Dear Undercover Economist: Priceless Advice on Money, Work, Sex, Kids, and Life's Other Challenges

The Undercover Economist #2

by Tim Harford

Look out for Tim's next book, The Data Detective .Throughout history, great philosophers have been answering profound questions about life. But do they know why your socks keep disappearing from the dryer, or how to choose the quickest line at the supermarket? Probably not, but Tim Harford does. . . . In Dear Undercover Economist, the first collection of his wildly popular Financial Times columns, Tim Harford offers witty, charming, and at times caustic answers to our most pressing concerns–all through the lens of economics. Does money buy happiness? Is “the one” really out there? Can cities be greener than farms? Can you really “dress for success”? When’s the best time to settle down? Harford provides brilliant, hilarious, unexpected, and wise answers to these and other questions. Arranged by topic, easy to read, and hard to put down, Dear Undercover Economist lends an outrageous, compassionate, and indispensable perspective on anything that may irk or ail you–a book well worth the investment.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Business, Finance, Personal Finance, Sociology, Self Help

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2009

About the author

Tim Harford is a member of the Financial Times editorial board. His column, “The Undercover Economist”, which reveals the economic ideas behind everyday experiences, is published in the Financial Times and syndicated around the world. He is also the only economist in the world to run a problem page, “Dear Economist”, in which FT readers’ personal problems are answered tongue-in-cheek with the latest economic theory.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[Carys · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know what I disliked more. Maybe it was the Financial Times reader’s non-problems (eg. I pay someone to clean my car 3 times a week and sometimes it’s not clean?//my son drives fast, if I buy him an expensive car, will he slow down?) or the responses.

[I-Chen Tsai · Rating 3 out of 5]

《親愛的臥底經濟學家》：被限制在專欄中的智慧與機鋒
　
2009 年的書，持續再版，Goodreads 3.79 分，必有可取之處。
　
如果你對經濟學不熟，這本書在 150 個生活問題上，套用經濟學理論，能瞬間讓您理解到，許多生活上的難題，事實上經濟學理論都有對應。
　
如果你對經濟學略懂，這本書的新知識對你來說壓力不大，更能深刻體會作者作為一個優秀專欄作家的功力。他為什麼能用那麼少的字，讓整個回覆充滿智慧與機鋒。
　
不過，專欄長度有限，也構成了本書最大的限制。當你的知識儲備不足時，很可能不能理解作者有趣的地方在哪？需要自行搜尋補足背景知識後，方能領會。
　
也因為專欄長度有限，你會發現有時候作者回得蠻牽強的，其中幾篇，不免讓人覺得，「他好像只是為了維持專欄的形式跟風格，但內容有點空洞」。
　
專欄就是這樣的東西，有交稿時限、有限制字數、要形成固定的風格，但一個固定的形式，要回答 150 種不同的問題，還要有相同的轉折與學問濃度，這基本上是不可能的。
　
在台灣，許多專欄也是一樣，為了要有個啟發，就編了個爛故事，為了要有道德感，採取了不必要的姿態。這些妥協與刻意，也都讓平台或作者本人付出很多代價，小則掉粉流失觀眾，大則變成公關危機。
　
在這樣的比較下，作者 Tim Harford 已經算是相當厲害，他依然能維持住大致的樣子，只有非常認真看並會去思考的人，才會發現「啊，作者走套路，這次沒靈魂。」
　
這應該是正確的策略，因為這世界上，能區分真正好的專欄，與普通好專欄的人，並不是太多。
　
把自己當成一個忠實讀者，看看你能從這 150 篇中，讀出怎樣的專欄作者心情。也是很有趣的挑戰。
　

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually really enjoy what I refer to as pop-culture economics books.

However, I felt this collection of Q&A falls short of its competition (Freakonomics, Superfreakonomics, anything by Gladwell, etc). The question submissions claim to be legitimate, but to me, they seem ridiculous, almost banal, that I found it difficult to read.

Bottom line: I suggest you skip this one, unless you are a true economics junky.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tim Harford's Dear Undercover Economist collates advice columns with an economics slant. To be clear, these are not columns asking about financial advice or public policies. Instead, people ask Harford about their personal lives and the answer is always informed by economics studies from Gary Becker or Tyler Cowen. The columns are engaging, but, as is so often the case with these advice column books, they lose their charm when presented en masse. Might the law of diminishing returns help to explain my response? Perhaps I should write a letter.

