Economics Through Everyday Life: From China and Chili Dogs to Marx and Marijuana

by Anthony Clark

What Is Economics And Why Does It Matter?

Could the United States experience another Great Depression? Is the Social Security program doomed for future generations? What, exactly, do economists do anyway? Economics is not only for academics or Wall Street titans. If you’re curious about how the economy functions and don’t know where to start, Economics will guide you through the essentials, laying out the basic concepts and issues in the field of economics, from business cycles and free markets to social security and healthcare reform, and more.

Packed with eye-opening information, key concepts, and need-to-know terms, this easy-to-read primer lets you explore economics at your own pace. Get a straightforward overview of the economy that’s stripped of overwhelming jargon, so you can gain a deeper understanding of economics as it applies to everyday life. You’ll review important background on differing economic schools of thought—from influential theories to the main thinkers driving them—so you can develop your own conclusions.

Economics features:

An overview of markets and how they operate A review of broad themes—like taxes, inequality, and jobs—as they apply to everyday life Explorations of business cycles covering what happens during a recession Useful timelines and real-world stories that help you travel the world of economics

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Finance, Business, Ebooks

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2016

Reviews

[Ridgewood Public Library Youth Services · Rating 4 out of 5]

This covers the fundamentals of economics. For a topic like economics, which many people associate with complicated statistics and formulas, the language the book uses is simple, concise, and easy to understand. The book covers everything from the various schools of thought within economics to the reasons why we, as individuals, behave "economically."

The first half of the book covers more abstract concepts whilst the second covers topics more recognizable in our own lives. In particular, it brings up issues in politics like healthcare, Social Security, welfare, the 2008 financial crisis, and more. All of these topics are discussed in a way that makes sense and connect to the abstract concepts in the first half. This gives the reader a better understanding of topics possibly relevant to themselves in their own lives and be better informed.

The book provides the reader with the basics of economics as much as it helps the reader make better decisions in their lives. In the end, this is a book I enjoyed and recommend - it is great for anyone with a surface-level knowledge and wants to learn more.

- Anonymous, Grade 11

[Phat Duong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quyển thứ 2 mình đọc để hiểu khái quát về kinh tế và cách nền kinh tế vận hành.

Cũng dễ hiểu với một người ngoại đạo như mình

[Winnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because it was on display in my school library, and it was definitely worth the read. I read this half for leisure and half as supplementary reading for my A level economics.

What I liked:
- The introduction and microeconomics sections. I found the explanations easy to read and understand, and the text was not textbook-like but more of a leisurely read.
- The case study sections which I found quite interesting.

What I didn't like:
- The macroeconomics section, though this is very much biased since I have not learnt macroeconomics in school and thus found it much harder to understand than the microeconomics section.
- The narrow focus on America. As someone not from America I wish that there had been some examples of economies other than America.
- The lack of graphs. Again, this view is biased because graphs are heavily emphasised in my syllabus, but I do wish there had been graphs accompanying the explanations.

Overall: This was my first non-fiction book that was not a biography/autobiography/memoir, and I quite enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading more books on economics and social sciences in general!

[Sameer Alshenawi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book

This Is an Interesting book for laymen. Accessible and easy to read . It covers basic concepts , history of economic thought with application mostly for the United States . I recommend this book for all people who avoid reading economics because they think it is dry and full of formulas and statistics.

[Jeff R. Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the book very enlightening.. It broke down economics on a very base level so that when you hear about economic issues in the news, you can understand it. It also allows you to understand the larger economic issues at large. Was definitely an refresher for me and would be one for others as well. A must read particularly for this upcoming election season.

[Mary J Starry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent book for what I was looking for - an impartial overview of various economic terms, concepts, schools of thought. Provided a good basis for me to now pursue some more in-depth readings and Coursera classes.

[Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent overview of economics. My college minor was economics but that was many years ago and I wanted a refresher. There was some author bias regarding free trade and immigration that should have been left out in a subject overview.

[Rashaun Bismark Haughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to comprehend

Great introductory of economics. Gives a different perspective on everyday life as a citizen in society. Would recommend to one interested on economic concept

[Shelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had hoped this would elucidate the material covered in our homeschooling economics textbook in an enjoyable and memorable way, that didn't happen. No teenager will finish reading this book ever.

[Thammarat Srisupason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for non Economist like me!

Taught basic of economic for regular peoples.
It's thing very close in daily life.
You can more deeper insight for ecomics news.

[Ryan Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A easy to read summary of entry level economic concepts.

[AuroraGDC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written introduction to complex economic concepts in a very easy to digest format.

[Mary Diebel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never quite finished it. Mildly interesting. May go back to it some day.

[Roberto Yoed · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title is misleading, more than marxism, this book talks about Adam Smith, the neoclassics, Keynes and the austrian school (pure bourgeoisie disciplines).

[Tim Petersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on basic economics and how it relates to today. The last chapter gave me a different perspective on the ACA and the complexities associated with changing it.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book presented complex economic concepts in layman terms, which made the book very interesting and valuable to read.

[Bryan Kornele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry. I just found the first 75 pages dry and uninteresting so I decided to move on. There are some interesting sections for the selective chapter readers though.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, and up to date read.

I really feel like I learned something. It did well going over the basics, and discusses a lot of modern topics.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Economics Through Everyday Life presents a brief education in economics to regular people using terms and examples that are easy to understand. It strives to be non-partisan and there are certainly chapters that will annoy conservatives and other chapters that will annoy liberals. It covers topics such as the 2007-08 collapse (and the many things that contributed), Social Security, marijuana, and healthcare (and why the answers to solve those problems aren’t so easy and all options have pluses and minuses). You wouldn’t think a book on this topic could be fascinating, but it most definitely is. It took me a lot longer to read than it should have because I kept stopping to read bits to my husband and to discuss what the book said with him. Economics Through Everyday Life is a must-read for everyone.