Review of 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.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Sex, Drugs and Economics: An Unconventional Introduction to Economics (Hardcover)

Review of Money for Nothing: Real Wealth, Financial Fantasies and the Economy of the Future (Hardcover)

A decade ago, economist Roger Bootle won respect for correctly predicting a long period of low inflation. In this wide-ranging look at the world economy, Bootle trades on that credibility to explain the origins of the dot-com bubble and to argue that the economy is in the midst of a housing bubble. He makes the convincing argument that stock-market gains are often little more than ephemera and he explores the idea of a knowledge-based economy. Bullish readers will be put off by Bootle's gloom and doom. Deflation has yet to occur, and the housing bubble he harps on has yet to burst in the time span since this work's publication. Still, we recommend this intriguing title to investors interested in a contrarian view of the markets and the economy.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Money for Nothing: Real Wealth, Financial Fantasies and the Economy of the Future (Hardcover)

Review of Fifty Major Economists: A Reference Guide (Key Concepts) (Hardcover)

Steven Pressman's book is the best place for anyone to start reading about economics. What you get here is neither the one-sided, smug, neoclassical viewpoint that most books on economics take nor one full of revolutionary fervour. Instead, this short book moves chronologically through the economic landscape, pausing to highlight the important economic thinkers, their lives and thoughts, and explaining both their lasting ideas and forgotten ones.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Fifty Major Economists: A Reference Guide (Key Concepts) (Hardcover)

Review of Statistical Methods in Econometrics (Hardcover)

If you want to have a book for quick reference and review on basic statistics, this is the one.

It is very well written, but it does not give extensive explanations on the topics it covers, because it assumes thereader has already studied the subject.

I think this is the perfect bookfor a Summer course, usually given to entrants PhD students inEconomics.

All the important results that a PhD student in Economics isgoing to use are there, either derived in the body of the text, or as anexercise. By the way, the exercises are very well posed, they present veryinteresting results, and the difficulty level is pretty appropriate.

Thehigh points are Part I - Probability theory, and Part II - StatisticalInference. In the former, generating functions and all relevantdistributions in Statistics are discussed, as well as the mathematicalrelationship between the distributions. In the latter, the instructorshould complete the asymptotic distribution theory with another reference.Part III - Econometrics - should be covered in a real Econometrics course,although it talks about heteroscedaticity, surprisingly including GARCHmodels.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Statistical Methods in Econometrics (Hardcover)

Review of Forecasting in Business and Economics, Second Edition (Economic Theory, Econometrics, and Mathematical Economics) (Hardcover)

This is a great book, if you are looking for a graduate level experience -- but beware.There are 2 texts from 1986 with the same ISBN number.The first is a Hardcover book by Granger and is an undergraduate text.The second is a Paperback book by Granger and Newbold and is the real deal for grad students interested in time series analysis.So if you want this book, be sure to order the Paperback by Newbold.Good Luck!I received the Hardback copy twice in error before receiving the great paperback.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Forecasting in Business and Economics, Second Edition (Economic Theory, Econometrics, and Mathematical Economics) (Hardcover)

Review of Mathematics and Mathematica for Economists (Hardcover)

Here is a practical comment for the typical economics graduate student: Buy this book if you want to start using Mathematica!

What does a typical economics graduate student need? First, s/he needs to review her/his knowledge of mathematics. Second, s/he needs to learn how to use the tool (math) to solve an economic problem. Cliff J. Huang and Philip S. Crooke's book is helpful in both respects. While they are introducing the basic language of Mathematica they review most of the undergraduate math. And they teach with a hands-on approach--that is, you solve almost every problem using Mathematica.

Mathematica is a great tool for economics graduate students, it helps you out in understanding the basic intuitions behind mathematical concepts--because you do not have to solve complex problems (Mathematica solves them for you), you just have to understand them. Of course, students are advised to consult their professors to choose the right computer software or programming language. Mathematica can do a lot, but some other software might be much more practical for your PhD thesis project...