[Abhijit Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Economics applied to non economic daily life problems, mixed with humor, some funny questions, and a fun read (albeit definitely to be done in small doses).

This one manages to give you some glimpses of economic theories without getting bored. But enough for a once in a while read.

More like read, enjoy and forget about it.

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

With my tendency to be a little logical at times, and my sense that utilitarianism makes a lot of sense, this was up my street. However, the format of the book - letters from a column in the FT as opposed to longer chapters (as was the case in 'The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World' by the same author, I enjoyed that more) meant I was left a bit irriated and a bit underwhelmed at times. The tone felt a little glib. Had it been half as many examples in twice as much detail, my enjoyment would have doubled. Which is just the sort of thing this book talks about in some examples of justifying certain actions.

[Hetal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fabulous read. It is a collection of agony aunt questions and responses. But, this is an agony aunt is different. Tim Harford uses economic theory to answer everyday questions - from should I quit my job, to should I buy extended warranties on my car. Always witty, often hilarious and sometimes snarky, this book is a wonderful read.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book probably gets about 3.5 stars from me, with a slight rounding up. This book is a collection of advice columns written by the Undercover Economist for the Financial Times over a period of years, essentially attempting to highlight the economist's view of the world (ruthlessly rational, challenging assumptions about social etiquette or common sense) by applying economical reasoning to typical "everyday" problems that people might have. The answers are often couched in somewhat economic jargon, often attempting to answer the question in what seems like a deliberately obtuse manner. It's a bit like "Freakonomics meets Ask a Mexican". Some of the questions are taken as jumping-off points to illustrate an economic principle at work, e.g., a question posed about whether to switch schools is used to introduce the concept of the "endowment effect", i.e., people holding on to what they have even if many signs point to a rational benefit to switching.
Similarly, he discusses the economic benefits of free toothpicks at restaurants, hot to maximize your enjoyment at an all you can eat buffet, whether "the one" is out there (basically noting that studies indicated that people looking for partner lowered their standards in speed dating if pickings are scarce), utility maximization of wedding registries (which could perhaps be made more efficient from an economic standpoint by just charging for admission), and how to deal with your daughter hitting her kid brother (generate a conversion of all pain and pleasure into financial equivalents, fix a budget of say $750 for mom+brother+sister, spread equally as $250, and then if she punches him (incurring, say, -$20 worth of hurt on her brother, and +$5 worth of sadistic pleasure on herself, then the total budget is reduced by $15, so we equalize by giving each person enough to end up with $245 after the adjustments, i.e., $265 to the brother, $240 for the sister, and $245 for the parent). This is apparently an illustration of Nobel Laureate Gary Becker's "Rotten Kid Theorem".

Some of the tongue-in-cheek obtuseness reminds me a bit of Linderholm's classic "Mathematics Made Difficult", in that it is probably a lot more funny if your know what he's talking about already. Full enjoyment probably requires a fair amount of follow up.

All in all, an entertaining read that can be enjoyed in bite-sized chunks.

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Dear Undercover Economist, the first collection of his wildly popular Financial Times columns, Tim Harford offers witty, charming, and at times caustic answers to our most pressing concerns - all through the lens of economics. Does money buy happiness? Is "the one" really out there? Can cities be greener than farms? Can you really "dress for success"? When's the best time to settle down? Harford provides brilliant, hilarious, unexpected, and wise answers to these and other questions. Arranged by topic, easy to read, and hard to put down, Dear Undercover Economist lends an outrageous, compassionate, and indispensable perspective on anything that may irk or ail you - a book well work the investment.

I'd read "The Undercover Economist" a few years ago, and it wasn't too bad a book, a bit hard to get through at times, but still informative. I saw this title and thought it might be a better choice, seeing as how it's written as letters rather than chapters full of information. And it is - to the extent that it was much easier to decide when to close the book at night and go to sleep.

Even with the shorter format and such, I still had a difficult time getting through this title by Harford. Perhaps I was spoiled by "Freakonomics" - another book that attempts to use common, everyday life to explain the weird world of economics. I think the authors there did a brilliant job of not only explaining but entertaining, and as anyone who has ever tried to teach anyone knows (esp. when trying to teach children), it's so much easier if you can keep your audience entertained.

