If you think economics is really the "dismal science," then Diane Coyle, a Harvard-trained economist who lives and works in London, is out to change your mind. And what a job she does in her new book on the basics of general economics. This work is indeed an easy read on a complex subject but Coyle never insults the intelligence of her readers and fully intends to explain in a readable style exactly what the study of economics is all about.
She also chastises her fellow economists for not doing a better job of explaining economics to the general public:
At a minimum, we ought to do better as a profession in explaining to the widest possible audience what it all means in the real world. You can't blame the good economists for all the bad economics that gets done in universities....There are certainly too few good economists engaged in outreach to the general public or business audience, despite the huge relevance of economics to public policy and private decisions.
I am one of those who have deliberately avoided whenever possible the study of what I consider a rather "boring" subject, much preferring the "exciting" disciplines of philosophy, politics, and history. As an undergraduate, I took exactly one course in general economics and then one in business administration: the former course because it was a liberal arts requirement and the latter because my father, a businessman, thought I should know something about modern business. Suffice to say, neither course excited me enough to go further in the study of economics per se.
Right at the beginning, Dr. Coyle tells us precisely what she intends her book to do: "This book aims to demonstrate that economics is essentially a particular way of thinking about the world that can be applied to almost any situation affecting individuals, companies, industries, and governments." Then, to make sure we all understand that the study of economics is not just for the professional or the academic but has a broader horizon, she insists that economics is "the subject for you whatever your interests and concerns" and that her objective is "to provide a new light and refreshing appetizer that might satisfy delicate appetites but also encourage some readers to develop a taste for more." Sex, Drugs & Economics fulfills all the promises made and realizes all the goals the author set out to achieve.
It should be pointed out, I suspect, regarding the title of the book, that there is very little about sex in the book and very little about illegal drugs, and both topics are used merely to explain economic matters. Just in case anyone is concerned, the content of the book will be quite acceptable to intelligent readers from high-school age and beyond. I think, however, that the title is "catchy" and meant to be so and there is no doubt that the book, compared to virtually all of the other economic books I have seen, is truly an "unconventional introduction to economics." If the words "sex" and "illegal drugs" in the title help to sell more copies of the book and bring more ordinary readers to an understanding of economics -- well, so much the better.
One of the things that makes this book so appealing is that Dr. Coyle uses our ordinary life experiences to allow us to grasp many of the major concepts of economics. She does discuss sex and illegal drugs and how economics applies to them, but she also has chapters on sports, music, energy, auctions, war games, movies, the Internet, weather, and other common topics with which we are very familiar, all utilized as a means to introduce, explain and describe various technical terms and concepts at different points in the book.
For instance, the first chapter of the book, titled "Sex: Can you have too much of a good thing?," introduces the concepts of "demand" and "supply," as well "inelastic supply of labor" and "product differentiation." Chapter 2, which is about illegal drugs, introduces the concepts of "market," "externality," "price elasticity of demand," and "cost-benefit analysis." A later chapter on sports explains the concept of "economics of scale," while the chapter on music explains the idea of "marginal cost," and the chapter on immigration explains the concept known as the "lump of labor fallacy." Furthermore, she provides an excellent description of the concept of the "public good" in the chapter on disease, and her discussion of this concept will be of particular interest to libertarians and classical liberals.
There are a few things I found particularly helpful during my reading of this book. The most important to me as a general reader was that the major terms and concepts of economics were set in boldface type as they were introduced in the text. This meant I paid particular attention to them as I was reading and realized they were important to understanding what was being said. Next in importance, at the back of the book is an appendix outlining and explaining the "Ten Rules of Economic Thinking," a section I thought helpfully summed up many of the main points expressed in the text. Finally, a glossary is provided which further explains and expands the major terms and concepts used throughout the book. I wish this sort of format was used more often in books on otherwise difficult subjects. And of course the book includes the usual bibliography (with many Internet websites also provided) and a well-organized comprehensive index.
All in all, I'd say this book accomplishes what was promised and did so in an interesting way. I finished the book with a sense that I finally did understand some of the "arcane" concepts of economics and how these ideas applied to my daily life. I highly recommend this book to all readers, but especially to those still out there who understand little of modern economics but desire or need to do so. Sex, Drugs & Economics is, as they say, a "good read," and Dr. Coyle is to be commended for making an understanding of economics so effortless and, dare I say?, even delightful.
