Product Description

Why does popcorn cost so much at the movies? When does it make sense not to recycle? Why are laws against polygamy detrimental to women? Steven E. Landsburg examines everything from taxes, unemployment and illiteracy to the mating game, the death penalty and environmentalism to solve the puzzling questions that occur in daily living. Both controversial and humorous, The Armchair Economist demystifies the economics of everyday behaviour, and shows how the laws of economics can reveal themselves in surprising ways. Put your convictions to the test with The Armchair Economist.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23199 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Steven E. Landsburg writes the popular 'Everyday Economics' column in Slate magazine and has also written for Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. He teaches in the department of economics at the University of Rochester.

Customer Reviews

Deep arguments lightly presented
A joy to read! Insightful, yet beautifully simple, arguments for many key economic ideas, such as why prices are good and arguments in favour of free trade. Some of the arguments are counter-intuitive, such as seatbelts killing people and recycling paper being bad for trees, but are great truisms which make you think differently and more lucidly.

I also like Landsburgh's modesty. For example, he admits that, despite being a top-notch economist, he cannot satisfactorily explain why popcorn is so expensive at cinemas!

And I like his sense of humour -the book is full of jokes which add enormously to the pleasure of reading it. Great for both economists and non-economists who want an introduction to the subject.

Too cocky by half
Parts of this book delighted me and parts infuriated me. From a conventional economic perspective, Landsburg does a standard demolition job on many popular misconceptions about how markets and economies work. On the other hand he never questions the validity of the conventional economic theories on which he bases what he says. Worse, his cocksure tone belies what I suspect are some stark intellectual limitations.

Part VI, entitled, "The Pitfalls of Science", is IMO one of the most revealing in the book. In it Landsburg reproduces the text of a letter he sent to the organiser of his daughter's group at a Jewish Community Centre. The letter complained that the group was indoctrinating his daughter in environmentalism. He writes of himself and his wife,

"...We are not environmentalists. We ardently oppose environmentalists. We consider environmentalism a form of mass hysteria akin to Islamic fundamentalism or the War on Drugs. We do not recycle. We teach our daughter not to recycle. We teach her that people who try to convince her to recycle, or who try to force her to recycle, are intruding on her rights."

This sadly typifies the mentality of the many economists who ignore all biophysical considerations in economics. His daughter's rights won't count for much on the trashed planet that people with his attitudes are likely to create.

I found myself asking how much weight I should attach to Landsburg's other arguments when his views on environmentalism expose such addled thinking.

Challenges the lay person's knowledge of Economics
If you are like me, naive in the field of economics pick up this book. It has no tables or other confusing 'aids' and will take you through a series of essays on everyday economic matters. It is easy to read and the author knows how to keep you hooked. Overall, a good use of your time.