[Also consider Differential Equations: An Introduction with Mathematica by Clay C. Ross]



Click Here to see more reviews about: Mathematics and Mathematica for Economists (Hardcover)

Review of The Secrets of Economic Indicators: Hidden Clues to Future Economic Trends and Investment Opportunities (Hardcover)

On any given weekday, stocks and bonds gyrate in response to some economic announcement.

Bernard Baumohl, a Time magazine economics writer with more than 20 years of experience, has written a guide to these indicators and their importance to the financial markets.

The book promises to become dog-eared quickly.In concise language it explains what Baumohl indicates are the most influential U. S. and International Economic Indicators.Beginning in Chapter 2, the author defines the phrases and concepts essential to an understanding of the indicators.

In Chapter 3 he jumps into the heart of the matter:U. S. economic indicators.Each indicator is evaluated using the following criteria:
*Why is it important?
*How is it computed?
*What does it day about the future?
*How might stocks, bonds and/or currencies react to its announcement?

In Chapter 4, he examines the 10 most influential foreign indicators using the same criteria.

In the final two chapters, Baumohl provides a list of web sites that compile economic data.What in the past costs thousands of dollars is available on the web at no cost.

If any facet of your life is effected by these indicators, you owe it to yourself to keep a copy of this book nearby.




Click Here to see more reviews about: The Secrets of Economic Indicators: Hidden Clues to Future Economic Trends and Investment Opportunities (Hardcover)

Review of The Keynes Solution: The Path to Global Economic Prosperity (Hardcover)

Paul Davidson has done a remarkable job of explaining John Maynard Keynes' key insights, most of which he first introduced to the world in his seminal 1936 "General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money."Unfortunately, for Keynes, that book is fairly impenetrable, so the general public is essentially unaware that the economics movement that bore his name (i.e., "Keynesian") is, in fact, a synthesis of the classical economics that Keynes rejected and Keynes' less controversial ideas.In other words, Keynes' own name was hijacked by what were, essentially, classical economists.

This book is an easy read and easy to understand because it uses the recent economic crisis to compare and contrast neoclassical economics (best exemplified by Milton Friedman and the Chicago School) to true Keynesian economics.If you really want to understand Keynes' insights in detail, pick up a used copy of Anatol Murad's "What Keynes Means," which is a fantastic primer.

If you are interested in reading other accessible economics books by heterodox economists, check out Steve Keen's "Debunking Economics."Like Davidson, Keen is a Post Keynesian economist.



Click Here to see more reviews about: The Keynes Solution: The Path to Global Economic Prosperity (Hardcover)

Review of The Passionate Economist: Finding the Power and Humanity Behind the Numbers (Hardcover)

This is an interesting account of the career of a successful business economist.Diane Swonk puts plenty of passion into her economics, which is great.She's a good writer. Her call for more accurate economic statistics is well taken.I like her definition of economics as "the study of collective human behavior."She states one of her purposes as educating armchair economists; as a biochemist and patent attorney by profession, I certainly feel I have learned something from her.
The book's flaws are mostly in its assumptions.Ms. Swonk thrills to every tiny increase in GDP, but she never stops to ask what GDP really means.GDP by definition excludes any consideration of depletion of resources, costs of pollution, effects of population growth, or quality of life.GDP has its uses in making short-term business forecasts, but applying it more generally to say how the country's economy is going is questionable at best.More accurate measures of the U.S. economy, such as the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), tend to show that the amount of true economic growth per capita since 1947 has been fairly small, and that there has been little or no real growth since 1980.It strikes me as odd, therefore, that Ms. Swonk believes so sincerely that increasing GDP is the key to improving our country's prosperity. Most people's sense of economic well-being depends greatly on whether they're better off than others, so that trying to improve people's lives by continually increasing GDP strikes me as a squirrel cage to nowhere.
Ms. Swonk states that immigration is good for the economy, which I think is very questionable.Immigration may be good for business in the short term; in the long term it is simply subsidizing other countries by letting them export their population problems here.Ms. Swonk includes a push for more deregulation.I agree that deregulation is helpful in some instances, but where significant externalities exist deregulation is likely to make our country's economic situation worse.
Ms. Swonk's discussion of her personal life seems to show the same blind spot.She details her struggles dealing with an asthmatic son, but it never crosses her mind that polluted air could be affecting him.



