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The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor--and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car! (Hardcover)

by Tim Harford (Author) "I would like to thank you for buying this book, but if you're anything like me you haven't bought it at all..." (more)
Key Phrases: undercover economist, externality charge, scarcity power, United States, Hong Kong, New York (more...)

4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (120 customer reviews)

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Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science by Charles Wheelan
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Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Nattily packaged-the cover sports a Roy Lichtensteinesque image of an economist in Dick Tracy garb-and cleverly written, this book applies basic economic theory to such modern phenomena as Starbucks' pricing system and Microsoft's stock values. While the concepts explored are those encountered in Microeconomics 101, Harford gracefully explains abstruse ideas like pricing along the demand curve and game theory using real world examples without relying on graphs or jargon. The book addresses free market economic theory, but Harford is not a complete apologist for capitalism; he shows how companies from Amazon.com to Whole Foods to Starbucks have gouged consumers through guerrilla pricing techniques and explains the high rents in London (it has more to do with agriculture than one might think). Harford comes down soft on Chinese sweatshops, acknowledging "conditions in factories are terrible," but "sweatshops are better than the horrors that came before them, and a step on the road to something better." Perhaps, but Harford doesn't question whether communism or a capitalist-style industrial revolution are the only two choices available in modern economies. That aside, the book is unequaled in its accessibility and ability to show how free market economic forces affect readers' day-to-day.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine
Harford exposes the dark underbelly of capitalism in Undercover Economist. Compared with Steven Levitt’s and Stephen J. Dubner’s popular Freakonomics (*** July/Aug 2005), the book uses simple, playful examples (written in plain English) to elucidate complex economic theories. Critics agree that the book will grip readers interested in understanding free-market forces but disagree about Harford’s approach. Some thought the author mastered the small ideas while keeping in sight the larger context of globalization; others faulted Harford for failing to criticize certain economic theories and to ground his arguments in political, organizational structures. Either way, his case studies—some entertaining, others indicative of times to come—will make you think twice about that cup of coffee.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195189779
ISBN-13: 978-0195189773
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (120 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,096 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
I would like to thank you for buying this book, but if you're anything like me you haven't bought it at all. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
undercover economist, externality charge, scarcity power, start theorem, externality pricing, nonmarket system, congestion charging, fair trade coffee, lemons problem, congestion charge, machine drills

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Hong Kong, New York, David Ricardo, United Kingdom, World Bank, President Biya, South Korea, European Union, London Eye, Los Angeles, Mancur Olson, North Korea, Soviet Union, Costa Coffee, Martin Wolf, Tottenham Court Road, Farragut West, Fletcher Reede, Great Depression, National Health Service, Professor Wilson, Tiger Woods, Tony Dye, Corn Laws

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 32 books:

Why Globalization Works (Yale Nota Bene) by Mr. Martin Wolf on page 251, and Back Matter
South Korea (Next Stop) by Fred Martin on page 213, and Back Matter
Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life by Steven E. Landsburg in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
History of the World, The Penguin: Revised Edition (Penguin History) by J. M. Roberts in Back Matter
Stock Market by Instructor Books in Back Matter

See all 32 books this book cites

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	25% buy The Undercover Economist 3.8 out of 5 stars (50) $10.17
	7% buy Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science 4.7 out of 5 stars (148) $10.85
	6% buy The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World 3.7 out of 5 stars (43) $8.24

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Customer Reviews

120 Reviews

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211 of 220 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Power of Orthodox Economic Thought, November 18, 2005

By	Marty McFly (United States) - See all my reviews

If you read only one pop economics book this year, The Undercover Economist should be it. Harford, a columnist for the Financial Times among other distinctions, has written a book that could almost serve as a textbook for an Economics 101 course. But it's emphatically not dry or dull. Instead, what Harford has done is convey the excitement, the power, and the often counter-intuitive results of economic thought. In so doing, he has written more or less the economic equivalent to The Selfish Gene.

Many recent books (notably Freakonomics) have dealt with the more exciting realms of economic research, such as the application of certain economic models to what most people would consider non-economic behavior. And far more books have talked about "economics" in the context of even trendier ideas like globalization (think The World is Flat or even No Logo). Such books, however, are reflections of marginal (in the case of the former) or unsophisticated (in the case of the latter) economic schools of thought.

Harford presents the orthodoxy in all its glory, and reminds readers that economists really do see the world in a different--and fascinating--way. He explains simple, but often misunderstood, concepts like adverse selection (that is, why health insurance costs too much), as well as even simpler, but far more consequential, economic models, such as David Ricardo's explanation of why landowners, and not farmers, make money from rising crop prices. Along the way, he explains why the prices at Safeway and Whole Foods are about the same--and why the prices for items on the top shelf are higher than prices for the same goods on the bottom shelf.

Granted, the book has its flaws, principally its (market-driven) lack of any equations or graphs and, more important, its refusal to take up any serious questions of macroeconomics. If you want to understand how recessions occur or how federal spending affects the world and national economy, then you're out of luck. But in focusing tightly on basic microeconomic principles--the foundation of the most insightful parts of economics--Harford succeeds in keeping the book accessible and useful.

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88 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, an economist speaks my own language!, November 3, 2005

By	H. Benjamin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just finished this book, which is a bit like a real life cheat-sheet. Give this guy the Nobel prize: he made economics INTERESTING AND FUN for me!!! A dreading challenge, believe me!

Economics is everywhere. We're surrounded by it, but most people do not think about it in they're daily lives. That's unfortunate: one would certainly learn to drive before standing behind the wheel of an automobile. So why not learn about the economic incentives that actually drive most of our own behavior before getting out and getting hit by that $2.90 latte?

