Armchair Economist
by Steven E. Landsburg · first published 1993
63% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Engaging, example-driven tour of deep economic ideas applied to everyday life; praised as approachable for general readers and for anyone curious about how economics explains common situations.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Why does popcorn cost so much at the movies? When does it make sense not to recycle? Steven Landsburg demystifies the economics of everyday behaviour in these witty and accessible essays. He examines everything from taxes, unemployment and illiteracy to the mating game, the death penalty and environmentalism.
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Not my fields but. The Armchair Economist by Steven Landsburg for economics. The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman for design in any aspect. Closer to my field of organisational performance/psychology. The Fearless Organisation by Amy…
on “Ask HN: Which book can attract anyone towards your field of study?” ↗Not sure what the article said since it's locked, but I recommend Steven Landsburg's "The Armchair Economist". It's one of my favourite books of all time.
on “What to read to understand how economists think” ↗…embarrassed (well, not too embarrassed) reading them at the beach: Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom Robert Heilbroner, The Worldly Philosophers Paul Krugman, Peddling Prosperity Steven Landsburg, The Armchair Economist P.J. O'Rourke, Eat the Rich Burton Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff, Thinking Strategically Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics John McMillan, Reinventing…
on “Ask HN: Getting a grip on economics” ↗The Armchair Economist by Steven Landsburg. Explains some pretty deep ideas in economics in an engaging and entertaining way, and has invaded my thinking since. https://www.amazon.com/Armchair-Economist-Economics-Everyday...
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗"The Armchair Economist", Steven Landsburg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Armchair_Economist Extremely approachable book with fantastic examples explaining somewhat complex concepts.
on “What to read to understand how economists think” ↗I remember an interesting theory about golden parachutes in Steven Landsburg's "The Armchair Economist". In a typical publicly traded company, the CEO is actually much more heavily invested in the company than the shareholders. His salary, and probably the major part of his assets, are dependent on the…
on “90 Cents of Every 'Pay-For-Performance' Dollar for CEOs Are Paid for Luck” ↗…you can get served ("it's currently full"), and decide to go home. You never join the queue. You wait for zero seconds. # Arranging early arrivals is important *Filtering for fans.* In the book _The Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life_, Landsburg himself stated that some businesses would prefer to serve fanatic patrons over mediocre customers. In an ordinary queue, customers can prove their loyalty by *arranging…
on “Buy a coal mine, drive a gas guzzler, and other uses of reverse logic” ↗I've been reading "Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life" (http://www.amazon.com/Armchair-Economist-Economics-Everyday-...), and the most interesting article so far was titled "Was Einstein Credible: The Economics of Scientific Method".…
on “Did any of you read "Was Einstein Credible..."?” ↗…you can get served ("it's currently full"), and decide to go home. You never join the queue. You wait for zero seconds. # Arranging early arrivals is important *Filtering for fans.* In the book _The Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life_, Landsburg himself stated that some businesses would prefer to serve fanatic patrons over mediocre customers. In an ordinary queue, customers can prove their loyalty by *arranging…
on “Buy a coal mine, drive a gas guzzler, and other uses of reverse logic” ↗