Click Here to see more reviews about: The Passionate Economist: Finding the Power and Humanity Behind the Numbers (Hardcover)

Review of Learning and Practicing Econometrics (Hardcover)

This is a great beginner's textbook. Whereas some, like Greene, are going to be too hard for some beginners, and others like Gujarati are far too basic, this book strikes an excellent balance. It's best feature is all theworked examples is gives you, including the raw data used, allowing you toenter the data into a statistical package and make sure you get the sameresult. This is a great confidence builder!



Click Here to see more reviews about: Learning and Practicing Econometrics (Hardcover)

Review of 50 Economics Ideas You Really Need to Know (50 Ideas) (Hardcover)

This is a fantastic read and superb addition to the 50 ideas series by Quercus. Edmund Conway does a masterful job in articulating some of the more complex and confusing subjects in a clear and concise manner. Far too often I find economists flatter to deceive with complex explanations that send the reader on a merry go round of associations and links, such that they finish up more confused than when they started. This book does a wonderful job of taking the reader through core economics principals with a healthy balance of anecdotes, quotations from key thinkers and in some cases amusing anecdotes. I have been a professional in finance for almost 10years, and whilst the book is certainly aimed at those with less experience, I still found it highly informative and thought-provoking.



Click Here to see more reviews about: 50 Economics Ideas You Really Need to Know (50 Ideas) (Hardcover)

Review of Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles, and Busts (Hardcover)

The first section What Keynes Really Said consists of short excerpts from Keynes' own books, mostly The General Theory. Lewis sets out to provide the reader with a fair and unbiased understanding of Keynes' views. Going back to the source is a worthwhile endeavor because most people know what they know through a macro textbook using a second or third-generation graphical synthesis of Keynes' idea, or through media buzzwords such as "stimulus" and "consumer confidence".

The second section, Why Keynes Was Wrong mirrors the structure of the first section. In the table of contents, the two sections are lined up in vertical columns. For example, a section in the first part called Spend More, Save Less, and Grow Wealthy is lined up against a section in the second part called Spend More, Save Less, and Grow Poorer.

There are several main themes in book. One is that most of Keynes key doctrines are paradoxical. The most well-known example is the paradox of thrift: saving is good for the individual but if everyone tries to save, then it drives the economy downwards into a bust. Another example is "unemployment equilibrium". In each case, Lewis provides simple, logical arguments against Keynes's paradoxes. The book could be characterized as a defense of common sense against obscurantism and muddle-headedness.

Keynes' reliance on paradox brings to mind what philosopher Michael Levin calls "the skim milk fallacy", which he describes as follows: "According to this paradigm, science always shows that things are the reverse of how they seem. Deep scrutiny of virtually any phenomenon will reveal that everyday convictions about it are wrong. In fact, taking things at face value betrays naiveté, while readiness to debunk is the mark of the sophisticate, what David Riesman called an 'inside dopester.'"

Another theme is Keynes' reliance on his own opinion without any supporting facts. Lewis gives many examples of how Keynes moves through a point in his reasoning that cannot be decided on purely theoretical grounds by recourse to pure opinion without any empirical support. Lewis in some cases cites subsequent empirical studies that contradicts Keynes' opinions (and in other cases, Lewis provides a common sense argument against Keynes' opinion). Where some empirical work existed at the time, Keynes would dismiss with no supporting evidence if he needed things to go in the opposite direction in order to arrive at the result he wanted.

This book fills a missing niche in the literature: a debunking of Keynes for the general reader. I believe that this book would also be useful as a supplement in a macro course.But its most important contribution in my view is that it demystifies Keynes. The ideas in The General Theory form the foundation of modern macro-economics, which is the basis for the modern practice of central banking and pretty much all monetary policy around the world. What I mean by the mystification of Keynes is that, because his theories are so long-established and deeply embedded in academic economics, government, and the public consciousness, it is difficult not to think that there must be something really deep and profound there. Upon reading Lewis' book, it is somewhat shocking to see how weak his arguments are and how poorly they stand up to any kind of logical examination.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles, and Busts (Hardcover)

Review of The Sages: Warren Buffett, George Soros, Paul Volcker, and the Maelstrom of Markets (Hardcover)

This book on the "longest recession in postwar history," is made up of three biographical essays about three men who have lived this and previous economic disasters of recent times: Buffet, Soros, and Volcker. Warren Buffet and George Soros are consummate investors; Economist Paul Volcker is a crisis-solver - an inflation slayer, more graphically.

