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IIM Ahmedabad Business Books: Day to Day Economics
The economy isn't just for the economics to debate on. All of us are affected by its ups and downs - global recession, rise in interest rates, or hike in food prices. But do we understand the principles at work and how and why they really affect us?
Day to day economics is an enjoyable, accessible, and extremely user-friendly book that explains modern day
Indian economy to the layperson. In this relevant book, Professor Deodhar explains the role of the government and its involvement in different aspects of the economy; the need for the RBI and its functions; and how taxes, stock markets and recession work. Day to Day Economics will help you go beyond the facts and figures in the budget and connect the trends to your daily life. As with all IIMA business books, it comes illustrated with numerous Indian examples and case studies making this the ultimate rookie's guide to the Indian economy.
Day to day economics is an enjoyable, accessible, and extremely user-friendly book that explains modern day
Indian economy to the layperson. In this relevant book, Professor Deodhar explains the role of the government and its involvement in different aspects of the economy; the need for the RBI and its functions; and how taxes, stock markets and recession work. Day to Day Economics will help you go beyond the facts and figures in the budget and connect the trends to your daily life. As with all IIMA business books, it comes illustrated with numerous Indian examples and case studies making this the ultimate rookie's guide to the Indian economy.
232 pages, Paperback
First published July 20, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
March 29, 2014
Good book and very informative. The book is small and of only 211 pages(latest edition) but if you decide to take up reading this book you will have to give it a lot of time, you cannot read it like a novel and read 1 hour everyday. You will need to read slowly and understand the concepts and you will have to pay attention when you're reading because in some chapters the concepts are like a chain, if you do not understand the first link you'll have a hard time understanding the next one. I've read this book mostly while travelling and I had not given my maximum attention so I will probably read it again.
The book is a rookie's guide to Economics and mainly from a macro point of view, the author, Satish Y. Deodhar teaches Economics at the IIM-A. He had written this book to prove to others that Economics is not a "dismal science". The book gives you a basic idea about certain concepts that on a macro and micro level that you're unfamiliar with. Like CRR, Fiscal Deficit, Repo rate, etc.
Good read.
The book is a rookie's guide to Economics and mainly from a macro point of view, the author, Satish Y. Deodhar teaches Economics at the IIM-A. He had written this book to prove to others that Economics is not a "dismal science". The book gives you a basic idea about certain concepts that on a macro and micro level that you're unfamiliar with. Like CRR, Fiscal Deficit, Repo rate, etc.
Good read.
May 21, 2013
I have always tried to understand and develop interest in Economics. All such efforts though, had been futile. While I did understand some removed concepts, but this book provided a thread linking all the concepts I knew and did it with a seamless skill.
The manner of explaining the concepts of inflation, economic growth, depression and position of India vis-a-vis the world is worded to make each statement pertinent and interesting. The author tries to remove the illusion of economics being a complicated territory.
While reading through the book one realises the repetition of some basic ideas like the reason behind US sub-prime crisis and position of India before and after liberalization. This seems like a deliberate attempt to ensure that a reader drives home the issues of major relevance.
While discussing development of a country, author brings out the significance of different parameters to measure growth and presents a complete picture by drawing comparative performance of India with respect to its neighbours. It shows how the world works as a knitted unit where each nation aims at satisfying its personal well being.
The effect of fiscal and monetary policies is discussed bringing out their key ideology and constraints. The idea of boom and bust in the economy and nature of unemployment is studied from the perspective of its degree of dependence upon external factors. While India fairs well in terms of GDP, its pitfalls in terms of low gender ratio, high infant mortality rates, inability to provide basic necessities of food and education to all, showcase how economic development may fail to impact the life of the masses. It reflects upon the inability to provide a favourable environment in sociological terms thus failing the idea behind high economic growth. The pitfalls of the present structure are presented with an outline of how the schemes have been developed to meet the social cause. Emphasis is placed on how a government measures the percolation of a policy through a society and tries to launch and implement effective policies.
The author brings forth the effort, intent and results of policy changes and brings clarity and appreciation to the effort involved in the process of governance. I recommend this book to everyone who wishes to have an informed opinion over the policies in the country and around the world.
The manner of explaining the concepts of inflation, economic growth, depression and position of India vis-a-vis the world is worded to make each statement pertinent and interesting. The author tries to remove the illusion of economics being a complicated territory.
