SPIN-FREE ECONOMICS

by Behravesh

With technology and globalization advancing at breakneck speed, the world economy becomes more complex by the day. Activists, politicians, and media enablers―conservative and liberal, left and right, informed and just plain wrong―consistently seize this opportunity to present woefully simplistic explanations and hype the latest myths regarding issues affecting the economy. Their purpose is not to educate but to advocate and, in many cases involving the media, manufacture outrage to drive ratings higher. So, where can you find the truth about today’s economy and how it affects you? Turn off the TV, put down the magazine, log off the Internet―and read this book. Spin-Free Economics places the current economic debates where they in the middle of the road. With no political ax to grind, Nariman Behravesh takes a centrist approach to explain how today’s economic issues affect individuals and businesses. Along the way, he debunks myths regarding the effects of immigration, unemployment, regulation, productivity, education, health care, and other headline issues. Spin-Free Economics answers today’s most pressing questions, including

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Business, Finance

384 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2008

Reviews

[Riku Sayuj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one of the myth-buster books. Sure, we have all the solutions. And they are so obvious too. And so simple that every major problem can be explained away in a bite-sized chapter. But still we cant get off the ride. Riddle that.

[Jake Losh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book might be good for non-economist types as it does present a pretty wide range of the views of economists on various topics of interest to the general public. It's quite accessible. I would not recommend it to seasoned economics students because it's all just stuff you've probably seen presented in a less biased setting before. Speaking of which, Behravesh is unabashedly pro-market, not really paying more than lip-service to other ideas. It comes off as a bit closed-minded. Despite this, I'd recommend it to anyone looking to better understand an economist's view.

[Todd N · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost didn't make it through this book because Obama's inauguration happened while I was in the middle of it. This might sound silly but all my books seemed outdated and irrelevant for a few days, especially a book on economics. Why read about the past when we could be gazing into the future with a pose ready for a coin or at the very least a poster by Shepard Fairey?

But then I calmed down after a few days and finished this book, through I admit I skimmed through some parts of it.

This book makes the bold claim of being a nonpartisan guide to today's economic issues, focusing on what is generally accepted consensus between economics. In the introduction he scolds the media for focusing only on controversial areas or (worse) trying to portray conflict where there is none.

So either Mr. Behravesh needs to expand his circle of economic friends, or most economists are in agreement that the free market system and globalization are the best way to go. I have no idea which is the case, not knowing a lot of economists and only recently being interested in economics.

I appreciate the straight forward writing and the concise essays. Another title for this book could be "The Free Market Bathroom Reader." The titles of the essays nicely summarize the main thesis and the essays are grouped into logical themes. They can be read in any order and there are lots of pointers to other essays.

I found it hard to disagree with the points that he was making, but I had the sneaking suspicion that maybe I wasn't getting the whole story. He had no problem calling out where the right and the left make bad choices or serve their own interests, which makes him seem a lot more credible to me. He does seem a bit more rational and well-spoken than, say, someone throwing a chair through a Starbucks window at a G8 summit protest, so I'll go with what Mr. Behravesh thinks for now.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly recommended read that helps a discerning mind separate fact from fiction in highly-politicized economic debates that are unfortunately far more common these days. The book is essentially a collection of essays, appropriately referencing each other, making it well-suited for a non-linear read if the subject matter in the middle or end of the book is of more interest, or more timely to the reader, than the material at the beginning.

I am about half-way through, and really like it. I wish every member of the US Congress and the White House could agree on the fundamentals of economics highlighted in this book, without trying to use fringe arguments with unstated assumptions to polarize debate. The author repeatedly makes the claim that economists generally agree on far more than political debates would otherwise cause one to believe, and that both political extremes are guilty of fallacious or misleading economic arguments. Results of broad surveys of economists are included to underscore this point.

The book does not contain mathematics at any level, let alone anything complex. Anyone looking for a text book-like introduction to economic concepts will not find them here. Instead, the discussion occurs at more of a meta-layer, discussing economic issues (e.g., trade, technology, fiscal and monetary policy, etc.) and relating historical data, current economic research results, and what the author purports to be the general consensus of most economists, and combines these in a style that is comprehensive but not boring or dry, and very relevant to the issues of the day.

A highly recommended book for us all in these unique and challenging economic times.

[Jurij Fedorov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. This book will make you understand economics and teach you a lot about our economic system. A lot of great examples and excellent writing makes this book nearly impossible to put down. Every chapter in it is a very exciting read.

Is it non-partial? No. As 80% of all economic books this book is against big government and for free marked. Understand and accept this before reading this book and it will be a great read. And libertarians are right on the fact that big government makes for worse economics. Libertarians just ignore the human aspects of a system. But this discussion can be found in other books. And it does not mean that you have to avoid every partial source. The Communist Manifesto is another must-read book even though it is partial.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book isn't really fair given the author's writing style. I think it is a great overview of free market economics, micro and macro. I don't think such an overview has to be horribly biased and even quite factual. However, his writing style is so rhetorical that it seems to be more full of spin than it really needs to be. It would be more appropriately titled (as written) "Market Economics Clarified and Corrected: Don't Take Liberal Rhetoric at Face Value" or something like that.

I read it because Greg Mankiw recommended it and is even quoted on the cover. I wish Greg had written it instead of just recommended it. It would have been a much better book.

[Rdfajar]

This book might be "spin-free" but it is clearly slanted more to the free-market sentiments although it strived to take a centris view.
Among the weak point is the "better solutions" in each essays that it presented against policies it critized. The proposed solutions fall short of really addressing the issues.
For example: the author prefer direct subsidies (either tax credit or cash) rather than minimum wages and rent control. But he does not fully discuss the impact if minimum wages and rent control are discarded.

[Willa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handy book full of bite-size morsels, with plenty of statistics to back up the arguments and sufficient references for those inclined to explore the topics more in depth.

Political/economic discourse would be a better field if all would-be pundits read this book first,instead of spontaneously generating their arguments from their own sense of righteous indignation. (I'm looking at you, "Occupy" movement.)

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may be "spin-free" (debatable), but it certainly isn't assumption-free, and the author NEVER discusses his assumptions. Given that the data he uses to back up his conclusions only ever span a few decades, I was left with the impression that his statements are only valid as long as nothing changes. And things always change.

[Jt · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had great ideas and I agree with most of it, but it had an incredibly exacerbating habit of citing other essays in the book several times during each essay. And each essay title had incredibly long titles, so it disrupted the flow of the reading.

[Eduardo Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly Economics 101, but well written and with decent examples of the effects of good and bad policies.