The only really cool thing about this book was one of the letters in the "how to fool a wine snob" section. No, the letter itself isn't exciting - it's the author. George Pollitt of Buckinghamshire, UK, submitted a question about his favorite pub table getting too crowded. Why is this important? Well, "Pollitt" happens to be my family name, and I'd been told by my grandfather and my dad down the years that "Pollitt" is very common in England. Not on par with "Smith" or "Jones" here, but probably along the lines of "Mason" or "Carpenter". And here's the name! And no, I do not know George Pollitt, or at least, I don't believe I do. I've never heard his name mentioned in the family tree. But it sure was neat to see my family name appear in a book!

[Theerasak Maneeneim · Rating 3 out of 5]

ผมล่ะช๊อบ ชอบ ตา TIM HARDFORD นี่เหลือเกิน
ติดใจตั้งแต่อ่าน "นักสืบเศรษฐศาสตร์" (เล่มก่อนหน้านี้ของตา TIM นี่แหล่ะ)

มาคราวนี้ตาทิมแกรวบรวมคอลัมภ์ของแกในหนังสือพิมพ์ Financial Time ที่แกได้ตอบคำถามของเหล่าบรรดาแฟนๆ ที่เขียนมาหา

ไม่น่าเชื่อ ไม่ว่าจะเรื่องเล็ก หรือเรื่องใหญ่ ตาทิมก็สามารถใช้หลักและทฤษฎีทางเศรษฐศาสตร์
มาตอบปัญหาคับข้องใจของแฟนานุแฟนของเขาได้เสมอ เช่น

เรื่องบนเตียง (ดิฉันควรจะแกล้งทำเสียงว่าเสร็จดีไหม)
เราควรภาวนาให้ได้ลูกสาวหรือลูกชายดีคะ?
เพื่อปรับปรุงโอกาสการขึ้นเงินเดือน ดิฉันควรเดินผ่านประตูเข้าที่ทำงานเป็นคนแรกตอนเช้า
หรือเดินออกจากที่ที่งานคนสุดท้ายตอนค่ำดี?

ไม่รู้จะบอกอะไรนอกจากให้ลองอ่านดูครับ หนังสือเล่มนี้แนะนำเลย ...
ได้ทั้งความรู้ ได้ข้อคิด ได้ความฮา
ก็ลีลาการตอบจดหมาของตานี่ธรรมดาซะที่ไหน

แนะนำให้ลองอ่านจริงๆ ครับ

[Raluca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely amusing and very manageable due to the bite-size format, but ultimately unmemorable because of all the theories and pieces of research that are thrown in for the sake of a cute quip. Or maybe you're supposed to read up on all of them, but doesn't that defy the bite-size purpose? Still, could whet one's appetite for Tim Harford and it's definitely a better choice for that than The Logic of Life.

[Jake Pescador · Rating 3 out of 5]

is it wrong to fake orgasms? - asked a letter-sender among others with their own choice of life's mysteries. using signaling game theory, harford advised against faking orgasms and (for the guy) foreplay. nerdy maybe but interesting for sure.

[Noah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't read it.

[Apoorv Purohit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one of good reads where an Economist gives answers to so many things which pertain not directly to economics but do as you peel off layer by layer...
Good Read...

[David R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine stuff if you enjoy seeing the response of an economist reacting to silly questions (were they all real??!) about daily life. Many of the responses were offputting.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really funny, specially the first chapter.

[Bd Drop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book that covers a broad variety of topics. The questions are very applicable to every day life, and the answers are humorous and insightful. I am planning on buying this book.

[Chiloe Cerrafon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun!

[Roozbeh Daneshvar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author gives answers from economics perspective to everyday life questions. I learned a lot of insights from the answers. The good aspect of the book was small pieces of writing that you could read each end to end in a short period of time. I am bringing a few quotes below:

any game theorist will tell you that a credible signal has to be prohibitively costly to fake.

The advice is clear: first, don’t make career choices that jeopardize your marriage; second, a secure job with moderate pay will make you happier than a shaky job with high pay.

