Steve Pearlstein, ContributorWITH THE success of 'Blink' and 'Freakonomics', look for a steady flow of breezy and accessible books exploring the puzzles of economic life. The latest is 'The Undercover Economist' (Oxford University Press), by Tim Harford, a British journalist now working at the World Bank. Harford takes it as his challenge to teach his readers to think like economists.
In the process, he goes on a bit much about coffee and Cameroon, but manages to give an interesting rendition of all the great hits of microeconomics: diminishing returns, marginal pricing, imperfect information, externalities and comparative advantage.
A good Christmas gift for that college student who's been avoiding economics--or, even better, for that economics professor who hasn't come up with an interesting enough curriculum.
LA Times-Washington Post
