The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford

When I first picked up "The Undercover Economist" from the shelves of MPH, I was instantly reminded of another book which I had thoroughly enjoyed some time ago - "Freakonomics". It even says right there on the cover, Steven Levitt (the author of Freakonomics) saying that this book is "required reading".

Ok, so this book has got nothing to do with religion or atheism, but life isn't just about religion or atheism (at least, not mine anyway). What this book is about, though, is THINKING. Thinking like an economist, looking at problems, examining evidence and coming up with solutions to improve the quality of our lives. This is the opposite of faith, which we agree, is the process of non-thinking.

Without going into too much details, this book isn't all that similar to Freakonomics, in the sense that it covers broader topics such as globalization, trade barriers, auctions, market economy and environmental issues. Freakonomics, on the other hand zeroes in on a specific question.

After reading this book, I think the next time I visit my local supermarket, I'll try to be more observant and try to uncover all the little things the supermarket doesn't want me to know. I found this an enjoyable read and recommend it to everyone who's ever be curious about how the world works.

Technorati tags Underconver Economist, Tim+Harford, economics