While reading through the book one realises the repetition of some basic ideas like the reason behind US sub-prime crisis and position of India before and after liberalization. This seems like a deliberate attempt to ensure that a reader drives home the issues of major relevance.
While discussing development of a country, author brings out the significance of different parameters to measure growth and presents a complete picture by drawing comparative performance of India with respect to its neighbours. It shows how the world works as a knitted unit where each nation aims at satisfying its personal well being.
The effect of fiscal and monetary policies is discussed bringing out their key ideology and constraints. The idea of boom and bust in the economy and nature of unemployment is studied from the perspective of its degree of dependence upon external factors. While India fairs well in terms of GDP, its pitfalls in terms of low gender ratio, high infant mortality rates, inability to provide basic necessities of food and education to all, showcase how economic development may fail to impact the life of the masses. It reflects upon the inability to provide a favourable environment in sociological terms thus failing the idea behind high economic growth. The pitfalls of the present structure are presented with an outline of how the schemes have been developed to meet the social cause. Emphasis is placed on how a government measures the percolation of a policy through a society and tries to launch and implement effective policies.
The author brings forth the effort, intent and results of policy changes and brings clarity and appreciation to the effort involved in the process of governance. I recommend this book to everyone who wishes to have an informed opinion over the policies in the country and around the world.
March 4, 2020
3.5 Stars
A good book for starters in Economics, but it could be a little bit more in depth covering other central ideas and issues in economics that are required on day to day basis like on taxation etc. Could have been way more better considering the fact that it is IIM-A brand book.
A good book for starters in Economics, but it could be a little bit more in depth covering other central ideas and issues in economics that are required on day to day basis like on taxation etc. Could have been way more better considering the fact that it is IIM-A brand book.
August 8, 2020
This book does a great job explaining the economic phenomena and terms that we encounter daily, albeit in its simplistic form. However, it does not present the full spectrum of various nuances of economic thought. To paraphrase the author, it is enough for us to assume that Earth's path around the sun is elliptical to explain the various celestial phenomena, this book should be understood in that context.
July 7, 2020
They think that they can sell anything if they brand it with IIM/IIT in India. This book doesnt teach any major concept of economics.This book has nothing to do with day to day economics, there are no graphs no mathematical equations. I seriously doubt Professor Satish Deodhar accomplishments - not expected from IIM level professor. Any professor from a small town like Batala in Punjab can write such a trivial book. Really a shame ! Dont waste your money on buying / reading this shit - whatever knowledge / stories professor Satish has told in this book - if you open your ears, you can listen to these stories while travelling on Delhi metro - and while listening to common people talk !
July 31, 2019
This book is by far one of the best books on economics, that I've read and didn't have to re-read it for a better comprehenion.
The book begins to explain about the possible consequences of private sector involvement in sectors such as electricity and Defence and Education. Why lighthouses are managed by the government and why the supply of potable water is managed by a PSU.
It covers myriad topics be it Fiscal and Monetary Policy of the Indian government, reasons for bumps and sags in the GDP, whatis CRR, SLR, Repo and Reverse Repo rate (you already know it if you're from a finance/MBA background), how banks earn and why is it that we trust banks with our hard earned money. It also goes one step ahead to talk about why and how stock markets function and how the animal spirits of ours, can help in reducing the inflation prevalent by increasing the output.
And these are just the headers.
A worthy read for all those interested in the workings of the economy of a country.
The book begins to explain about the possible consequences of private sector involvement in sectors such as electricity and Defence and Education. Why lighthouses are managed by the government and why the supply of potable water is managed by a PSU.
It covers myriad topics be it Fiscal and Monetary Policy of the Indian government, reasons for bumps and sags in the GDP, whatis CRR, SLR, Repo and Reverse Repo rate (you already know it if you're from a finance/MBA background), how banks earn and why is it that we trust banks with our hard earned money. It also goes one step ahead to talk about why and how stock markets function and how the animal spirits of ours, can help in reducing the inflation prevalent by increasing the output.
And these are just the headers.
A worthy read for all those interested in the workings of the economy of a country.
January 10, 2018
Growing up, slowly we gain inquisitiveness around the functioning of the government and economy related to us. Every Feb, adults all around you stay glued to the TV. You try your best to follow it but the financial jargon thrown just hits you in the face. Fiscal deficit, repo rate and what not! You try to read the economic section of the paper and all that too is Greek and Latin! Nominal GDP growth rate, inflation etc.How we wish that someone would explain these terms from the very basics to us.
