Kersten Kelly’s Ec•o•nom•ics: A Simple Twist on Normalcy takes a lot of inspiration
from Freakonomics. Anyone expecting a rehash of that book is
going to be sorely disappointed, however.
Kelly’s work stands on its own, and its goal is to make a vast, complex
subject a little more understandable.
Does it work? Yes, but with a
price.
Kelly writes in a very conversational style, which helps
when dealing with economics and the theories that drive the marketplace and
consumers. She examines the complexities
behind things like what dictates lipstick purchases in a struggling economy and
the how people’s decisions are swayed on a show like Deal or No Deal and then ties them into simple economics. If you have a passing interest in this
subject, this book will whet your appetite for more. If you are a seasoned pro, however, you may
find it a little too basic, but that is the book’s allure. While Freakonomics,
a book I enjoyed, took strange situations (such as how legalized abortion
affected the crime rate) and applied science to it, Kelly takes ordinary
situations that we take for granted and examines why they work the way they
do. Fast food, car purchases, the Cold
War, extreme couponing, dating sites – she hits them all, and while this is a
good starting point, many of these issues are far more complicated than this
book would have you believe. That
doesn’t matter, though, because sometimes a simple understanding is more than
enough to give you solid ground to stand on.
Freakonomics took
relatively simple ideas and problems and showed how complex they were. Ec•o•nom•ics takes complex issues and shows
how simple they can be. The two books,
while vastly different, complement each other quite well. There is still much for Kelly to uncover,
however, and it makes me wonder if she is working on a new volume.
Mandatory FTC Disclaimer: I received this book to review. Clicking on a link may earn me a commission.
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