Economics : the user's guide
by Ha-Joon Chang · first published 2014
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A light, readable overview of economics that lays out the major schools of thought and their pros and cons. It serves as a first serious introduction after pop-economics books.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Unlike many economists, who present only one view of their discipline, Chang introduces a wide range of economic theories, from classical to Keynesian, revealing how each has its strengths and weaknesses, and why there is no one way to explain economic behavior. Instead, by ignoring the received wisdom and exposing the myriad forces that shape our financial world, Chang gives us the tools we need to understand our increasingly global and interconnected world often driven by economics. From the future of the Euro, inequality in China, or the condition of the American manufacturing industry her
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2010–2022Applied Economics
Thomas Sowell
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 65 recommend · 6 mention5 recommend · 65 recommend
2013–2023In pursuit of the traveling salesman
William Cook
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 75 recommend · 7 mention5 recommend · 75 recommend
2010–2020How an economy grows and why it crashes
Peter D. Schiff
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 128 recommend · 12 mention8 recommend · 128 recommend
2011–2024The Ordinary Business of Life
Roger E. Backhouse
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 33 recommend · 3 mention3 recommend · 33 recommend
2008–2024The worldly philosophers
Robert L. Heilbroner
Recommended by 17 · mentioned by 1817 recommend · 18 mention17 recommend · 1817 recommend
2009–2023Naked Economics
Charles J. Wheelan
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 1715 recommend · 17 mention15 recommend · 1715 recommend
2011–2026No one would listen
Harry Markopolos
Recommended by 10 · mentioned by 1610 recommend · 16 mention10 recommend · 1610 recommend
2009–2024The affluent society
John Kenneth Galbraith
Recommended by 11 · mentioned by 2311 recommend · 23 mention11 recommend · 2311 recommend
After a few pop-sci economics books (freakonomics, the undercover economist...) I progressed to Ha-Joon Chang's Economics: The User's Guide. It's covers all the major schools of thought, along with their pros and cons. I highly recommend it.
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…dismiss the book just because of that, but it did make the lecture rather difficult because it was challenging my assumptions and knowledge quite strongly. I guess that's good :-) I like Ha-Joon Chang's "Economics: The User's Guide" as an introduction to economics. It's understandable, it has plenty of references and is written in a pleasant tone.
on “Thomas Sowell interview” ↗…https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterodox_economics Steve Keen offers a fairly compelling criticism in Debunking Economics. Ha-Joon Chang, of LSE, has several books providing criticisms and overviews of economics, his Economics: the user's guide is a light and readable overview. http://www.worldcat.org/title/economics-the-users-guide/oclc... (It's worth noting that Ha-Joon Chang tends toward a Marxian view and in particular is a contrarian…
on “Ask HN: What are the must-read books about economics/finance?” ↗…thought and its development which should be useful. I've read Heilbroner (The Worldly Philosophers) and Backhouse (The Ordinary Business of Life), both of which provide a broad overview. Ha-Joon Chang has Economics: The User's Guide, which is a pretty good overview of various schools of thought. I'm particularly impressed currently by Steve Keen, whose most recent book is Debunking Economics. He's been developing his ideas at a…
on “Technology Change Not the Culprit in Wages Falling Behind US Productivity Gains” ↗…misunderstood indigenous agriculture, all the things that were lost when Europeans settled Australia, and what we can use today. Gives you a VERY different look at Australian history. - Ha-Joon Chang's Economics: The User's Guide. Just came out, an absolutely amazing intro and look at modern economics, the flimsiness of neoliberalist thought, and how we need to use the tools of each economic school of thought to think about the…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗…rather difficult because it was challenging my assumptions and knowledge quite strongly. I guess that's good :-) Exactly. I want to finish it someday for that exact reason. > I like Ha-Joon Chang's "Economics: The User's Guide" as an introduction to economics. It's understandable, it has plenty of references and is written in a pleasant tone. Thanks!
on “Thomas Sowell interview” ↗Neiliberalism is a proper economic term, used and defined by real economists, and Ha-Joon Chang im particular, in his book "Economics, the User's Guide". If you read it, you might stop criticising other people for things you don't know. You will also find out that neoliberal policies have delivered quite poor ecobomic results conpared to kenzian and…
on “Global capital is the tail that wags the U.S. economic dog” ↗We should also add that Ha-Joon Chang - Economics: The User's Guide is a very, very good primer.
on “Ask HN: Which book can attract anyone towards your field of study?” ↗Economics: The User's Guide by Ha-Joon Chang is a must read for everybody who wants to get started in this subject.
on “Ask HN: Do you recall any book or course that made a topic finally click?” ↗…economy with less crashes/bubbles if that meant left growth) [0] https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/Bubbles%20for%20... [1] You can find this discussed a bunch of places but Ha-Joon Chang's Economics: The User's Guide talks about this very fluently. Edit: I think your question might actually have just been about personal protection again bubbles, rather than protecting the economy as a whole. In which case, having…
on “Surely the crash of the US economy has to be soon” ↗Ha Joon Chang - Economics: The User's Guide
on “Against Economics” ↗Jesus, please read Economics - the User's Guide', it explains that Neoliberalism is a school of thought in economics, real economists debate it's merits, along with classical, neoclassical, Shumpeterian, etc. This comment is so big on hating the left,…
on “Elon Musk makes $43B unsolicited bid to take Twitter private” ↗…Chang's works Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Samaritans:_The_Myth_of_Fr... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU9DgfOMpmo Economics: The User's Guide https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/29/economics-the-... Jane Jacobs Cities and the Wealth of Nations https://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/reviews/books/0-394-72911-0.htm...
on “Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?” ↗If you want a bit of a political counterbalance to Sowell, try Chang's Economics: The User's Guide
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗"Also, I tend to believe the opposite of what the HN hive mind thinks." I recommend instead of treating it as a culture war you pick up: 'Economics: The User's Guide'. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20613671-economics
on “Chatbots: Still dumb after all these years” ↗