Well,this book does exactly that! The author without sounding too academical anywhere has done an excellent job of explaining some deep concepts of economy like Nominal GDP,Repo rate, headline inflation on a language that is understandable even to a high school kid! Right from the first chapter where he explains the scope for government interference in market to the last chapter where in he explains why GDP growth rate is not a true reflection of the nation's growth without considering the human development indicators,one can grasp the concepts easily due to the various examples given and the author's way of explanation. If ever you wanted to know and understand about Indian economy, this book is for you.It gives you a strong basic understanding of Indian economy which one can build upon. As he rightly terms it, the book is a rookie's guide to Indian economy. It would also help one in their personal economic spehere of where and what to invest once they can get to understand the Repo rates, stocks and shares.Trust me, after reading this simple book you would be able to answer the question as to when does RBI increase or decrease the repo rate to banks? Or when does RBI increase or decrease the Cash reverse ratio or Statutory Liquidity ratio of Banks.Go for this book if you want to have an understanding of various economic concepts like GDP,stocks and shares, recession and the Indian economy.
Well,this book does exactly that! The author without sounding too academical anywhere has done an excellent job of explaining some deep concepts of economy like Nominal GDP,Repo rate, headline inflation on a language that is understandable even to a high school kid! Right from the first chapter where he explains the scope for government interference in market to the last chapter where in he explains why GDP growth rate is not a true reflection of the nation's growth without considering the human development indicators,one can grasp the concepts easily due to the various examples given and the author's way of explanation. If ever you wanted to know and understand about Indian economy, this book is for you.It gives you a strong basic understanding of Indian economy which one can build upon. As he rightly terms it, the book is a rookie's guide to Indian economy. It would also help one in their personal economic spehere of where and what to invest once they can get to understand the Repo rates, stocks and shares.Trust me, after reading this simple book you would be able to answer the question as to when does RBI increase or decrease the repo rate to banks? Or when does RBI increase or decrease the Cash reverse ratio or Statutory Liquidity ratio of Banks.Go for this book if you want to have an understanding of various economic concepts like GDP,stocks and shares, recession and the Indian economy.
May 1, 2020
This is another wonderful and informative book after Roopa Pai's - 'So you want to know about economics'. I would say its level 2 book on economics.
You cannot omit even a single page. Terms, definition, explanation - everything you have.
Author highlights a very important thing that is we all specialize in our own area of interest and profession like engineer, doctor, lawyer, teacher, manager etc. but irrespective of it, we rarely get time to focus on economics. I would say Economics is a mandatory thing in our life and so we need to equip our self to understand, reflect and make informed decisions when we encounter many unforeseeable/unpredictable situations.
Must read for an amatuer!
You cannot omit even a single page. Terms, definition, explanation - everything you have.
Author highlights a very important thing that is we all specialize in our own area of interest and profession like engineer, doctor, lawyer, teacher, manager etc. but irrespective of it, we rarely get time to focus on economics. I would say Economics is a mandatory thing in our life and so we need to equip our self to understand, reflect and make informed decisions when we encounter many unforeseeable/unpredictable situations.
Must read for an amatuer!
November 16, 2018
A decent primer on basic economics. The writer does not bore the reader in an part of the book. Best summary in the author's own words would be, "Like Adi Shankaracharya's quick attempt to understand the life of a householder, reading this book can be your quick attempt to get up close and personal with economics."
September 24, 2019
A small, easy read for introducing basic macro terms, especially the ones you find popular during the annual Indian financial budget presentation period.
Read
October 3, 2016I have bought the entire boxset of IIM A books (A set of 5 books) and this was the first book that I picked up. The book is small (only 211 pages) but is an honest attempt towards making a layman understand the practical meaning of economics jargons and their relevance in current Indian scenario.
Economics is largely been considered an esoteric as well as a prosaic subject. Add to it the multitude of expressions that are unique to this subject, and it almost becomes a topic that many people are wary of. This book will help you to understand the basic concepts of inflation, taxes (direct and indirect), depression, economic growth, unaimed opulence, growth and health indicators. The author also delves into the world of finance- stock market, WTO, financial liberalization post 1991, free trade et al and explains all these without making it dull. After reading this book, you will realize how our government plays an important role in regulating the economy (especially in the times of need, such as inflation and depression) through its various policies and interventions.
