Armchair Economist: Economics And Everyday Experience
by Steven E. Landsburg
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Read in January, 2008
I have to give this book a three since I did learn something, although I really hold it in remarkable contempt. For the first time ever while reading an economics book, I felt like I understood the contempt held for the 'dismal science'.
I feel like delving into this a bit. The author makes a claim that taxes don't add value to a society, because what you take from Peter, you pay to Paul, and in a sense of absolute value, it is true. If I have a million millionaires, who each earn 10 million...more
I feel like delving into this a bit. The author makes a claim that taxes don't add value to a society, because what you take from Peter, you pay to Paul, and in a sense of absolute value, it is true. If I have a million millionaires, who each earn 10 million...more
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Read in February, 2008
The Armchair Economist is a nice, easy read about some everyday questions that economics can shine an interesting light on. It stays a lot closer to traditional economics than Freakonomics, for example, but I still think it is pretty accessible.
I liked this book better than Fair Play, mainly because Landsburg admits that he doesn't have all the answers to the questions he brings up. Moreover, where he has an answer, he tends to refer to it as the best explanation he's come up with so far. ...more
I liked this book better than Fair Play, mainly because Landsburg admits that he doesn't have all the answers to the questions he brings up. Moreover, where he has an answer, he tends to refer to it as the best explanation he's come up with so far. ...more
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Read in October, 2007
I chose this book because Tim Harford cites some interesting parts of it in "The Undercover Economist." "The Armchair Economist" is generally pitched at a higher level, with Landsburg using core economic principles to argue some unconventional points. This was a little frustrating, since he assumes an above average grasp of economics, and he doesn't spend much time defending or explaining his key assumptions. Still, his tone is great, snarky and professorial, and his argument...more
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bookshelves:
nonfiction
recommends it for:
number people, future econ majors
Contrarian and at times infuriating, this guy takes joy in explaining why car accident rates increased when seatbelts were made mandatory (hint: he thinks we can eliminate collisions by getting rid of seatbelts and putting a sharp spear in the middle of the steering wheel) and how the government might succeed in dealing with pollution.
This book actually does a really good job of introducing psychology of an economist, which can sound inhuman at times, but it makes me understand why an econom...more
This book actually does a really good job of introducing psychology of an economist, which can sound inhuman at times, but it makes me understand why an econom...more
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Read in June, 2007
This is by far the most entertaining book on economics that I have read. It takes great talent and wit to make a whole chapter dedicated to analyzing theatre popcorn prices interesting. It is a quick read and relatively easy to understand and follow. You can get a taste for what the book is like by reading the authors column at Slate.com.
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Everyone
There are a few books that when you read them they change your perspective on everything. This on one of those books. I did not realize how woefully uneducated I was on how economies work. What was a real insight was how small choices of people can make all the difference. Everyone could benefit from a few turns in these pages.
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bookshelves:
2007,
cultural-studies
Abysmal, condescending, illogical and mean-spirited book on social economics. Absolutely no sources named for "statistics". The author seems to think that a significant number of people go to the movies solely to eat popcorn and that the benefits of recycling are outweighed by the fact that he doesn't feel like doing it.
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Read in January, 2002
Thumbs down. Economists can sometimes be the snarkiest people in the room as if their observations are not merely obvious but eternal. Not only is his tone annoyingly superior but much of this is already out of date--severely undercutting his obvious notion that economics is nothing less than immutable law!
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Read in September, 2004
read it for class. a dumbed-down version of an econ text book. therefore, if you're really curious why popcorn costs so much at a movie theater, then pick this up. otherwise, wait until your MBA professor requires you buy it (in addition to the $150 textbook teaching the real material).
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone Interested In Economics
I good read on economics applied to to everyday life and everyday situations. Probably a boring read for someone not interested at all in economics, but I'm enjoying it.
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Read in August, 2004
Short unrelated essays make up this interesting collection of strange phenonema that Landsburg claims can be explained through economic principles.
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Read in January, 2002
recommends it for:
anyone wanting to understand economics
Before Freakonomics, this was the only book on the market. It explains that economics is more than just about money. It's how we make our choices.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in July, 2007
Great, though a smidge on the dry side, primer in what it means to be an economist, how economists think, etc.
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bookshelves:
highly-recommended
Read in October, 1997
The canonical instruction book in "How to Be a Jerk Using Economics". Highly recommended!
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Read in January, 2008
Had some interesting points, but ultimately just reminded me of why I dislike economics.
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Read in October, 2007
Much better than freakonomics as the ideas are more fully developed/explained.
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Read in January, 2006
Landsburg is great at econ writing, pre Levitt/Freakonomics industry
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Read in March, 2004
Read it for intro Macro class, right up there with Freakonomics.
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a good one, but he's a bit polemic about the study of economics.
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