Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy

NY: Basic Books, 2014. 5th Edition. Hardcover_boards. New/New. Physical Info: 2.3" H x 9.4" L x 6.1" W (2.2 lbs) 704 pages. Small dent and tear to top of back board and DJ. 15th printing. Features: Bibliography, Index, Price on Product. Includes newly added chapter on international wealth disparities. Secure shipping in box w/tracking number. Small dent and tear to top of back board and DJ. Basic Economics is a citizen's guide to economics, written for those who want to understand how the economy works but have no interest in jargon or equations. Bestselling economist Thomas Sowell explains the general principles underlying different economic systems: capitalist, socialist, feudal, and so on. In readable language, he shows how to critique economic policies in terms of the incentives they create, rather than the goals they proclaim. With clear explanations of the entire field, from rent control and the rise and fall of businesses to the international balance of payments, this is the first book for anyone who wishes to understand how the economy functions.
This fifth edition includes a new chapter explaining the reasons for large differences of wealth and income between nations.
Drawing on lively examples from around the world and from centuries of history, Sowell explains basic economic principles for the general public in plain English.
Sowell explains the principles of economics in plain jargon for the general public, answering questions like: Why are homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks of New York in the winter, when abandoned apartment buildings have four times as many dwelling units as there are homeless people in the city? Why did Russians have to import food to feed people in Moscow, when Russia itself had vast amounts of some of the richest farmland in Europe? What are the reasons for the large differences in income and wealth between nations?