Kirkus Reviews

In just a few easy lessons, economics journalist Wheelan can teach the most innocent reader to think like an economist. In an effortless, sprightly manner, Wheelan takes us from basic concepts to the most current economic difficulties. Old Man Malthus was wrong, we now know (there's plenty to eat), but the once-dismal science still has direct application to our present-day lives. The amoral marketplace is not a zero-sum game, but sometimes the market, like French democracy, doesn't quite work right. That's why Honda Civics lose head-on confrontations with Ford Explorers. Can you explain why Israel's gross domestic product is twice that of Saudi Arabia? Maximizing utility, incentive, and human capital may have something to do with it, and so may public policy, as the author demonstrates. He intelligibly bares consequential concepts like "adverse selection," "deadweight loss," "asymmetry of information," and "purchasing power parity"; he nicely explains the difference between fiscal and monetary policy and the Fed's job, as well as why it matters. Just how economic depression and virulent inflation wreak havoc is made clear. He tells us why the role of our government is largely helpful. (Are you really able to get bin Laden on your own?) Of course, when it comes to government intervention, there are cons along with the pros. (Health care, for example.) Are you discomfited by the policies of the World Bank or the activities of the IMF? Keep reading. You will probably be convinced that on the whole and in the long run globalization is a good thing. (Whether historical forces will work against it and bring on a worldwide depression is yet to be seen). The workings of the financial markets are made simple. Meanwhile, Wheelan's investment advice, conforming to the immutable laws of economics, is patently sane: save, invest, diversify for the long run, and eschew get-rich-quick schemes. A gentle, clear, and accessible hornbook that should crowd out many other general texts.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Ever wonder what it means when the Fed raises interest rates? Or why there are occasional fears of inflation? To the rescue comes this simplified and chatty nontextbook textbook. Using words rather than math, it makes economics accessible, comprehensible and appealing. Wheelan, the <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Economist's Midwest correspondent, breezily explains the big picture, including finance, capital markets, government institutions and more. His informal style belies the sophisticated and scholarly underpinnings of his subject. Wheelan champions the often-maligned science: "Economics should not be accessible only to the experts. The ideas are too important and too interesting." Well before book's end, highly persuasive yet simply illustrated concepts sway the reader. Complex ideas are demystified and made clear, using familiar examples, such as the price of sweatshirts at the Gap. A chapter on financial markets compares a grapefruit and ice cream fad diet with get-rich-quick schemes. (He wryly offers the mantra "Save. Invest. Repeat.") Similarly, an explanation of interest rates compares them to "rental rates," an easy-to-grasp concept. And to convey what the major international institutions do, Wheelan writes: "If the World Bank is the world's welfare agency, then its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the fire department responsible for dousing international financial crises." Wheelan's simplicity does not mask the detailed encapsulation of complicated issues, such as relative wealth, globalization and the importance of human capital. He smartly shows that while economic consequences can be global, they are also a part of everyday life. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

<EMPHASIS TYPE=""BOLD"">Forecast:<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC""> A catchy cover illustration—a naked stick figure with George Washington's dollar bill face covering his middle—and the promise of finally understanding economics will attract recent college grads and uncertain older folk.

ALA Booklist (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2002)

Wheelan, a magazine and radio correspondent, offers ideas about economics in plain language without equations, jargon, and diagrams. He brings us the most powerful concepts in economics while simplifying the building blocks or not using them at all. Basic principles come alive in the author's explanation of individuals acting to make themselves as well off as possible (however that is defined) and the notion that firms try to make as much money as possible by deciding what to produce, how and where to produce it, how much to produce, and at what price. In a manner that is informative and understandable, Wheelan covers such topics as the power of markets, the role of government in the economy, productivity and human capital, the Federal Reserve, and trade and globalization. This is an excellent book, which, as Wheelan posits, is not economics for dummies; it is economics for smart people who never studied economics (or have only a vague recollection of doing so).