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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 – November 1, 2005

by Tim Harford (Author)

241 customer reviews

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The Undercover Economist, Revised and Updated Edition: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor - and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!

The Undercover Economist, Revised and Updated Edition: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor - and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!
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An economist's version of The Way Things Work, this engaging volume is part field guide to economics and part expose of the economic principles lurking behind daily events, explaining everything from traffic jams to high coffee prices.
The Undercover Economist is for anyone who's wondered why the gap between rich and poor nations is so great, or why they can't seem to find a decent second-hand car, or how to outwit Starbucks. This book offers the hidden story behind these and other questions, as economist Tim Harford ranges from Africa, Asia, Europe, and of course the United States to reveal how supermarkets, airlines, and coffee chains--to name just a few--are vacuuming money from our wallets. Harford punctures the myths surrounding some of today's biggest controversies, including the high cost of health-care; he reveals why certain environmental laws can put a smile on a landlord's face; and he explains why some industries can have high profits for innocent reasons, while in other industries something sinister is going on. Covering an array of economic concepts including scarce resources, market power, efficiency, price gouging, market failure, inside information, and game theory, Harford sheds light on how these forces shape our day-to-day lives, often without our knowing it.
Showing us the world through the eyes of an economist, Tim Harford reveals that everyday events are intricate games of negotiations, contests of strength, and battles of wits. Written with a light touch and sly wit, The Undercover Economist turns "the dismal science" into a true delight.

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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 Levitts and Stephen J. Dubners 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 Harfords 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 studiessome entertaining, others indicative of times to comewill 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; 56255th edition (November 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195189779
ISBN-13: 978-0195189773
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 1.1 x 6.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 241 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #788,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #255 in Books > Business & Money > Economics > Econometrics
- #854 in Books > Business & Money > Marketing & Sales > Consumer Behavior
- #2140 in Books > Business & Money > Biography & History > Economic History

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I remember one life-changing thing from this book...

December 6, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I remember one lesson from this book, which I read 10 years ago, that a coffee shop will often pay $1.00, $1.10 and $1.20 for three sizes or qualities of coffee, but will charge the consumer $2.00, $3.00, and $4.00 respectively. The customer then dictates the level of luxury (and profit) they desire, without the business having to do so. Even though I could figure as much, they put it in a way that changed my life and business approach, and they provided an example I often share. I would give this book five stars if I remembered another example!

4 people found this helpful

Comment

Terrific book about our economy written to be entertaining but not condescending and is highly informative.

April 2, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

My 17 year old grandson told me of this book. He liked it and I read it to talk with him about it. I found it very delightful from the first page and have been discussing the issues the author raises with my mid 50 year old children. Can't recommend it enough. The author provokes thinking about our economic life and how it creates our world. It is easily read and understood.

3 people found this helpful

Comment

Very good economics for lay persons (or econ nerds), and fun to read!

May 15, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Very interesting book, expecially the final chapters:
--how China ascended from utter economic oblivion to being the 2nd largest world economy
--why the poorest nations in the world are poor and may never change

If you like this, be sure to listen to or read Tim Harford's "50 things..." https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735216134 . It is available as BBC podcasts or book. IMHO, it should be required reading/listening for everyone.

One person found this helpful

Comment

Probably the best book I have read in my entire life!

February 8, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This particular book changed my perspective on how to think. The analysis of normal things and phenomenon is so logical and intelligent. I absolutely love the way of logical deduction from Tim Harford. This book is also surprisingly easy to read. It doesn't have equations or graphs that a regular economy textbooks would have. You need to read this book if you haven't read it yet!

One person found this helpful

Comment

Amazon Customer

January 26, 2006

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book really helped sharpen my thinking on vital, everday economic realities. As you read and explore various situations that effect us all, you feel like a lot of foggy misconceptions are being shaved away and a laser clarity is put in their place. I wish everyone would read this book. We would have a lot smarter voting populace if they did.

A lot of topics are covered, but none are removed from situations that intimately effect all of us. You get a lot of insight on how various retailers struggle to set the highest price (this chapter alone paid for the price of the book, because it has made me a smarter, better armed shopper.) You learn how the concept of "missing information" makes it hard to buy a good used car as well as for a free market system to create afforable health insurance (the relationship between used cars and health insurance was as eye opening as it was fascinating.) You also learn that ecnonomists have some very good solutions to handling traffic congestion and pollution, if only the politicians would learn and listen.

This is just a sample of what is available, all written in a friendly, accessible style. No math, no graphs. Just a lot of clear reasoning and mind expanding information. Reading it was well worth my time. Hats off to the author.

12 people found this helpful

Comment

Vincent Poirier

Good illustration of marginal return and why it matters

September 24, 2006

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The Undercover Economist works well as a layman's introduction to economics, if you know nothing at all about the discipline. If you do know a bit about the field, it's less valuable but still a fun read.

Hartford discusses at length and with many examples key concepts such as marginal return and comparative advantage. One of the more enlightening chapters is about how new technologies that make the whole world richer can also make investors poorer by causing an investment bubble with unrealistically high expecations for returns. Hartford is writing of 19th century railroads, emphasizing that the internet did not change economic theory at all, that it is today as strongly governed by economic laws as were the railroad entrepreneurs of 150 years ago.

The Undercover Economist compares well with Steven Levitt's Freakonomics. Where Freakonomics presents interesting problems with counterintuitive solutions, Hartford sticks closer to plain vanilla economics and uses everyday happenings to illustrate his points. It also compares well with Steven Landsburg's Armchair Economist (1993) in that they both present standard economics. I prefer Landsburg's book (slightly) because it covers more ground (e.g. indifference curves) but Hartford's book is more topical and up to date.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

10 people found this helpful

Comment

Everyday Examples that Bring Economics to Life for All

March 12, 2006

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Tim Harford has written a clever book on understanding how economics plays out in our everyday lives. Harford uses everyday examples that bring economics to life for all:

With coffee being a commodity, how was Starbuck's able to get a premium price?

How does "first degree price discrimination" play into our lives?

Is organic food priced higher because it costs more to produce?

Who excels at the really great pricing tricks?

What happens when drivers do not pay the true cost of their actions?

How you can put simple observation to work for you?

Harford also highlights some universal truths that are worth noting. He also provides a framework to understand not only how to improve our lives individually, but also, collectively:

Taxes and their influence on behavior

Health insurance and its dependence on mutual ignorance to be profitable

Self-centered motives that can work for everyone

This is a fun, well written, and enlightening book. "The Undercover Economist" is a non-academic work; written for all - trained and untrained - who have an interest in how economics influences individuals and society.

3 people found this helpful

Comment

Really, really fun on economics

May 23, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The most entertaining book on economics I think I've read. There is probably more to some of the issues that Harford choses to provide, but that's all good. His explanations for coffee prizes, rent inside Londons's green belt, rush time transportation and supermarket packaging are both illuminating and fun. Enjoy!

One person found this helpful

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