Envy plays a sinister role. Oswald shows that happiness increases with higher income, but it falls with higher expectations. The higher the income of your peer group, the more depressed you tend to be.

Economic psychologists have long realized that people do violate the axioms of economic theory. The economist John List has demonstrated, however, that these mistakes typically happen in unfamiliar settings. With experience, people do act rationally.

Real estate agents and management consultants are sharply dressed in the absence of more convincing guides to their competence. In professions where talent is more obvious, this façade is not needed. That is why when I look around the Financial Times office, neatly pressed shirts and blouses are hard to find.

Public choice theory suggests that a small group with much to gain from a policy will tend to prevail against a large group who stand to each lose a small amount. The small group knows the stakes and is better organized—which is why we have trade tariffs, which help a small number of people while imposing poorly understood costs on a diffuse majority.

The endowment effect is an irrational preference to keep what you have rather than switch.

The economist and urbanophile Richard Florida argues that your choice of city is the most important decision you can make, because it determines job options, the quality of your everyday life, your love life, and much else.

Economists have worked hard to demonstrate to you that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.

couples with no male children are more likely to divorce than those with only boys, and that couples with only girls are also more likely to have further children—perhaps trying for the elusive male scion.

Divorced mothers with no sons are less likely to remarry, and those who do remarry are more likely to divorce again.

Children are rational utility maximizers, but they have a high discount rate and therefore a short time horizon. Small immediate punishments and rewards are the most efficient way to give them the right incentives to behave.

A new piece of research from economists Gordon Dahl and Stefano DellaVigna shows that when a violent film is on at the multiplex, violent crime falls during the evening and stays lower until the next morning.

Tightly packed, rich cities such as London are easily the most environmentally friendly way to enjoy modern life.

Manhattan, the densest and richest city of all, was recently described in The New Yorker as “a utopian environmentalist community” and is vastly more energy efficient, per person, than any of the fifty American states. All this without requiring anyone to eat lentils or live like a pauper.

The economist Robert Klitgaard famously proposed a formula for bribery: corruption equals monopoly, plus discretion, minus accountability.

economic psychologists have found that people make more impulsive decisions if they have already had to resist earlier temptations than if they come fresh to the chocolate bar. Many of us have caved in and given ourselves a “reward” after a day of hard work.

the optimal gift giving strategy: you need to minimize the deadweight loss while maximizing the sentimental value. This suggests buying small gifts and striving for emotional resonance. Look for something inexpensive, and consider supplementing it with a letter, a photo, or time spent together.

[Peter Geyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of newspaper columns from the economist Tim Harford, author of an excellent book called "Messy" which is worth a read.

Here, we're in the field of self-help, in the context of ideas about economics; that's where I found it grouped on the website of my favourite online bookseller. Harford gives advice, admonishes etc. as you would expect in the generic advice column. He reads in between the lines, and is a sharp observer. writing in a clear, incisive fashion. One page is the norm for each query. Some of this is very funny.

Not all of those seeking advice appear to be real people; I couldn't tell whether this was a handful or more.

There's also all sorts of information about how and what certain economists think which made me want to check the names out further.

This was a random read, a couple of pages at a time. More than a 3, perhaps not quite 4, according to my judgement anyway. Very enjoyable, anyway.

[Du · Rating 3 out of 5]

Newspaper column collections in general; even tougher when the material is almost 20 years old. Some of question seem to be designed for humor or lack of intelligence. I didn't mind this but I also didn't find it all that informative.

[Rukesh Dutta · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not what I had expected when I took up the book.

[HsiaoTing · Rating 3 out of 5]

中肯的經濟學家日常建議。但有時沒這麼經濟學。

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

alot of fun,

gives alot advice to break down everyday issues into calculable value to best solve problems rationally, sometimes to humorous conclusions.

[Annah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An economist's advice column. At first, it was purely amusing; eventually, I started to predict answers, which made me feel like I gained some dispassionate valuation skills. When in doubt, try an auction.

[dameolga · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content:
This book is a compilation of Harford's Q&A pieces from his weekly advise column in The Financial Times.

What I like about Dear Undercover Economist:

- I've studied about some of the research (eg. performance pay for window cleaners) and economists (eg. Gary Becker) that Harford mentions, so this book acted as a nice review for me before the semester started.

