to make sure we all understand that the study of economics is not just for the professional or the academic but has a broader horizon, she insists that economics is "the subject for you whatever your interests and concerns" and that her objective is "to provide a new light and refreshing appetizer that might satisfy delicate appetites but also encourage some readers to develop a taste for more."

One of the things that makes this book so appealing is that Dr. Coyle uses our ordinary life experiences to allow us to grasp many of the major concepts of economics. She does discuss sex and illegal drugs and how economics applies to them, but she also has chapters on sports, music, energy, auctions, war games, movies, the Internet, weather, and other common topics with which we are very familiar, all utilized as a means to introduce, explain and describe various technical terms and concepts at different points in the book.

For instance, the first chapter of the book, titled "Sex: Can you have too much of a good thing?," introduces the concepts of "demand" and "supply," as well "inelastic supply of labor" and "product differentiation." Chapter 2, which is about illegal drugs, introduces the concepts of "market," "externality," "price elasticity of demand," and "cost-benefit analysis." A later chapter on sports explains the concept of "economics of scale," while the chapter on music explains the idea of "marginal cost," and the chapter on immigration explains the concept known as the "lump of labor fallacy." Furthermore, she provides an excellent description of the concept of the "public good" in the chapter on disease, and her discussion of this concept will be of particular interest to libertarians and classical liberals.

There are a few things I found particularly helpful during my reading of this book. The most important to me as a general reader was that the major terms and concepts of economics were set in boldface type as they were introduced in the text. This meant I paid particular attention to them as I was reading and realized they were important to understanding what was being said. Next in importance, at the back of the book is an appendix outlining and explaining the "Ten Rules of Economic Thinking," a section I thought helpfully summed up many of the main points expressed in the text. Finally, a glossary is provided which further explains and expands the major terms and concepts used throughout the book. I wish this sort of format was used more often in books on otherwise difficult subjects. And of course the book includes the usual bibliography (with many Internet websites also provided) and a well-organized comprehensive index.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, June 3, 2004

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex, Drugs and Economics: An Unconventional Introduction to Economics (Hardcover)

Most books about economics tend to be rather dry and technical. Not this one. Diane Coyle writes with humor and grace, infusing her erudition into lively prose, never burdening the reader or demanding that you patiently suffer through academic digressions. She views economics not as a subject but as yoga; it's not a bunch of stuff you ought to know but rather a way of learning and reflection. Coyle manages to touch on all of the major contemporary economic issues - literally, sex, drugs and rock and roll - and to make it clear how economic logic relates to such phenomena as sexual behavior, drug taking, war, fashion, major league sports and the Internet. This is an interesting, amusing book by an excellent author, both saucy and unconventional. We know that it might not help you make a lot of money - it's not that kind of book - but believes that it will make you richer in other ways.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars econ 101/102 would've been much more interesting with this!, July 1, 2003

By 

Christine P (Henderson, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sex, Drugs and Economics: An Unconventional Introduction to Economics (Hardcover)

While reading through the chapters of this book, I regretted the fact that it was published just a year after I had taken my first introductory classes in college economics. Damn, how I missed such fun and enlightening reading! Coyle's book serves well to supplement any introductory course in economics, but it's also overall an enjoyable read.
She discusses topics that are often overlooked by professors due to their controversial and sometimes mundane nature. Nevertheless, these topics are precisely what keeps general readers interested. Not only are they controversial, but more importantly they apply to what's going on in current events and the real world. For instance,she explains (from an economist's perspective) why sex sells and why the gov't should adopt a more libertarian policy towards the sale of drugs as influenced by the law of demand.

For those who are expecting a thorough and complete formal introduction to economics using this books, don't keep your hopes up. There are no illustrations, no graphs, no general economics equations or calculations included in this book. Coyle mostly introduces economic terms in this book and describes various situations in the real world to which they can be applied (think CD sales, internet copyright infringement, sex, drugs, environmentalism, sports, almost anything you want to know about pop culture). There is even a glossary of terms in the back.

The reason why I gave this book 3 stars is because of the disappointing take on social policies that she prescribes in the end. From her arguments, I can sense a bias that she appears to be a rigid advocate of free-market capitalism. For example, she explains why child laborers are better off working at such unfair conditions because the corporations provide them with work; thus, work under conditions of exploitation is better than no work at all. But she leaves things at this. When she tackles a social issue such as the one I had described, she often leaves a void. She doesn't leave any alternatives and somehow imposes this tragic reality on what is to become of society. For this particular chapter on social injustice and the third world, I suggest reading Philip McMichael's Development and Social Change along with this book so that you'd have a more specific idea of what I am talking about when I said "alternatives."