Common Sense Economics provides clarity the complexities of economics. This book is easy to read and does a good job breaking down economics.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.
This is a good book for students and people who want to know how the world of economics works. It puts terms and theories in down to Earth examples and explains things in a way that is easy to understand and see in real life.
I would say the first part is mostly macroeconomics under the lense of a free market and has a neoliberal point of view.
The last part of the book I feel it has a better use for individuals as it touched the topic of personal finance. For people who are not necessarily in the world of investments it can give some general guidance on how to take care of your money.
I would have liked to see more of the new economic trends like Behavioral Economics or a deeper discussion on Green Economy and sustainable development but overall is a good book to start in the world of economics.

As someone with an MBA in Finance I enjoy reading about economics, so decided to review this book. It is well-written and would be a good introduction to economics for high school students or the average person without a great knowledge of the topic. They give lots of useful concrete examples, not just economic theory. I disagreed with the authors on some points, but overall found it to be a useful book.
I received an advanced copy from the publishers via NetGalley.

This was an interesting and informative read. The book is well written and researched. The topics covered are well developed and communicated in an easy to read manner. This is a good resource.

Thanks to the publisher for early access to this book. As a former employee of a large central bank, this book was an interesting overview of economic theory that is very approachable to readers at a variety of levels.

The authors cover a lot of ground in macroeconomics. While they claim this is common sense, there are still a lot of assumptions and conclusions based on a certain worldviews and political biases. For example, they say lower tax rates boost the overall economy. In this example, most argue that high tax rates reduce capital expenditures and expansion in hiring, etc. However, the authors give examples that show businesses make expenditures because high marginal tax rates (such as Britain’s 98 percent in the 1970s) actually boosted expenditures, boosting the economy because the tax savings paid for the expenditures. Likewise, common sense would tell you that a business owner will invest in an opportunity—buy equipment, hire employees—when the opportunity will make money, such as customer demand is increasing. Taxes will take a portion of the profit, but a big chunk will go into the business owner’s pocket or be reinvested for further growth. If a business owner has a money-making opportunity, and says to himself/herself, “Well, I’d do it if Congress would cut taxes” then that business owner is not showing common sense and is claiming to pass on business growth when demand is high.

There are a lot of platitudes in this book and reliance on the free market. They ignored their own discussion of how free markets led businesses to petition governments to restrict trade through licensing, certifications and other barriers for new entrants into the market space. They also ignored history that led to slavery for economic reasons, robber barons in the late 1800s as the Industrial Revolution heated up. Free markets meant low wages, unsafe workplaces, unsafe food, monopolistic pricing, and so on. Adam Smith’s invisible hand of the free market was also fooled by the “growth” of 1930s Germany and fueled Hitler’s militaristic expansion. Depending on abundance of resources, free trade can decimate national economies, or at minimum certain business sectors. We just have to look at how much of our consumer goods in the US are produced in China. Or as one person told me, “It costs me more to raise chickens in Haiti than the cost to import from the other side of the island, from the Dominican Republic.”

Surprisingly, they seem to totally ignore the work of Kahnemann, Tversky and Thaler who pointed out the irrational decision-making processes of consumers, business leaders and economists. Thaler mentions in an interview how even economists won’t drive 10 minutes to save $5 on a $400 item, but will drive that distance to save the same amount on a $20 item. The cost and savings are the same but the decision is different. Why? Anyone who pays attention understands that most of us in the real world don’t see common sense or rationality applied. But neither does this book.

An overview of the general economic principles offering key points on economics. This was more a refresher on economics for me. This is a quick read and flows well, might be good for younger students interested in economics.

ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. Expected Pub Date: 30 July 2024
#NetGalley #CommonSenseEconomics

I used to, before I retired, teach college level economics, so perhaps this review is a little unfair. Also, I believe that the authors bit off more than they could chew. Their idea was to write an introductory economics textbook that was suited for HS and college level students, and while they succeeded admirably in their first task, they failed miserably in their second effort. This book is excellent for kids who are studying economics in HS, but it is too jejune for students who are in college.

Really breaks down the concepts of economics in a way that is understandable to the layman. This book is a good introduction and will be perfect for a first-year course at the high school level.

Read in a day, great actionable advice and really easy to digest, which usually isn't the case with these types of books. I'm glad I heard such good things because I don't think I would have picked this up otherwise, but am better for having read it!