- Harford's advises are always embedded in some economic theory that are often hilariously, interestingly, or thought-provokingly matched to the specific situations discussed.

- The questions posed by the readers are sometimes ridiculous, often entertaining, and a few times questions I have at one time wondered about but never knew who to ask.

My qualms with the book:

- Obviously not all questions can be unequivocally answered, especially not from the perspective of the economists. Not only do multiple, contradictory "theories" exist in Economics, but sometimes the research/data is just not available, in which case the general advise is to consult one's own tastes and preferences to decide upon an action.

- Economics as a whole often gets criticized for assuming that all people are rational agents who always act to optimize their well-being. Harford's role as the "economist" of course compels him to make this same unrealistic assumption, with the result that a few times his advise seems a bit unrealistic if not bizarre--that's probably his point though.

- The last section does not have as much entertaining questions and topics as the first two and so was rather boring for me. (My favorite section is the one about love affairs. He definitely gave me a new perspective on the efficient relationship.)

Overall:
Since these Q&A's were originally featured in a newspaper advise column, the book is highly readable and quite entertaining to read. I surprised myself once again by actually finishing through a non-fiction book voluntarily and outside of class. This book is definitely not meant to be taken too seriously, so I would suggest it as an amusing read that economically happens to be informative as well.

[Renette Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who would have thought an advice column by an economist would work?

There's this brilliant but cheeky economist who has a column in the Financial Times where he answers readers' questions about losing odd socks, splitting a bill, waking up late, having an affair, applying for leave during Christmas season - all using economic theories and studies. This book is a compilation of all the best letters and his responses.

I wish this book (and Freakonomics) came out when I was still in college, getting my degree in Economics. I would have paid closer attention to stuff like game theory and prisoner's dilemma, seeing how they can apply to everything. And maybe I would have written a thesis about something more interesting than the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates.

Here are some of my favourites:

As a response to a sports fan proposing that football authorities should put a cap on the total value of players to level the playing field among different teams:

"In short, you have the wrong objective, suggest the wrong rule to achieve it, and are blind to the side-effects. Any banking regulator in the world would be proud to give you a job."

As a response to an economics professor who grades on a curve and is worried that his students are planning to slack off simultaneously so that everyone can get decent grades with minimum effort:

"If you, an economics lecturer, cannot outwit a student cartel, then they had little to learn from you in any case."

[Guy Grobler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book for anyone who enjoys reading Harford and for anyone who wants a book with some economic theory but not to much theory. The book is a collection of letters and responses sent to Harford's column "Dear Undercover Economist" in the FT. The chapters are built according to topic of letter - love life and dating, family life, career and etc. Some of Harford's replies to his writers are hilarious when looking at the question posed to him (especially in the dating and love life section). The questions raised to Harford by his readership- worldwide and of all ages, show us how economic rules can be applied to all walks of life and hence the important role that economics considerations and models play in our life, even if we do our best to ignore it. Like physics and biology in the natural world - economics exists everywhere in the social world, there is no escaping from it - so best to read and learn about it, and Harford proves yet again what a good economic sage he is.

[Susannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I haven't read it what I'm reviewing here would be its potential - based on the amusing interview of its author I heard on my way to work this morning.
His view on the best solution to whether to put the toilet seat up or down:
'From a straight efficiency standpoint, the way to prevent people from having to move the seat up or down more than absolutely necessary, is for them to just leave it as it is when they are finished. For all they know they will be the next one back in the bathroom.
But there's a larger picture here (speaking as someone who lives with a female)....putting the seat down when you are finished is a very cheap way, an easy way, to show consideration.'

As he said, it does seem indeed like getting advice from the combination of a psychologist, and a robot. Per the author this point of view is the normal outcome of typical economist training.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I'm a fan of Tim Harford, having enjoyed the original Undercover Economist and Adapt, as well as being a regular "More or Less" listener. This format didn't really seem to work though. The replies are too short to cover the economic concepts properly. Worse, the concepts often seem to have been shoehorned in. I realise that's partly for humorous effect, but to be honest I found it to wear thin rather quickly.

There are a few genuinely funny and insightful replies. However I would recommend the original Undercover Economist book as far more informative.