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The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World Paperback – February 10, 2009

by Tim Harford (Author)

67 customer reviews

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Life sometimes seems illogical. Individuals do strange things: take drugs, have unprotected sex, mug each other. Love seems irrational, and so does divorce. On a larger scale, life seems no fairer or easier to fathom: Why do some neighborhoods thrive and others become ghettos? Why is racism so persistent? Why is your idiot boss paid a fortune for sitting behind a mahogany altar? Thorny questions–and you might be surprised to hear the answers coming from an economist. But award-winning journalist Tim Harford likes to spring surprises. In this deftly reasoned book, he argues that life is logical after all. Under the surface of everyday insanity, hidden incentives are at work, and Harford shows these incentives emerging in the most unlikely places.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Highly readable, funny and daringly contentious . . . a whopping good time.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“[Tim] Harford sets off on an enormously entertaining yarn backed by the findings of expert economists. He spins playfully, but smartly, across matters of sex, crime, gambling, addiction, marriage, racism, ghettos and politics, and he makes it all, well, titillating at times. Really.”
–USA Today

“Harford has a knack for explaining economic principles and problems in plain language and, even better, for making them fun.”
–The New York Times

“[Harford] is an amiable guide for the non-specialist reader . . . but his command of the subject is such that even a well-schooled economist will discover much that is new.”
–The Economist

“Highly engaging . . . entertaining and provocative.”
–Publishers Weekly

“A fascinating work with many ‘aha’ moments.”
–Booklist

“Smart, charming, penetrating, and wise.”
–Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics

“Chock-full of numbers and money talk, but oddly entertaining.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“Charming and informative.”
–Newsday

“Like Harford’s earlier book, The Undercover Economist–if you haven’t got it, get it–this book uses the basic theory of rational choice to make transparent the logic behind common but important puzzling phenomena. Even a trained economist can enjoy discovering what he didn’t realize he already knew. I did.”
–Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics

“This witty, intelligent book will help you see the entire world in a new light.”
–Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner Economist

About the Author

Tim Harford is the author of the bestseller The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life and a member of the editorial board of the Financial Times, where he also writes the “Dear Economist” column. He is a regular contributor to Slate, Forbes, and NPR’s Marketplace. He was the host of the BBC TV series Trust Me, I’m an Economist and now presents the BBC series More or Less. Harford has been an economist at the World Bank and an economics tutor at Oxford University. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters.

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Product details

Paperback: 255 pages
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 10, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780812977875
ISBN-13: 978-0812977875
ASIN: 0812977874
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 67 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #205 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Econometrics
- #520 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Macroeconomics
- #905 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > Applied > Statistics

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Feng Ouyang

An excellent story about human rationality

March 29, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

What are the most irrational human behaviors? If you ask me, love, drug addiction, and overpaying CEOs would be on the top of my list.
However, according to “The Logic of Life” by Tim Harford, these and a number of other “human nature” behaviors actually have rational motivations. This book explores human rational calculations at individual and societal levels with the eyes of an economist.
Just saying a behavior is rational is like a cheap version of the evolutionary theory. Just any biological traits can be explained by the survival advantage it brings to the table, any human behavior can be explained by some reasoning behind it. If that were what the book was about, it would not be very interesting. Fortunately, this book is more than that. It tells stories and researches that show the connections between rational reasoning and behavior with intricate experiments and data analyses. While the book focuses on rationality, the author is ready to admit that many (perhaps more) human behaviors are irrational. The author also goes out of his way to address possible objections. Some of the objections were conceded, others were fended off with more research and data. All of such deliberations make the book an enjoyable read.
The topics impressing me the most are rational reactions of the disadvantaged. The author pointed out that racial discrimination can be irrational (hate) or rational (stereotype). However, the effect on the victim group is the same. They lose motivation to improve their qualification and even resent their members who actually want to improve. Another counter-intuitive (although well known) fact is that the lack of trust mechanism hurts not only the party who need to trust but also the party who need to be trusted. In a totalitarian society, there is no credible way to check and balance the behavior of the ruler. Therefore, people cannot trust the rulers will keep any promise of compromise. Their only rational option is overthrowing the rule through revolution, although revolution incurs a high cost to the people as well.
When started the book, I thought it was a knockout of “Freakonomics.” But I was pleasantly surprised. It covers different topics and covers better. The author also wrote the famous book “The Undercover Economist,” which I read many years ago. I was not that impressed then. Maybe it’s time to reread that book.

