economics

"Here's the problem. If you donate the otherwise-thrashed book somewhere, someone might read it. OK, maybe that person will read one more book in life but more likely that book will substitute for that person reading some other book instead."

Cowen elaborates on the calculus of when it's a good idea to get rid of a book for the sake of humanity and when it isn't.

The new Amazon Kindle Reader is starting to make sense more and more sense as people are beginning to realize how it can change their lives. Like all new technologies, it takes some time for people to realize the true potential for its uses. The Amazon Kindle Reader is no exception.

Arnold Kling of TCS Daily opines that 2007 had a bumper crop of good economics books. His top recommendations include Discover Your Inner Economist, Myth of the Rational Voter, and A Farewell to Alms.

Brad Delong, an economics professor, reviews the raft of popular economics books lately, that build off the success of Freakonomics. "And Steve Dubner and Steve Levitt begat, or conceived or brought forth, Freakonomics, which sold many copies and populated the land. And the publishers of America looked upon Freakonomics, and saw that it was good."

I knew this, but it never really registered in my head that Germany doesn't allow discounting. Now, Switzerland just across the border has begun to allow it, threatening the German practice. Pro: It allows for a thriving market with varied titles in books. Con: You pay more for your books.

"The Conscience of a Liberal is um...not that polemic. It's not that shrill. There is an argument, to be sure, but the book has much more economic history than I had expected, and much more political history."

Economist George Borjas writes about why he sent Bob Dylan a copy of his book Heaven's Door, at the artist's request.

"And I just know that somewhere in one of Bob's offices or homes there lies a well-weathered and carefully annotated copy of Heaven's Door."

A review and discussion of Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine from two eminent economists, one on the left and one on the right. Both basically think it's a bunch of crap, though earnestly believed by Ms. Klein. I haven't read this newest book of hers, but the last No Logo I thought was pretty disjointed and sloppy.

Tyler Cowen's latest book Discover Your Inner Economist includes some advice on "maximizing one’s cultural consumption" (in the words of the linked reviewer), including on how to read. "He lists eight strategies for taking control of one’s reading, which include ruthless skipping around, following one character while ignoring others, and even going directly to the last chapter."

Tall people make more money than short people because they have more self-esteem…unless, of course, they were short in high school. This and other odd ideologies in More Sex is Safer Sex, where economist Steven E. Landsburg dabbles in psychology and tries to convince the world that life should be lived by numbers.