Learning about those incentives is not only worth it, as the examples in this book prove again and again; it also helps you make sense of what is happening around you, and therefore make better, informed choices. If one understands how most things are driven by the invisible laws of trade, competition, inflation and cost/spending or tax incentives, then one has less chance to get abused by such a system. Even better: this book shows how to ride that system and take advantage of the inherent value one holds as a consumer.

I am finishing writing this review and am going out get a latte and do some grocery shopping. Now that I've read Tim Harford's book, I know where to go and how to make the best use of the scarce money I have (but I won't reveal the tricks here, as it would be like revealing a surprise end to a good book).

My bet is that I'll be able to save what I paid for the book by the time I log back in to Amazon to see if my review has been picked up or not!

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254 of 299 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's much better than Freakonomics, December 15, 2005

By	Gaetan Lion - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Steve Levitt's "Freakonomics" has made the economics of everyday life a trendy subject for readers and very lucrative for economists. Tim Harford has caught the wave with his own "The Undercover Economist." However, "The Undercover Economist" is far better.

"The Undercover Economist" does an excellent job at explaining much of economics theory through the simple experiences of everyday consumers. We all buy coffee, go to the supermarket, buy airline tickets, buy used cars, and buy or rent housing. He explains the underlying economic forces that apply to our everyday purchasing choices by relying on his extensive background in macro and microeconomics, but also Game Theory, and Behavioral Economics. As a result, he educates the reader in a broad based knowledge of economics ranging from the basic (macro economics) to the cutting edge (Game Theory).

"Freakonomics" deals with obtuse subjects that have nothing to do with consumers' everyday lives. When is the last time you were concerned with Sumo wrestlers or Chicago High School teachers cheating, or whether abortion in the 70s influenced the crime rate in NY City in the 90s. These events have nothing to do with economics but rather regression analysis. Levitt, unlike Harford, never covers basic economic topics like demand, supply, and price elasticity just to name a few.

Harford does an excellent job of tying microeconomic events to the World economy. Your buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks boosts Brazilian coffee exports to the U.S., which affects the U.S. current account deficit that impacts the U.S. demand for foreign capital that may affect interest rate levels and future economic growth. Meanwhile, by focusing on Sumo wrestlers cheating Levitt can't readily explain the Japanese trade surplus. Thus, Levitt boxes himself in a corner with nowhere to go.

Harford is a better writer. He is a well-established British FT columnist. Levitt can't write for the general public. So, he hired himself a co-author, Stephen Dubner, to put prose to paper. This strategy worked only up to a point, as Dubner wasted much ink on adulating Levitt. As a result, "Freakonomics" comes across as a PR campaign for Levitt. There is none of that self-adulating distraction in Harford's book.

Harford gives credit where credit is due. Levitt truly believes he invented a new science "Freakonomics" or the economics of everyday life. But the subject is as old as economics itself as Adam Smith in his 18th century writings always referred to everyday common transactions between local merchants and consumers. Levitt just invented a meaningless word that turned out to be lucrative. Harford often acknowledges his predecessors (from Adam Smith to Steven Landsburg) and does not claim to have invented a new science. He just intends to educate while he entertains. Harford has been successful on both counts. Levitt has not.

I recommend several other good books on this subject. These include: David Friedman's "Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life", Gary Becker's "The Economics of Life", and Steve Landsburg's "The Armchair Economist."

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Economics shouldn't be this fun
I have a soft spot for economics books, especially somewhat poppy ones. Mr Hartford strikes a perfect balance between poppy and teaching core principals. Read more

Published 15 days ago by Allison M. Perkel

4.0 out of 5 stars Become an economist (almost) instantly!
This was a great introduction to the field of economics.

He starts off talking about coffee shops and why they are at the top of every major subway escalator in... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Michael O'Brien

5.0 out of 5 stars For those of us who aren't economists...
...Harford's work is invaluable. Some of the more technical reviews of this book lose sight of the basic issue: most of us do not think about the Dismal Science in our... Read more

Published 4 months ago by FootInMouth

4.0 out of 5 stars Macro 1 as it should be
Who pays for your coffee? With this simple yet mistaken (think about it!) question, Tim Harford introduces David Ricardo's theory of economic rent. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Declan Trott

4.0 out of 5 stars Economics demystified (for the developed world only)
Harford is a mecro-economist, a bridge between macro and micro economics. Harford explains macro-economic phenomena such as retail pricing, stock market behavior, taxation,... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Kashyap Deorah

2.0 out of 5 stars Scientific explanations of common sense
All Harford does, is apply simple supply and demand paradigm to almost every issue he touch on and tries to make an impression that it's somehow revolutionary or ground breaking... Read more

Published 9 months ago by TechnoViking

4.0 out of 5 stars Dry but worth a second read
I grabbed this book from my local bookstore after being drawn in by the title. I've always had an interest in economics as whole, but never took the time to really dig myself into... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Phillip C. Mccollum

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Style, Great Content
Harford provides some wonderfully relevant, interesting and entertaining examples of basic economic principles. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Ms. Sonya D. Sawtelle

5.0 out of 5 stars Going undercover
Tim Harford explains economics and uses economics to explain things that don't seem to make much sense on the surface.

Published 14 months ago by E. Ryan

4.0 out of 5 stars Everyday examples on economics
I came across this book at Commercial Press a few months ago. The cost was $160. I didn't buy it in the first instance but instead went to the Victoria Park Book Festival hoping... Read more

Published 14 months ago by Raymond Poon

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