There is a "Ready Reckoner" at the end of each chapter, which lists important definitions introduced in the chapter and is another feature that makes the book quite useful and user friendly.
Strongly recommended to everyone, especially to the MBA Aspirants. Buy a copy for yourself from Amazon here- http://amzn.to/2dlPws9
For more reviews, follow my blog- https://thebooktrack.wordpress.com/
Economics is largely been considered an esoteric as well as a prosaic subject. Add to it the multitude of expressions that are unique to this subject, and it almost becomes a topic that many people are wary of. This book will help you to understand the basic concepts of inflation, taxes (direct and indirect), depression, economic growth, unaimed opulence, growth and health indicators. The author also delves into the world of finance- stock market, WTO, financial liberalization post 1991, free trade et al and explains all these without making it dull. After reading this book, you will realize how our government plays an important role in regulating the economy (especially in the times of need, such as inflation and depression) through its various policies and interventions.
There is a "Ready Reckoner" at the end of each chapter, which lists important definitions introduced in the chapter and is another feature that makes the book quite useful and user friendly.
Strongly recommended to everyone, especially to the MBA Aspirants. Buy a copy for yourself from Amazon here- http://amzn.to/2dlPws9
For more reviews, follow my blog- https://thebooktrack.wordpress.com/
August 12, 2016
Imagine that you are going through any daily activity such as buying pulses in a store and trying to comprehend why is it more expensive than yesterday or wondering looking at the news headlines as to why the government is announcing welfare schemes or why an international organization is dictating what should be the global practices regarding agriculture and trade related activities, this is the book you need. The unique quality of this book is that it makes you feel as if economics is not an esoteric subject, a very popular image that this subject commands, because of the examples and events in the backdrop of which the author has explained theories and terms.What i feel is that, a book can be informative but the information is useless if one is unable to derive an implication out of it. This is where this book is one of its kind as it makes you think and encourages you to playfully predict what can and cannot happen in future and what's happening at present. Though i want to cut myself short of prescribing this book as a must for any aspirant of any exam (except engineering related exams of-course!!), but it is a must for them. Relevance of the content, is what will keep this book unscathed through the test of times.:):)
April 2, 2020
A good book to familiarize oneself with day to day terms used in Indian economy. But one has to research more on each topic to understand thoroughly.
August 8, 2019
A good book to understand economics basics. The beginning of the book is awesome and first 50 pages will just make you stick to the book as the real life examples used by author to give examples of why things are like that simply amazing.
The books gives us the knowledge of basic functions of government, Government budget and how it affects us, The knowledge about banks, fiscal policy, monetary policy.
Written in the context of Indian economy, book provides details about what the terms GDP, FDI, CRR, SLR etc mean, why the prices of petrol are going up, and what is the real significance of inflation, a decent insight into the subprime mortgage crisis, the European crisis, how the RBI is making a conscious effort to rescue the Indian economy, what happened during the great depression, how our stock markets work.
The best chapter I found in the book is on inflation and the least interesting one is unaimed opulence.
The books gives us the knowledge of basic functions of government, Government budget and how it affects us, The knowledge about banks, fiscal policy, monetary policy.
Written in the context of Indian economy, book provides details about what the terms GDP, FDI, CRR, SLR etc mean, why the prices of petrol are going up, and what is the real significance of inflation, a decent insight into the subprime mortgage crisis, the European crisis, how the RBI is making a conscious effort to rescue the Indian economy, what happened during the great depression, how our stock markets work.
The best chapter I found in the book is on inflation and the least interesting one is unaimed opulence.
March 26, 2017
This book has helped me in understanding some less understood but very commonly encountered words like inflation, recession, fiscal policy, monetary policy and lot more concepts that have made me still more curious about this largely discussed but less understood subject that is ECONOMICS.
The good thing about this book is that you would just have to pick it once and then it's so lucidly laid out that you will keep it only when you are somewhat enlightened and lot more curious about day to day ECONOMIC activities.
The good thing about this book is that you would just have to pick it once and then it's so lucidly laid out that you will keep it only when you are somewhat enlightened and lot more curious about day to day ECONOMIC activities.
