Economics: Making Sense of the Modern Economy

by Simon Cox (Editor)

Written in the accessible, intelligent, jargon-free style for which The Economist is famous, this book is aimed at anyone – from students to presidents – who wants to make sense of the modern economy and grasp how economic theory works in practice. The laws of economics do not change from week to week. If you have ever wondered why America's trade deficit attracts so much fuss, why central bankers enjoy so much deference, whether stockbrokers earn their commissions, or why we cannot share unemployment by sharing work out more evenly, the articles in this book provide answers based on economic principles of lasting relevance. Part one of the book looks at globalisation. Part two track the fortunes of the world economy - America's recovery and its imbalances; China's rise; and the brighter signs for the Japanese and German economies after years of underachievement. Part three examines the "capital" in capitalism - what finance does for the economy; how money and credit are created, regulated and circulated; and capial flows across national borders. Part four explores how economics is applied and misapplied - what the market can achieve and how it can fail.

Genres: Economics, Business, Nonfiction

326 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Simon Cox was the founding editor-in-chief of Phenomena magazine, a U.S. based newstand publication launched in 2003. Having studied Egyptology at University College London, he went on to work as a research assistant for some of the biggest names in the alternative history game, including Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval, and David Rohl. He lives in England.

Reviews

[Riku Sayuj · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is easy to be stunned by the manifest foresight that a book like this can showcase. But the reader has to remember that in a magazine like The Economist, a number of contrasting ideas about the current world economy would always be sloshing around. To later make a selective compilation of those articles that proved to be 'prophetic' is an exercise in exclusion that is designed to present a false sense of confidence or analytical foresight. Just because a collection of articles from a magazine turned out to be quite close to the mark, there is no reason to believe that any random article you might pick up from this week's Economist will be of equal predictive value.

I have nothing against the magazine or the book. I greatly enjoy the magazine and to a more moderate extent liked the book as well. But the blatantly triumphant endnotes trumpeting the date of each article and a further note on how the world actually played out was grating to say the least.

[Jayendren Subramoney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was exceptionally disappointed in this book.

This book is basically rhetoric, and it rehashes all material you learned in school with hardly any relation to the real world. I was shocked to see that such a prominent magazine would regurgitate economic dogma.

I assumed that because it was a collection of the BEST articles from the The Economist, that the thinking would be profound and knowledge cutting edge. I was sorely mistaken. After reading this I've come to realise that this book/magazine is ultimately designed to push the status quo and indoctrinate specific economic thought.

I read this shortly before the 2008 GFC, and when the GFC hit, it confirmed that most of the book is literal garbage.

The upside is that this book did lead me to explore more interesting books about economics.

[Lu Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started off with a very defensive tone. As opposed to stating its own opinions, it conveyed its message with point-blank assault on globalization critics.

As it winds on however, the book proved its worth by making reasonably detailed, well-informed analyses of the world economy. It does require a bit of basic knowledge in finance, accounting and political history of the world, but it's largely written in layman terms.

More importantly, given the time this book was written, it provided prophetic insights. It explains why America's current account deficit is a problem, why the American recovery from the 2001 recession rings hollow, why asset bubbles should have been addressed by central banks, and what caused the failure of IMF and World Bank policies, especially in Third World countries. Many of these assertions have gained more credibility in the course of the current recession.

Admittedly, its defense of free trade and its environmental consequences conveniently neglected some fundamental issues, but overall the book is written with a fair mind. The Economist, as it turns out, is not a conservative magazine after all. It fits more in the camp of neoliberals, in America at least.

[Neel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't so much read this book as refer to large sections of it periodically. It's actually a collection of past articles about global economics from The Economist, my favorite magazine.

The book does presume some knowledge, but I read it with NO background in economics and found it densely packed with great information. With buzzwords like "globalization" and "securitization" or "current account deficit" flying around, it's nice to have a compact reference that helps make sense of things.

That said, it comes with a heapin' helpin' of editorializing. The magazine and book are unabashedly pro-free-market capitalism. They are more pragmatic than many boosters, however, which is very refreshing. Still, I feel there are some glaring blind spots. See Ha Joon Chang's book "Bad Samaritans" for examples.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jolly good show from my favorite magazine. "Economics" is an anthology of articles from The Economist written between 1998 and 2005. In succinct, crisp fashion, the articles cover the theory, function, and ramafications behind such things as current account balances, globalization, bonds, derivatives, central banks, emissions trading, asset price inflation, aid to developing countries, and labor. Staunch economic liberals, the authors like their market regulation light and production privatized. But they are pragmatic enough to find virtue in less liberal points of view and admit when empirical evidence changes their minds on previously assumed positions. A manifest green streak also runs throughout.

[Hakan Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is supposed to be an compliation of timeless articles from the Economist. I will saw some of the articles were absolutely wonderful, but most of them were so-so and a couple weren't much good at all. It felt like reading all the articles in the bibliography of a book that has a lot of potential.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of Economist articles published around the time of the 2007 economic collapse. It is interesting to look back and read how this event was covered. I can't say that I learned any new insights.

[Nipun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative