The Little Book of Economics, Revised and Updated: How the Economy Works in the Real World

by Greg Ip

BOOKS

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

Published May 30, 2016

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for an intro to Economics, skims over a lot of things, dives into some things more than I'd like but it's all good.
Huge emphasis on the American markets but it's for Americans to learn about the economy.
I learned quite a bit from this little book. It simplified a lot of concepts effectively.
I just didn't like when they would deep dive into American specific history that I didn't really care that much for.

[Jason Furman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had not read this book when it came out under the assumption that I knew most of it already. Recently I was asked to recommend five books on economic policy issues for the New York Times book review and I was missing a primer on mainstream macro issues. A colleague recommended I looked at this and thought it was perfect as a primer--and I personally learned some good ways to explain and link macro concepts as well.

Below is my short write up of this book for the NYT, check the review for the other four books.
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The best way to understand things like the causes of recessions and inflation and the consequences of public debt is to take an introductory economics course and do all the problem sets. The second-best way? Read “The Little Book of Economics.” Don’t be fooled by its compact form and breezy writing: This book, by the Wall Street Journal chief economics commentator Greg Ip, manages to pack in just about everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask about the gross domestic product.

Ip is not trying to sell you policy recommendations; instead, he is just trying to teach you the mainstream economic perspective. Suddenly you will know why the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell looks a little nervous when he tells the press that the neutral rate of interest might have gone up.

The book does contain one obvious misstatement. It should be “The Little Book of Macroeconomics.” For more of the rich diversity of what economic studies has to offer at other scales you might want to also consider what’s below.

[Ferhat Elmas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It brilliantly simplifies macroeconomics without sacrificing substance, connecting abstract theories to everyday life through clear examples. Covering business cycles, central banking, and global economic relationships, the book provides readers with practical mental models to interpret economic data and policy implications. In this complex economic environment, its accessible approach transforms economics from an academic exercise into a useful lens for investors, business professionals, and citizens navigating an increasingly economically-driven world.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it says it is, a brief introduction to economics and how they work in today's society. I don't have a background in economics by any stretch (unless a high school Intro to Business class, and a short internship in the archives of a Federal Reserve branch count), but I didn't really find any of this information to be new, and I wouldn't say that it changed my understanding of how economics works. It did help clarify some terms that you see thrown around a lot in finance articles, so that was a plus.

I did like the way that the book was structured, with general economic information at the beginning, and more specific examples in later chapters, once you were more familiar with the concepts. I also really enjoyed the "Bottom Line" boxes at the end of each chapter, which summarized the key points in a way that was easy to digest. I took several notes from the Bottom Line boxes, and will undoubtedly refer back to them later when I feel I need to quickly review some of this information.

I do wish that the book was less US-centric. The Euro/EU was mentioned in one chapter, as were some other countries, but this was very much focused on US economic policies and how the US government and Federal Reserve control financial institutions and the economy. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, especially since this was just an introductory book and less than 300 pages, but I did wish there was more of a global focus for some parts of it.

Overall somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars. It was a solid book, but nothing super groundbreaking. I agree with other reviews that a glossary would have been nice, but I thought the writing style was very accessible and easy to read. I doubt I'd read the entire thing again, but it might be useful to reference parts of it at some point in the future.

[Felentovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives an overview of the economy but big focus on American Institutions and American economy. Book is actually written from American perspective, there is not a lot talking about other nations economy.

[Edwardngb]

Good revision for Economics, lots of examples from the day-to-day running of the world.

[Omar Elnagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides basic knowledge of understanding economics, and touches on finance. It’s not intended as a first read to someone who knows nothing about economics, as the author claims does. Some basic knowledge of economics is indeed needed.

The book is forwarded by the legendary Mohamed El Erian; while he describes that “the book is accessible and easy to read” Greg indeed does start the first few chapters in regards to this. Yet half way through, chapters get complicated to a layman and require prior understanding of some economics and finance concepts, and knowledge of some institutions that Greg doesn’t explain but builds his narrative on.

The book is very comprehensive and is organised in logical and enjoyable manner. It covers many subjects ranging from inflation, currencies, supply and demand, Fed, central banks, financial institutions and instruments, globalisation, GDP, business cycles, recessions, depressions, employment, unemployment, monetary policies, fiscal policies, to authorities and wealth power.

Unfortunately in some areas the books fails to acknowledge its very own ‘globalisation’, described in on of its chapters, by speaking substantially from an American perspective. While America has the most economical power in world, concepts of economics are not defined or limited to America. The book falls short in comprehensively introducing economics from a neutral positions.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

[Hayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

The revised edition of The Little Book of Economics is a good way to gain basic knowledge of Economics and its practical uses, but contains too much information for a beginner. After reading this book, I have a basic understanding of economic principles, influential economists, and big events in monetary history. This book does a good job of linking private and corporal events together, and how they can determine a countries wealth.

The reason this book only has five stars is because when I chose this book, I wanted to gain a basic background knowledge of economics. However, after the first couple of chapters I felt very confused and couldn't keep up with the increasing amount of vocabulary. That same effect of not being able to remember loads of information/vocab really bites later in the book.

However, at the end of the book I realized that my knowledge of economics has improved and therefore the book was a success. I wouldn't label this as an entertaining read, but it is certainly in the informing/education category. This book would be great for someone who already has a basic concept and knowledge of economics, as it will allow them to take their knowledge to the next level.

[Hannah Lulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a lay economist! Greg Ip is clearly a professional, and yet, there is a lot I don't like about this book. Much of it reflects a "conservative" viewpoint on economics, opinion presented as fact, discarding critical aspects of exploitation, bloated defense spending, and more. It is an excellent book though in it's scope of economic related topics and the depth of explanation is helpful even if I don't necessarily agree with all of it. This book is beyond a basic primer of terms and concepts and gets into more detailed metrics--but remains concise. While I don't agree with a great deal of the author's premises, his knowledge is extensive. This book is an excellent introduction for economics as it covers important topics that anyone with a serious interest in economics should be able to discuss fluidly, and it offers key points to understand and interrogate to be able to have an in-depth economic analysis of different social, market-related, or policy based decisions. It will be overwhelming to a true beginner, but it will provide a good orientation for what type of understanding to pursue. Even though I disagree with certain parts to the point of anger, I do recommend it.

[Elie AbouMelhem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book written in a relatively easy way (simple language) that can allow any person to understand the rules, concepts, and indicators of economics. My only comment here and I noticed the same from other reviews is that the economic literature in the book is almost solely based on the US model and history, but let us be honest and straightforward here; USA is the economic superpower of our era and no country comes close. Perhaps China is on the right path to challenge that dominance, but still a long way. In general, a very good book from a knowledgeable author; it took me over 3 weeks to finish because I tried to study it a bit instead of just reading it (though I wouldn't call myself an expert now).
Finally, I want to highlight a great feature at the end of each chapter, by displaying a small summary of all the main ideas, making it perfect in the future to do a recap round or to track again specific thoughts.

[Bhavana · Rating 2 out of 5]

summary: supposed to be a quick read on how economy works

opinion: i was hoping for a more thorough book that walked through the history of economy and made more references to modern day ways of how countries manage inflation and debt etc. a glossary or something would have been helpful. i definitely think it required i had more of a background than i did, and definitely on me for expecting a book that would be a harari-like explanation of economy.

[Grace Dickinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was to the point and used clear metaphors and analogies to make macro-economics more clear to the layman. Personally not most interesting topic, but enlightening and useful for someone looking to get a digestible and thorough understanding of international and macro-level economic topics and trends.

[Jan Schultink · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good and short intro to the subject. I picked it up to refresh my university knowledge in the new world of tariffs. I wish it went a bit deeper on inflation, exchange rates, interest rates and trade balances, and spend fewer pages on discussing the US budgeting process and central bank policy instruments. So nothing wrong with the book, it just did not fit my use case 100%

[Joe Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is what it says it is: sweeping generalizations combined with historical examples showing how divisions interact within the economy: government, consumers, the federal reserve, the stock market and the banks. I read it twice and found it pretty impossible to import into my reality.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, simple book on National level economics. Would have been more beneficial if it had included more graphics to visually depict some of the concepts, particularly as relate to national debt, Treasury Bills, and savings rates.

[Chad Handley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to economics for those unfamiliar or haven’t reviewed it in awhile. The book is a little dated so no discussions of the pandemic or its impact. However, it does a decent job wih the financial crisis of 2007-2010 and how the economy mitigates that risk today.

[Javier Elizalde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for a simple introduction to economics in general. Although may be too simple if you are already well versed in the subject.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice introduction to Economics. I didn't get Ip's explation of derivatives. A glossary would have beeb nice. I think I need to start reading more of The Economist.

[Osh · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Anindita Mullick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never taken an Econ class, so the entire premise of the book was new to me. I enjoyed its explanations of US systems and for the most part, think it did a good job distilling and explaining.

[Miles Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Work wanted me to read this and another one. Eh

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

* Very to-the-point and clear intro to the US economy
* Bite-sized pieces of information
* Does a good job of linking everything together

[David]

Better than a textbook look at the complexities of the economy. It reads at a level even a non financial person could understand.