The author wants to understand from these VIPs how and why most experts failed, and only a few succeeded, to see the coming of this near-depression recession. Other experts like Paul Krugman have offered their explanations. What is new in this book is that Soros has warned of the gathering "'superbubble' in the 1990s (p. viii)." Buffet worried about financial excesses even earlier than Soros. Apparently close friendly and colleagues have known for a long time of Volcker's concerns about the states of the US and global economies, but the ex-Fed Chairman kept quiet because he did not want his worries to undermine the authority of his successor.

Why did these men see what many didn't see? - because they are not dogmatists; they are commonsense pragmatists. Instead of allowing blind fixation with quantitative idiocy of late, the three VIPs avoided dogma with high integrity and preparedness to accept mistakes and to move on with enthusiasm. History is part teacher and part cheerleader here. Volcker saw the strengths and weaknesses of Keynesian policy in dealing with the inflation of the 1965-1980. Soros and Buffet made billions of dollars in good and bad economic times. All three sages respect free markets, but they also understand that freedom has its limits. Ideal efficient markets assume a statistical person pursuing her/his self-interests (maximum satisfaction = utility). Unfortunately application of that model to real life is a folly, because financial markets play dice with other people's money.

If you like historical biographies, you will love this book. And there are new facts to learn. Did you know, for example, that Soros' Open Society organization is named after Karl Popper's book Open Society and Its Enemies (1945)"? Interesting stuff.

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465

ISBN: 1600210465
Quotable Arthur Schopenhauer
ISBN: 9781430324959




Click Here to see more reviews about: The Sages: Warren Buffett, George Soros, Paul Volcker, and the Maelstrom of Markets (Hardcover)

Review of The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More Profitably (4th Edition) (Hardcover)

Written with great clarity, "The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing" is a phenomenal book.It begins with an explanation ofstrategic pricing, and proceeds to cover competition in the market place,segmentation of buyers, pricing and the marketing mix for industrial andconsumer goods, as well as the psychology of pricing.Also covered aremodels for determining price sensitivity, implications of sales staff pricesetting and negotiation, and finally, legal aspects of pricing.

Afterreading this book, you will understand the pitfalls of pursuing marketshare at all costs and common mistakes businesses and sales people makewhen setting or negotiating price.You will view your current pricingstructure and strategy in a new light, and be able to spot the weak spots. You'll have a better picture of how to attract the right buyers, those thatcan be served profitably.

The book indirectly touches on topics coveredin Co-opetition, and Thinking Strategically, as well as elements of theTheory of Constraints (see Eli Goldratt's "The Goal" and"It's Not Luck" or "Management Dilemmas" by EliSchragenheim)

I can't recommend this book highly enough.As for theother reader who states:

"After reading this book, I was able totalk circles around the $20,000 "marketing consultant" we wereconsidering."

believe it, it's that valuable!



Click Here to see more reviews about: The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More Profitably (4th Edition) (Hardcover)

Review of Investment Science (Hardcover)

This textbook introduces the basics of asset pricing theory and portfolio optimization at a level suitable to advanced undergraduates. The mathematics seems to be just right for practitioners: nomartingales, no girsanov theorem, but a complete treatment of binomial lattices and a semi-quantitative introduction to diffusion processes and to stochastic calculus. Problems are very well chosen. The organization of the text is standard, except for the last two chapters, related to optimal growth portfolio and to real options. Final remark: the book is excellent forself-study. I learnt the subject from Prof. Luenberger himself, and he was repeating each single word from the book, saying (as a disclaimer) that "it's not me copying the book... it's the book that copies what I said. After all, I wrote it."Needless to say, the class was excellent.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Investment Science (Hardcover)