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Timothy Griffin

readable, decent, some great stuff, contrived ending

September 21, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The Logic of Life

Overall Assessment

This is an interesting enough discussion of everyday human action reflecting rational economic calculation--however counterintuitive it seems at first blush. From my armchair this looks like part of a trend of economics grounded who-woulda-thunk-it books cashing in on *Freakonomics*, although the specific examples (see below) are usually thought provoking. Definitely written for the self-styled "advanced layman", as I flatter myself as being, so it worked for me, generally.

Brief Content Summary:

Teens engaging in oral sex, third world prostitutes not using condoms, companies promoting crooks and boneheads to multimillion dollar executive positions, poker playing game theorists, are all acting, in a sense, rationally. There is an economic logic for divorce when women have better opportunities outside dysfunctional marriages; despite our romantic ideals, we are economic thinkers when mating.

More disturbing is that segregated housing and even racially influenced employment decisions have an economic logic "rational racism": Research shows that "black looking" names are a detriment in employment applications, all other things being equal. Other research shows that, in a reinforcing cycle, minorities learn they are more likely to be rejected, see no point in excelling, which in turn reinforces the half-truth that is the basis for rejection. (I found that part so compelling and interesting I'm assigning it in my race and crime class.)

Voters are rationally ignorant because their vote counts functionally for nothing, as are the victims of special interest lobbies like the subsidized sugar industry. Revolutions against corrupt and oppressive states are rare and hard to initiate because most individuals rationally and avoid direct conflict with the state.

It ends with a somewhat clumsy apologetic for defense of property rights and an optimistic appraisal of the human prospect that can occur when (I guess this is the point), we let people act in their own interests. People innovate and create wealth. If this addendum had its own "logic of life" I missed it, to be sure.

It's funny that I write this now that Chris Ferguson, the mathematics-game-theorist whiz kid who rocked the house in Vegas using game theory principles, is among those now being indicted by the state department for a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme from his gambling website. No doubt Harford would have a "rational actor" explanation. Maybe sometimes people just do stupid stuff because they have a warped *perceived* reality.

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Don Hallford

Interesting Read

December 19, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A well thought out book. Interesting concepts surrounding the facts of modern life. Made me stop and think more than a few times. Well developed theories. Would recommend to a friend.

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Bryan B.

This may be my favorite of the three Harford books I have read

August 30, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

"The Logic of Life" describes what economists mean by rational and then pursues how economists use that assumption to examine crime, characteristics of cities, marriage and the family, economic growth and other issues. This may be my favorite of the three Harford books I have read. Clearly on top of recent research and is a brilliant expositor. You will enjoy this book.

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Alyssa

Four Stars

February 13, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a great book. Laying out the foundation work of our economical society.

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Natalie Spong

easy to read and wonderful intro to economics that affect ...

January 10, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Entertaining, easy to read and wonderful intro to economics that affect all of us in day to day life.

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ScrawnyPunk

Good collection of recent work

May 17, 2008

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a good collection of recent behavioral economics work by other economists. The chief benefit of Harford's book seems to be his order and thematic premise: people make logical decisions. However, this is not a new idea. Rather, it is a soft-handed defense of the central premise of economic thought: people make logical decisions.

The book reads very quickly and the various studies and papers are presented in an easily digestible format. Worthwhile reading for anyone with a passing interest in economics. Serious readers should go for the articles in the bibliography instead.

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