The camouflaged economist. The economy of small things
The camouflaged economist. The economy of small things -or The Undercover Economist, by its original English title, is a book written by the British economist, columnist, presenter and author Tim Harford. The work was published for the first time thanks to the Abacus publishing house on May 3, 2007. The text has been compared with freakonomics, by Stephen J. Dubner.
However, both volumes are only related because Harford cites Dubner on the cover of his book, since both address the same topic. Beyond that, the narrative style of both authors and the way they present concepts and solutions are very different. For its part, The camouflaged economist It is a suitable title to start learning about how the economy works.
Synopsis of The camouflaged economist
Economics written for the masses
Studying economics is an activity full of complexities. A student who has just started the degree may be saturated with all the new concepts, since it is difficult to extrapolate them to everyday life without the necessary guidance. In this sense, The camouflaged economist It is one of those bedside books that can accompany anyone during the first year, since it is pleasant and direct.
Unlike titles aimed specifically at economics students and experts in this subject, The camouflaged economist focuses on explaining terms such as price elasticity and price signals, the power of scarcity, market failures, marginal cost, externalities, asymmetric and imperfect information, moral hazard, stock prices, random walk and game theory.
From microeconomics to macroeconomics
The book focuses mainly on how to develop economic thinking, with the aim that all people can access this knowledge and develop financial skills that they can apply in their daily lives. To get it, The author is not content with writing a manual for connoisseurs, but rather, through practical examples, it exposes the economic realities that affect all markets.
This methodology is applied from micro to macro. First, very basic concepts are established, such as supply and demand. Later, it is evaluated why the cost of production of the cheapest oil fields in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait is only about two dollars per barrel, but people pay fifty dollars; why you pay three dollars for a cappuccino while third world coffee producers receive a few cents for each cup, etc.
The economic background that governments do not want to talk about
Tim Harford talks about certain controversial aspects of the economy, such as the reason behind traffic congestion pricing and the way this is used to curb pollution. The reasons for the financial failure behind the US health insurance system, as well as the predictability of the stock market, are also being questioned.
It might seem that everything explained is capable of generating a certain headache in the reader. However, Tim Harford explains it in such a close and practical way thateven it's fun to read Why poor countries remain poor and how Chica managed to advance economically more than any state in the world in the last three decades, fascinating topics, to say the least.
Structure of the work
The camouflaged economist It is divided into ten chapters. The first seven give the reader the opportunity to understand key principles in the field of microeconomics. For their part, the last three take a different approach as the author delves into the territory of macroeconomics.
Thus, the writer is dedicated to evaluating equally interesting and up-to-date questions about economic growth, international trade, competition or the theory of comparative advantage. Globalization, of course, cannot be left out, of which it has been spoken of as a taboo and as a benefit in equal parts.
The explanation about Cameroon, China and globalization
To understand the concepts mentioned above, The author introduces the situation that Cameroon is experiencing as a common expression of poverty among third world countries. Here the roles played by corruption, weak institutions and trade barriers are highlighted. In contrast, the last chapter presents how China became a world power.
Chapter nine promotes an important debate where the main issues related to globalization are analyzed in a few words. Here, Mr. Harford boldly debunks several arguments about negative environmental impacts and others evils associated with globalization. It is not surprising that he chose the examples of Cameroon and China to support his point.
About the author, Tim Harford
Tim Harford was born on September 27, 1973, in England, United Kingdom. He is known for being an eminent economist, as well as for presenting Trust me, I'm an economist, BBC programme. The writer also studied a degree in Economics from the University of Oxford. Likewise, he completed a master's degree in the same area. After graduating he entered as an intern at The Financial Times.
Later, he joined the International Finance Corporation. Later, he was promoted as editor-in-chief of the economics section for the Financial Times, newspaper of which he is also a member of the board of editors. In addition, In 2007 he began collaborating as host of the program More or less, from BBC Radio 4. Harford stands out for its tendency to create content that is understandable for everyone.
Other books by Tim Harford
- The Market for Aid (2005). In collaboration with Michael Klein;
- The Logic of Life — The hidden logic of life (2008);
- Dear Uncover Economist: Priceless Advice on Money, Work, Sex, Kids and Life's Other Challenges — Ask the camouflaged economist (2009);
- Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure — Adapt (2011);
- The Undercover Economist Strikes Back: How to Run—or Ruin—an Economy — The camouflaged economist attacks again (2014);
- Messy — The power of disorder (2017)