Home > Hobbies > Reading > Book Review

Naked Economics:

Undressing the Dismal Science

Wheelan, Charles
W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (September 2003) ISBN-13: 978-0393324860
Rating:

Charles Wheelan sets out in Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science to explain the foundations of economics in clear and simple ways, omitting the overt use of math, that are enjoyable to read and easy to understand. Given the hearty reviews that this book has garnered over at Amazon.com, that task is apparantly more difficult than it seems. In the end, Mr. Wheelan pulls it off superbly.

In 228 pages of clear and interesting writing, Mr. Wheelan takes the reader on a tour of all the major topics in economics. These topics range from the underpinnings of economics like incentives, productivity, asymmetric information, human capital and "utility", to the broader subjects of financial markets, international trade, foreign currencies, government regulation, economic development and even the Federal Reserve.

The main thing that Naked Economics has going for it is its sheer readability. You wouldn't really expect me to call a book about economics "a real page turner", or that "I just couldn't put it down", but I can't imagine any other book on economics coming this close. The chapter on the Federal Reserve started to bog down a little for me, but even in that case, Wheelan gets the main facts out clearly and concisely and then promptly moves on.

One of my largest take aways from the book was the extent to which economic theory and politics are so intertwined. As a exhibit A, skim the reviews on Amazon.com. Amidst the glowing reviews of the book, you will also find politically charged reviews from both ends of the spectrum. For example, one reviewer states that Wheelan is "...strongly influenced by liberal left ideas" (as opposed to the liberal right ideas?) and that "This book is a good one for environmentalists and the politically liberal who believe that markets are best served when managed by the government", while yet another reviewer characterizes Wheelan as exhibiting a "..general pro-business bias that plagues modern US policy making." So, there you have it. Wheelan is pro-business capitalist who believes that markets should be managed by the government to protect the environment. As absurd as that sounds, it is actually pretty accurate and exhibits perhaps the strongest reason why I found the book so worthwhile: Mr. Wheelan talks to both sides of the issues. Wheelan explains that economics does not really provide answers, per se, to most of society's politically charged issues, just the tools to analyze data and get to the facts of the economic effects of certain decisions, but that our policy decisions are ultimately based on our own personal values. For example, the redistribution of wealth is, in economics terms, neither right nor wrong, but taking money from the rich to give to the poor can have both positive and negative economic consequences. Honestly, I suspect Wheelan does personally hold some liberal biases, but if that is the case then he does an admirable job of doing his best to present both sides of the political arguements in economic terms. As he states, you can find very smart and well qualified economists on both sides of almost every political issue.

Conclusion

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. Perhaps the crowning achievement of this book is that Mr. Wheelan addresses subjects that are are both important and pertinent. He addresses the economics of many of today's most talked about social issues, such as income disparity and globalisation. Instead of fettering away his skills on topics such as baby names and sumo wrestlers, Mr. Wheelan brings his readers to a greater understanding of the field of economics and helps them elevate their thinking on important issues.

The less you know about economics, the more you should read this book. If you are an economist, I suspect that reading this book might help you step back a bit and see the forest despite all the trees.

Rating: Naked Economics gets the coveted four wiener dogs.