Book Review: The Hugger-Mugger Economist Strikes Back

The Undercover Economist Strikes Back (How to Run - Or Ruin - An Economy) yesteryear Tim Harford is an interesting pop introduction to macroeconomics. Tim Harford has written previous popularisations almost microeconomics; inwards this mass he takes a stab at trying to explicate macro. The mass is good written for its target audience, but it glosses over the theoretical split inside the field.

I am interested inwards writing almost a few of the topics he covers inside the mass inwards afterward articles, too and then I volition hold this review fairly short.

Book Description

The mass was foremost published inwards 2013. The mass is written inwards an informal  question & respond format, which seems effective.Since it is a pop work, it is non burdened every bit good much alongside the details of the evolution of macro theory.

The mass is organised alongside i principal topic per chapter, although the history of Bill Phillips is woven every bit a human involvement slice throughout the text. His personal history is discussed, every bit good every bit the evolution of his hydraulic economical estimator too the famed Phillips Curve. The chapters are mainly almost macroeconomic theory, but some microeconomics worked its agency in.

The chapters are:

1. The Economy: H5N1 User's Manual
2. The Babysitting Recession (the floor of the Capitol Hill babysitting cooperative every bit a simplified monetary economy, a floor that Paul Krugman wrote about).
3. Money, Money, Money (the inevitable chapter almost money).
4. Just Enough Inflation (inflation targeting; nominal gross domestic product targeting gets a mention).
5. Stimulus (Ricardian Equivalence rides again).
6. The Prison Camp Recession (analogy betwixt WWII prison theatre army camp economic scheme too existent trouble organisation bike models).
7. Output Gaps (what they are).
8. The Invention of Unemployment (how raising reward creates reservation unemployment).
9. Boss-onomics (what is the affect of improve administration on the economy).
10. The Sirens of Macroeconomics (hooray for rational expectations).
11. The Cult of GNP (what GNP/GDP is, why it is non a mensurate of well-being).
12. Happynomics (the drive to mensurate national happiness, too how it relates to the economy).
13. Can Growth Continue Forever? (economics versus Peak Oil).
14. Inequality (a much shorter news of inequality than Piketty; but this mass is pre-Piketty, too then his run is non covered).
15. The Future of Macroeconomics (notes some critiques of macro, too possible ways forward).

Tim Harford is a visiting swain at Oxford (in microeconomics), has ii columns for the Financial Times (and elsewhere), too has previously written The Undercover Economist (plus other books).  

My Mixed Reaction

The mass is well-written too interesting, too likely would last i of the improve introductions to macroeconomics for readers without a background inwards the area. He does a really skilful undertaking explaining the orthodox (mainstream) stance of macroeconomics, too he does practice a reasonable undertaking of alerting the reader to the political divisions that be inside macroeconomics.

However, my feeling is that he has followed the mainstream describe every bit good closely, too in that location are a few statements he makes that I lead hold my doubts about.  (As i mightiness guess, some were inwards the chapter on financial policy.) I realise that a mass that attempted to hold Marxists, Post-Keynesians, Austrians, "New Keynesians" too Real Business Cycle economists happy would last a spectacular muddle, too and then I would non await him to try. He does lead hold reasonable political residual yesteryear contrasting gratuitous marketplace "classical" economists versus "Keynesian" views, but the reality is that those are ii branches of mainstream economics.

It is probable that the parts that I establish questionable would non last picked upwardly my readers who are simply commencement to larn almost macroeconomics. Correspondingly, I practice non desire to become farther into this topic, other than noting that readers should sympathise that macro theory has fifty-fifty greater divisions than the text indicates.

Varied Content

The chapters are non simply focussed on explaining the concluding crisis, rather they are a mix of topics. Some are extended examples, such every bit the floor of how activity inwards a babysitting cooperative, which used a individual "currency" collapsed due to a lack of demand. Others are to a greater extent than similar primers, such every bit the explanation of what an output gap is.

I liked his chapter on whether increase tin hold forever. H5N1 issue of physicists lead hold looked at liberate energy consumption trends, every bit good every bit things similar Peak Oil, to (correctly) debate along the lines that "exponential growth" cannot hold forever. However, the increase that they are looking at is for the consumption of existent resources. Tim Harford points out the gross domestic product is non a mensurate of the consumption of existent resources, rather it is a mensurate of human activity. It is alone possible that economical increase (as measured yesteryear GDP) tin hold to grow, fifty-fifty if resources extraction goes into reverse. This is an interesting subject, too I await to write almost it inwards some other article shortly.

Concluding Remarks

I would recommend the mass to someone commencement to larn almost macroeconomics, but alongside the caution that the land is to a greater extent than divided than the mass suggests.

Finally, the mass is available at Amazon.com: The Undercover Economist Strikes Back: How to Run— or Ruin— an Economy (affiliate link).

 (c) Brian Romanchuk 2014