The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and why it Matters

Think back to those economics classes you took in college. You can probably still define a few concepts like price elasticity, opportunity cost and diminishing returns, but the rest may be somewhat hazy. Like most busy people, you probably haven't stayed abreast of the latest research on the causes of economic growth or poverty, the metrics for economic policy, the economics of information and the use of evolutionary modelling. Don't worry. In this pleasant fly-over, economist Diane Coyle shows you the newly discovered economic territory you might have missed. Her presentation is all right, though she's defensive about her chosen profession and sometimes dodges around a bit before coming to the point. Still, getAbstract believes you'll find her book sensible, accurate, apolitical, fairly well-organized and far more "utility maximizing" than econ class.