About the Book
"If you read just one book about economics, make it Andrew Leigh's clear, insightful, and remarkable (and short) work." --Claudia Goldin, recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics and Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University
A sweeping, engrossing history of how economic forces have shaped the world--all in under 200 pages
One of The Economist's Best Books of the Year
In How Economics Explains the World, Harvard-trained economist Andrew Leigh presents a new way to understand the human story. From the dawn of agriculture to AI, here is story of how ingenuity, greed, and desire for betterment have, to an astonishing degree, determined our past, present, and future.
This small book indeed tells a big story. It is the story of capitalism - of how our market system developed. It is the story of the discipline of economics, and some of the key figures who formed it. And it is the story of how economic forces have shaped world history. Why didn't Africa colonize Europe instead of the other way around? What happened when countries erected trade and immigration barriers in the 1930s? Why did the Allies win World War II? Why did inequality in many advanced countries fall during the 1950s and 1960s? How did property rights drive China's growth surge in the 1980s? How does climate change threaten our future prosperity? You'll find answers to these questions and more in How Economics Explains the World.
"Can a short book survey the full history of something so vast and remain readable? To find out, read How Economics Explains the World, by Andrew Leigh. In simple, clear language--and less than 200 pages--it does exactly what its title promises. ... Leigh canters through the history of human progress, pausing briefly to explain the economic forces and ideas that drove it forward. ... Along the way, readers meet the big economic thinkers who sought to explain these forces. Both finance aficionados and mere novices will read, savour and return to this book." -The Economist, "The Best New Books to Read about Finance"
About the Author :
Andrew Leigh received his PhD from Harvard University and was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. Since 2010 he has served as an MP in the Australian House of Representatives, where he is Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. His papers have appeared in the American Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, and Economic Journal, and his books include Battlers and Billionaires, The Luck of Politics, Reconnected, and Randomistas (Yale University Press).
Review :
"Can a short book survey the full history of something so vast and remain readable? To find out, read How Economics Explains the World, by Andrew Leigh. In simple, clear language--and less than 200 pages--it does exactly what its title promises. ... Leigh canters through the history of human progress, pausing briefly to explain the economic forces and ideas that drove it forward. ... Along the way, readers meet the big economic thinkers who sought to explain these forces. Both finance aficionados and mere novices will read, savour and return to this book." -- The Economist, "The Best New Books to Read about Finance"
"If you read just one book about economics, make it Andrew Leigh's clear, insightful, and remarkable (and short) work. Learn why we are richer, live longer, have healthier children, are monumentally more productive and are happier than our ancestors." -- Claudia Goldin, recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics and Henry Lee Professor of Economics, Harvard University
"If you read just one economics book [this year]--and perhaps if you just read one economics book in your life--it should be this book by Andrew Leigh, an Australian economics professor turned elected politician. How Economics Explains the World is a relatively short and easy read, proceeding chronologically from the advent of agriculture to the present day. Underlying it is an immense wealth of scholarship and economic ideas about economic history, the process of growth, and economic concepts like opportunity cost and thinking on the margin that are almost invisibly woven into the fabric throughout the book." -- Jason Furman (Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama), Five Books, "The Best Economics Books of the Year"
"This 'short' book is bursting with insights about economics, illustrated by memorable stories and historical events. People who are curious about but confused by economics will learn enough from this volume to be conversant for life. Andrew Leigh is not only an engaging writer, he is charming and fun as well--something that cannot be said of all economists!" -- Caroline M. Hoxby, Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics, Stanford University
"Leigh takes the reader on an engaging romp through key moments in the world's economic history that created the economies we see today around the globe. It is essential reading for anyone looking to understand today's economy." -- Betsey Stevenson, Professor of Economics, University of Michigan, and coauthor of Principles of Economics
"Leigh manages to give the casual reader an insight into economics, one of humanity's most powerful forces, while enticing them to run even further." -- Sydney Morning Herald
"A satisfying overview of economic history." -- Publishers Weekly
"Leigh's work is an essential and accessible key to understanding global economics." -- Booklist
"The book is riveting and hard to put down." -- Medium
"A fun and fast-paced history of civilization as seen from the perspective of economists." -- Alex Hutchinson, Outside, "Sweat Science Summer Reading List"
