Naked Economics

The place of Markets Meandering introduction to markets, utility, market price, etc. Lots of bald statements and satiny stories with no evidence or references. 2 Incentive Matter more stories, this time about incentives. Why they matter and why it is hard to redeem markets that have bad outcomes because of bad incentive structures. He repeats Steven Levitys story about real estate brokers. On p. 33 (bottom) Economics teaches us how to acquire incentive right. but the whole chapter is stories about how attempts to change incentives have failed. authorities and the Economy password of externalities and how organisations can compensate for them. Also the role of government in ensuring fair markets, enforcing property rights, enforcing contracts, regulation, etc. Governments provide public computablelys. 4 Government and the Economy II The bad side of government. slightly good points but mostly stories that dont prove anything. Lots of glib platitudes, like the USPS is das h more inefficient than UPS or Fed. Some interesting points about regulation and taxes. 5 Economics of InformationSome good points about adverse selection and issues with incentives. Discussion of the economic problems with health c be. Good discussions of brands and profiling. 6 Productivity and Human keen Good discussions of the importance of education and why talented people are paid more. Discussion of productivity, some confused parts. Discussion of income/wealth inequality. 7 Financial Markets Good but shallow discussion of financial markets. 8 The Power of Organized Interests 9 Keeping Score Good japery on p. 149.Business cycle, growth, GAP. A bit about Keynes. Fiscal and monetary policy. 10 The Federal Reserve Reasonable discussion of the Fed, inflation, and deflation. 1 1 swap and Globalization Reasonable but shallow discussion of trade, globalization, etc. He repeats conventional wisdom and doesnt get into any of the hard issues. Very ill-defined discussion of comparat ive advantage, which is central. 12 Developmental Economics Generally good discussion of what it takes to develop a country. Epilogue Life in 2050 Some good questions.