January 11, 2022
A beginner's guide that instill awareness about the institutions such as government and banks and their working in an economic system and how their decisions influence our lives in ways we don't pay attention to.
January 21, 2018
One of the first books to read to get your basics of economics in place.
June 8, 2019
A ready reckoner and a wonderful rookie's guide for day to day economical terms we find in Indian business dailies.
June 4, 2021
It's a scholarly read
The book is a combination of the technical term of macroeconomics which is most common in our regular life which we find difficult to interpret, but these terms are explained with the help of real-life examples, historical relatedness and data from various sources.
The book is a masterpiece overall, anyone beginning to dwell into the world of economics out of interest, problem-solving or preparing for any competitive exam, this is a go-ahead as the foundation for the summit.
The book is a combination of the technical term of macroeconomics which is most common in our regular life which we find difficult to interpret, but these terms are explained with the help of real-life examples, historical relatedness and data from various sources.
The book is a masterpiece overall, anyone beginning to dwell into the world of economics out of interest, problem-solving or preparing for any competitive exam, this is a go-ahead as the foundation for the summit.
February 7, 2022
Go gift your 16 year old niece/nephew a copy of this (& read along with them) :)
November 26, 2017
Being a newbie this book helps to gain the knowledge in economics involved in day to day routine. Evolution of WTO from GATT. Best book to get meanings of economic terms used in business news.
June 6, 2020
Economics hadn't been so easy before.
October 9, 2021
Too idealistic & too optimistic point of view
There are number of arguments where author tries to justify (or advocates it) actions like monopolies, government interventions, central bank interventions. There are 2 major problems with that:
- It is assumed that government always functions in the most efficient manner. This argument is just barely true, that too for very few countries (India is NOT one of them without a doubt). Basing the arguments on the assumption that all the tax money, monetization money, or any other kind of receipts to government are always used in one of the most efficient ways is practically useless.
- It centralizes the power without sufficient obligation from the authority. There is very little oversight as to how central banks are performing in most countries. It raises questions like - how much government influence is there in monetary policies of the central bank ? How much influence is there from businessmen ?
I feel like this is very academic view of the economy, where arguments are true only if everything worked in the most optimal ways, governments & central bank decisions are always taken by considering general public as the highest priority instead of being taken because of lobbying. But in practice, all the institutions always work keeping their own interest at the top priority and everything else being secondary, may it by government or central bank or any other authority.
Counter arguments
-> Monopolies:
Usually free market is the most healthy way of growing an industry for general public. It promotes innovation, better services, better prices and in the end, leads to better living standards.
Most of the sectors that the author proposes to be too big to be privately owned and hence should be managed by public, are already managed privately in lot of other countries at up to varying extents. And not only that, India also gone through its own privatization process in early 90s leading to much better economy.
It is possible that some of the things the author mentions are not possible to give it to private sectors straightaway, but saying that these things has to be monopolies closes our options. I'd rather like to read/listen/see discussion about how can these things be delivered to the public by private sector and keeping the market free and healthy. That kind of questions can lead to some desired outcome.
But some of the industries which require huge investment and infrastructure and has to be monopolies as per author, is a completely useless arguments, considering the fact that lot of other countries has privatized those things already (including railway, water distribution, electricity, postal services, etc.)
-> Expertise fallacy:
Author tries to convince that there are lot of experts when it comes to economy who knows how the industry is working, how stock market is working, what kind of economic policies will lead to what kind of results without considering practical realities. He tries to justify history after things have happened, without considering alternative realities which could have been equally likely, but never happened. However, it is much easier to justify history, compared to predicting future.
In my opinion, there are no experts when it comes predicting future. For those who are right till now, I just consider them to be the ones who haven't been unlucky YET. Same set of actions could lead to multiple realities. Just a single geo political event, pandemic, or some random improbable event could change things overnight.
And what's the point of prediction even if we're right 99% of the time, but we can't get it right when it matters the most.
- Justifying inflation:
I felt at some point that author kind of derives same conclusion for inflation introduced by printing money and by demand supply imbalance. However, both spreads through the economy in very different manner. Printing money introduces imparity in the sense that the person getting it first will be at the biggest advantage, compared to person getting it last. And inflation due to demand-supply spreads much different depending on the type of goods or services, its target audience, etc.
