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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.3
EAN: 9780029177761
ISBN: 0029177766
Label: Free Press
Manufacturer: Free Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 251
Publication Date: March 01, 1995
Publisher: Free Press
Sales Rank: 22550
Studio: Free Press
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Product Description:
Witty economists are about as easy to find as anorexic mezzo-sopranos, natty mujahedeen, and cheerful Philadelphians. But Steven E. Landsburg...is one economist who fits the bill. In a wide-ranging, easily digested, unbelievably contrarian survey of everything from why popcorn at movie houses costs so much to why recycling may actually reduce the number of trees on the planet, the University of Rochester professor valiantly turns the discussion of vexing economic questions into an activity that ordinary people might enjoy.
-- Joe Queenan, The Wall Street Journal
The Armchair Economist is a wonderful little book, written by someone for whom English is a first (and beloved) language, and it contains not a single graph or equation...Landsburg presents fascinating concepts in a form easily accessible to noneconomists.
-- Erik M. Jensen, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
...enormous fun from its opening page...Landsburg has done something extraordinary: He has expounded basic economic principles with wit and verve.
-- Dan Seligman, Fortune
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Food for thought ...
If you want answers ... look elsewhere. The author addresses many questions from "everyday life", but seldom provides credible answers.
Of course, he seldom claims to; what he does is point out the flaws in conventional wisdom, e.g. regarding why popcorn is expensive in movie theaters. Sometimes he provides multiple theories, sometimes none at all.
I'd advise taking the harsher reviews with a grain of salt: the author doesn't claim to reveal any profound new economic theories, and the wise reader will recognize that that sort of thing is to be found in peer reviewed academic journals, not pop-econ books.
The author points out the flaws in some generally held truths, provides some solid, fundamental tools of economic thought with which to address them, and leaves the reader to his own devices.
What he accomplishes is to provide the reader with interesting puzzles to ponder, and some guidance on how to begin.
The end result is less like an economics textbook, and more like one of those "philosophy puzzles" books (e.g. http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0312314523).
If you want to learn economics proper, start with the Schaum's outlines on Micro/Macro/International economics, or a good econ text. If you just want some extremely enjoyable, light reading that will make you really think, Landsburg delivers.
Rating: - The Economic Mindset
This is the rare book that will have you thinking about it months after reading it. The author presents some of the most basic principles of economics in an accessible format. For anyone who missed out on taking econ in college, this book is a useful read.
However, a few things keep this book from getting 5 stars. The author's hyperbole often borders on distracting, and a few of his conclusions seem unsupported by the evidence presented. Also, the author did not always distinguish between his opinions and economic analysis. In a book like this, the line between theory and opinion should be clear.
If you liked Freakonomics and you are looking for more economic reading material then you will probably like this book.
Rating:  - I don't even know where to start.
This book isn't even something I would typically refer to as a book. It is more a cobbling together of blog-like material, short articles, rants against things and people in the popular media that the author doesn't like, bad examples of economic thought-processes that simply collapse at the first poke of logical analysis, and contradictory arguments.
Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love economics, one of the most beautiful and fascinating sciences we have. I am not an economist, but am a successful business owner, fairly smart, well educated, and no slouch when it comes to analytical thought.
This book falls flat, not because of the subject matter, but because of the way it is presented. It seems more an attack on everything that ever annoyed the author. Ideas that might otherwise have been well presented seem somehow warped to serve the authors underlying opinions and politics, and the ideas suffer for it.
The author also displays a good bit of ignorance of things outside the field of economics, which damage the examples he uses to show economic ideas.
For example, much of the book amounts to rants that point out, directly or indirectly, his views on the stupidity of "environmentalists" and the "religion of environmentalism." There are places where he makes assertions which are scientifically wrong, then draws conclusions from them. I found myself wishing he had done even a little research on basic biology and ecology.
This ... Read More
Rating:  - Great Read!
This is an accessable, fun read. I also read Fair Play and More Sex is Safe Sex by Landsburg. He is the best author in this area.
Rating: - Bad economics, bad writing, or both?
Before I review the book, I have to provide a digression (I have to lay down these foundations before I can critique the book): There is nothing wrong with economics, it is a beautiful social science (I am a Ph.D. student in economics myself). What one has to bear in mind is that economics explains certain aspects of human behavior and how society works, it is a science, but not one without bounds. When applied methodically and correctly, it gives powerful insights in the subjects it studies. But one must understand that it is not without limitations, to name just a couple: economics is the study of "homo economus", it is by definition anthropocentric. I am not saying this is right or wrong, but certainly there are people who do not share the same view (environmentalists may think, for example, other species have rights too); another foundation of economics is that people are rational, but even economists admit that under certain conditions humans can be "unpredictable" or appear "irrational", and their preferences can be unstable (e.g. see Richard Thaler's works).
Now back to the book. Landsburg labels himself as a libertarian economist, and he takes such doctrine as "free market" as religion. It is true that under perfect competition, low transaction cost, etc., free market will achieve the most efficient allocation of resources. However, we must not forget that the real world is full of obstacles to competition and transaction costs can be forbiddingly high. But though Landsburg claims ... Read More
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