(Note: This is a re-post with minor edits. I once posted this summary in my old blog in 2006, which does not exist now).
Book Title: Undercover Economist (Auhtor: Tim Harford)
The book explains in a fun and entertaining way (among others):
- the economics of Starbucks (price targeting, who get the most from Starbucks’ premium price, etc), supermarkets, used car markets, insurance companies, property price (and rental rates)
- environmental issues related to free trade
- how poor countries stay poor
- how China grows
using economic theories like scarcity and externalities), game theory and also marketing theories.
Tim Harford argues that free trade and free movement of capital are the best for all. For developing countries, regarding the foreign direct investments, there are issues related to environmental abuses, poor working conditions for labors (cheap labors being used inhumanely), but he defends that foreign domestic investments itself don’t cause environmental damages (but local corrupt governments are more likely to be the sinners) and that working in poor working conditions is better for the labors since other choices are worse or simply unavailable.
Books, Arts and Beyond 