And more importantly, the solution to both the type of inflation is not the same. For one thing, I don't even like the idea of inflation due to printing money, and having to do that in the economy in itself introduces much bigger problem rather than solving underlying issue. And regarding inflation due to demand supply is more of a matter of new technologies coming into the picture, old technologies phasing out, some natural phenomenons (calamities, good/bad rains, or any other parameter which is not directly controlled by humans) impacting production. And this would require different solution altogether. It requires investing money in research or insurances such as to minimize the impact of such things on production. And as for technological advancements, those are much healthier form of price changes if the market is sufficiently free as it more often than not leads to better standard of living for the society as a whole.
I would split the book in 2 different LOGICAL parts - purely informational (like explaining different terms and institutions with their goals (talks about ideal goal, and not practical) & subjective point of view which tries to justify lot of actions from government, central banks, historical events, etc.
First part is something good to know, but second part is something which has to be looked in the most cynical way (one can do that after reading few books from Austrian school of thoughts).
However, this is just a logical distinction, and sometimes a bit difficult to know when author switched between these two. And that's the reason I don't recommend this book to newbies.
And come to think of it, I'm not even surprised that he is quoting Keynes time and again :)
There are number of arguments where author tries to justify (or advocates it) actions like monopolies, government interventions, central bank interventions. There are 2 major problems with that:
- It is assumed that government always functions in the most efficient manner. This argument is just barely true, that too for very few countries (India is NOT one of them without a doubt). Basing the arguments on the assumption that all the tax money, monetization money, or any other kind of receipts to government are always used in one of the most efficient ways is practically useless.
- It centralizes the power without sufficient obligation from the authority. There is very little oversight as to how central banks are performing in most countries. It raises questions like - how much government influence is there in monetary policies of the central bank ? How much influence is there from businessmen ?
I feel like this is very academic view of the economy, where arguments are true only if everything worked in the most optimal ways, governments & central bank decisions are always taken by considering general public as the highest priority instead of being taken because of lobbying. But in practice, all the institutions always work keeping their own interest at the top priority and everything else being secondary, may it by government or central bank or any other authority.
Counter arguments
-> Monopolies:
Usually free market is the most healthy way of growing an industry for general public. It promotes innovation, better services, better prices and in the end, leads to better living standards.
Most of the sectors that the author proposes to be too big to be privately owned and hence should be managed by public, are already managed privately in lot of other countries at up to varying extents. And not only that, India also gone through its own privatization process in early 90s leading to much better economy.
It is possible that some of the things the author mentions are not possible to give it to private sectors straightaway, but saying that these things has to be monopolies closes our options. I'd rather like to read/listen/see discussion about how can these things be delivered to the public by private sector and keeping the market free and healthy. That kind of questions can lead to some desired outcome.
But some of the industries which require huge investment and infrastructure and has to be monopolies as per author, is a completely useless arguments, considering the fact that lot of other countries has privatized those things already (including railway, water distribution, electricity, postal services, etc.)
-> Expertise fallacy:
Author tries to convince that there are lot of experts when it comes to economy who knows how the industry is working, how stock market is working, what kind of economic policies will lead to what kind of results without considering practical realities. He tries to justify history after things have happened, without considering alternative realities which could have been equally likely, but never happened. However, it is much easier to justify history, compared to predicting future.
In my opinion, there are no experts when it comes predicting future. For those who are right till now, I just consider them to be the ones who haven't been unlucky YET. Same set of actions could lead to multiple realities. Just a single geo political event, pandemic, or some random improbable event could change things overnight.
And what's the point of prediction even if we're right 99% of the time, but we can't get it right when it matters the most.
- Justifying inflation:
I felt at some point that author kind of derives same conclusion for inflation introduced by printing money and by demand supply imbalance. However, both spreads through the economy in very different manner. Printing money introduces imparity in the sense that the person getting it first will be at the biggest advantage, compared to person getting it last. And inflation due to demand-supply spreads much different depending on the type of goods or services, its target audience, etc.
And more importantly, the solution to both the type of inflation is not the same. For one thing, I don't even like the idea of inflation due to printing money, and having to do that in the economy in itself introduces much bigger problem rather than solving underlying issue. And regarding inflation due to demand supply is more of a matter of new technologies coming into the picture, old technologies phasing out, some natural phenomenons (calamities, good/bad rains, or any other parameter which is not directly controlled by humans) impacting production. And this would require different solution altogether. It requires investing money in research or insurances such as to minimize the impact of such things on production. And as for technological advancements, those are much healthier form of price changes if the market is sufficiently free as it more often than not leads to better standard of living for the society as a whole.
