The economy is central to all our lives, but for many of us it is shrouded in mystery.Why do house prices rise and stock markets fall? How does it affect us when interest rates go up, and why? What is deflation, and is it worse that inflation? Does a budget deficit matter? Free Lunch is a guide to economics organized like a convivial meal with friends, and will guide you through these mysteries, leaving you nourished and enlightened. Your guides will include some of the great names in economics, including Smith, Ricardo, Marx, and Keynes.
David Smith is the Economics Editor of the Sunday Times.
Customer Reviews
A nice introduction; could have been juicier:
I read this book almost simultaneously with my reading of “Hidden Order” and “Undercover Economist”. I’ll state my opinion on this book briefly:
1. This book tells you about the lives of Economists whose theories it talks about. This is good - since you learn much more than just the theories; you get to know much more about the Economists than just the theories they postulated.
2. The chapters progress from simple logic to not-so-simple theories. David Smith has written the text beautifully - it’s nice to read and ‘digest’ this lunch.
3. One negative point - sometimes the storyline moves very slowly. There were many instances where I grew impatient with the reading and flipped pages to see where it all was leading to. The style could have been more concise.
