Essay on Book Review: Common Sense Economics

The economy of the world is changing all the time. We have had our ups and downs, but with the help of insights from economist, we have been able to sustain a decent economy. In Naked Economics, Wheelan discusses how a country can have a successful economy. He discusses why countries are poor and why some other countries are doing lavish things, like buying a cake for a dog. The reason behind it is because the richer countries are more productive and allocate resources and the poorer countries aren’t as efficient and don’t allocate resources. Wheelan also wrote about how Steve Jobs and Bill Gates became as rich as they are. They made huge investments in human capital to become rich. They became rich because they had a product that people were willing to give their money for. There are many problems in different economies and Wheelan explains why they are failing. Some economies suffer from a poorly ran government and others suffer from the lack of information. Trade is a positive thing, but there are people that discourage it because products are imported from outside of the United States.

When explaining economics instead of using large over-complicated words, the authors simply state that “economics is, at root, the study of incentives.” Rather than utilizing economist argot, Levitt and Dubner describe economics in a way that makes it easier to understand and put into perspective. As the passage continues, the authors provide the audience with many relatable examples such as “if you break curfew you are grounded.” People respond to incentives, it’s the way our society works, “an incentive is simply a means of urging people to do more of a good thing and less of a bad thing.” Like Levitt and Dubner previously stated, economics is the study of incentives and how it affects society and their decision making

With the recent developments in the economy there could have not been a better time to

There is not one common theme in Freakonomics, instead the book is structured around four essential ideas: incentives are the basis of modern life, conventional wisdom is often wrong, dramatic effects often have

“An incentive is a bullet, a key: an often tiny object with astonishing power to change anything”(Levitt 20). What professor Steven D. Levitt (a professor of economics at the University of Chicago’s dictum here is that the incentive has a lot of power in this world). And that the metaphor of comparing “incentives”to a bullet really speaks wonders to their strengths. They can change almost any situation by motivating someone to do something in a business situation, all the way to education fields. After many years of college, business and economics students are being taught how to be greedy in college. It is only a matter of time before greed is too powerful. Incentives and greed both have favorable and critical effects on individuals and the populace, but when connected together both can have dangerous effects on future selections.

The first principle in individual decision-making is facing a trade-off. In order for individuals to accomplish their goals or to obtain something they desire, there is usually something that must be given up or traded to accomplish that. In Chapter 1 Principles of Economics, efficiency vs. equity is discussed which helps further explain this principle. Society is always desiring to

The Core Econ textbook provides a very clear overview of the microeconomics concepts. Some ideas that were introduced by the textbook are very interesting and somewhat relevant to real world, but do not completely explain real life phenomenons. On the other hand, it also introduced many ideas that allowed me to perceive certain topics in a different light.

In the Preface to Common Sense Economics, Gwartney et al ask the question, “Why Should You Read This Book?” The authors answer their own question when they state that this book will “…improve your understanding of a complex world.” Truer words have never been spoken, based upon the knowledge this reviewer has realized in just a few short weeks. Part one of the book outlines the twelve key elements of economics. Part two of the book outlines the seven major sources of economic progress. Part three of the book outlines the role that the government plays, or rather should play, in the previously mentioned economic progress.

Firstly, our example illustrates how people respond to incentive. In economics, an incentive is defined as any factor that provides a motive for a particular course of action. This example is exemplified in our first customer. Perhaps, the promotion encourages her to purchase an extra bottle of X shampoo now instead of later. By doing so, the BOGO 1.5 promotion can be classified as an incentive which ensures her decision. As she rationalizes her decision to purchase an extra shampoo, she demonstrates that everyone do respond to incentives. In contrast, the promotion does not have the effect on the second consumer because it does not provide incentive therefore not applicable to him and his choice as a consumer.

When I first looked into finding this book I didn’t think much of it as I just thought it was just another type of text book or some sort. I was thinking that this would be some kind of auto biography or something I would not be interested in. In fact after reading this book I was stunned by the different views and aspects of economics that was explain and I would had never thought about them in that sort of way. This book covers a lot about we discussed in class. This book explains different examples of economic concepts that may be used in our daily lives. They

In the book Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner note “An incentive is a bullet, a lever, a key: an often-tiny object with astonishing power to change a situation” (16). This is to showcase the amount of power an incentive can have over a person or a situation; either good or bad. Humans are found to use incentives when it comes to making daily decisions. Often, people need motives to proceed with their plans. Some tend to make either moral, social, or economic incentive. The moral incentive is about self-respect; keeping in check with what was taught to believe is right and wrong. The social incentive is how the public views the person; wanting to look good in front others. Economic incentive, however, would relate to monetary benefit. While all three incentives can affect people’s decisions, economic

money’ and ‘one action gives rise to another’. That means if people are rewarded they will be motivated

Incentives are seen everywhere in daily life and they appear in a variety of ways. Whether a person is making a choice between what to eat for lunch or when to go to bed, they are being influence by incentives. For example, images of an appealing lunch meal in a TV commercial may make someone choose Subway over Mcdonalds. However, the same thought process can motivate someone to prefer a meal at McDonalds because of the company’s constant promotion of their “dollar menu” (Mcdonalds, 2013). Either of these incentives can appeal to a person, depending on what they are motivated by, in this case, either health or money.

As long as the marginal benefit of an activity exceeds the marginal cost, people are better off doing more of it. But as soon as the marginal cost exceeds the marginal benefit, they suddenly become better off doing less of that specific activity. This can be used when deciding how many employees a company should have. To produce the profit-maximizing level of output and hire the optimal number of workers, and other resources, producers must compare the marginal benefits and marginal costs of producing a little more with the marginal benefits and marginal costs of producing a little less. You can decide how many workers to hire for a profit-maximizing car company by

In conclusion, “there is not no such thing as a free lunch”, I believe that life is all about trade-offs. By