I would split the book in 2 different LOGICAL parts - purely informational (like explaining different terms and institutions with their goals (talks about ideal goal, and not practical) & subjective point of view which tries to justify lot of actions from government, central banks, historical events, etc.
First part is something good to know, but second part is something which has to be looked in the most cynical way (one can do that after reading few books from Austrian school of thoughts).
However, this is just a logical distinction, and sometimes a bit difficult to know when author switched between these two. And that's the reason I don't recommend this book to newbies.
And come to think of it, I'm not even surprised that he is quoting Keynes time and again :)
July 18, 2016
Just grab this book and start reading.
This, as the author calls it, is a rookie's guide into the world of 'Rules or management of a household', that is, Economics.
Not one action of yours is unrelated to economics. There could be, infact, are, thousands living on streets just because you own 50 acres of land (agricultural or non-agricultural). There are people dying to make ends meet because you could be grabbing onto those things which morally should be distributed among the less privileged.
The next time you try to upgrade your iphone or plan to buy another plot of land or ignore buying healthy and quality Indian goods just because they aren't a brand, you will feel guilty of not allowing a a poor orphan enjoy the simple, yet basic, pleasure of a day's meal.
This, as the author calls it, is a rookie's guide into the world of 'Rules or management of a household', that is, Economics.
Not one action of yours is unrelated to economics. There could be, infact, are, thousands living on streets just because you own 50 acres of land (agricultural or non-agricultural). There are people dying to make ends meet because you could be grabbing onto those things which morally should be distributed among the less privileged.
The next time you try to upgrade your iphone or plan to buy another plot of land or ignore buying healthy and quality Indian goods just because they aren't a brand, you will feel guilty of not allowing a a poor orphan enjoy the simple, yet basic, pleasure of a day's meal.
April 3, 2016
Day to day Economics is an extremely easy-to-read book which touches on certain macro- economic phenomena pertaining to India. The author does an incredible job of making such a complicated topic interesting and simple to the audience by taking out the math out of it. The chapters provide you with enough information to understand the economics of the scenario with examples from the real world and could be used practically. The chapter on the government budget especially made it easier for me to read and understand financial newspapers and follow what is going on around. Overall an easy read to understand the working of certain macro-economical institutions and how they affect us.
January 2, 2017
I found the book to be engaging, and the ideal summary I was looking for pertaining to the Indian Economics. Clearly, this is not the only book I intend to read or have read in the recent past, and in terms of facts, the book had nothing new to offer, and yet, despite all of it, it made for a very insightful read. Some of the concepts relating to inflation, recession, and stock markets were explained pretty well. This book is recommended for anyone with the slightest interest in Indian Economics, including UPSC and CAT Aspirants.
July 25, 2013
Great Work!
Economics is quite an interesting topic as it is more or less related to money. But the topic itself is quite boring when it comes to learning through books.
Mr. Deodhar comes up with an interesting work that decodes the basic economics concepts which feels like walk in the park while reading it. I enjoyed the book and recommend it to any beginner who seeks a keen guidance on the subject.
And yes economics is not only money its a heck of more than that.
Economics is quite an interesting topic as it is more or less related to money. But the topic itself is quite boring when it comes to learning through books.
Mr. Deodhar comes up with an interesting work that decodes the basic economics concepts which feels like walk in the park while reading it. I enjoyed the book and recommend it to any beginner who seeks a keen guidance on the subject.
And yes economics is not only money its a heck of more than that.
January 26, 2015
A easy to understand book which familiarizes one with smith's and Keynes of the world. Strongly recommend for someone who is looking for an introduction to the world of economics and understand the language of various news papers or even articles. I am curiously looking forward to this years budget with the hope of deciphering it with the leanings from this book. Definitely going to check out more from this publication house.
May 27, 2013
you can rename this book as "A rookie's guide to the world of Economics". Economics is considered by many as an elusive knowledge irrespective of the fact it plays a vital role in every instances of one's daily routine. This book is an excellent attempt to elucidate the concepts of economics for the layman and encourages him to explore the intriguing world of Economics.
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