Naked Economics Essay - 2854 Words

Author Wheelan writes, Life is about trade-offs, and so is economics. Indeed, so is Naked Economics. This book promises to be a good introduction to economics for the layman. Throughout the book, the author uses easy-to-understand language and vivid examples to illustrate his points in strategic places maintaining a sense of lightness with the readers in reading the material. Here is a summary of each of the 12 Chapters of the book Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science by Charles Wheelan. CHAPTER 1 - The Power of Markets: Who feeds Paris? The first chapter begins with an interesting story about how an advertising strategy by Coca Cola Europe proves to be a losing proposition at the start of 1989 but ends in impressive†¦show more content†¦CHAPTER 4 Ââ€" Government and the Economy II Ââ€" The army was lucky to get that screwdriver for $500. In this chapter, Wheelan shares two lessons about the role of government in the economy. These are: First, he states that the government must not be the sole provider of a good or service unless there is a compelling reason to believe that the private sector will fail in that role. He expounds further that the government will be freer to take care of things that need to be really handled by the government. There are things that the government should not be doing because when it dips its hands on that, it will presumably be inefficient. He cites the example of postal mail. He posits that the technology today has radically changed and things need to be implemented differently. The second point is that even if the government has an important role to play in the economy, it need not be the actual one to do the work (p 66). CHAPTER 5 Ââ€" Economics of Information: McDonalds didnt create a better hamburger This chapter deals with the essence of information, how one acquires it, what one does with it, and how one makes decisions based on the information at hand. This fact is so basic and important, yet one can take this for granted. Wrong judgments and decisions occur when one needs to make a decisionShow MoreRelatedNaked Economics Essay616 Words   |  3 PagesPiedra P4 09/12/13 Chapter 1: The Power of Markets 1. What are the two basic assumptions that economists make about individuals and firms? First, we assume that all of these entities have unlimited wants. This assumption forms the basis of economics. It is the study of how entities try to fulfill these unlimited wants when confronted with limited resources. Second, we assume that all of these entities are rational actors. We assume that they typically act in ways that will help to achieveRead MoreQuestions for Naked Economics669 Words   |  3 PagesREAD: Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science, Charles Wheeland, W.W. Norton, 2003. Completely- cover to cover. Directions: Create a time management plan for your reading schedule to ensure you have ample time to read the book. Set due dates for each chapter and each part of the assignment. Review your schedule with a parent or guardian. Expectations: Work must be typed, 12 point font, double-spaced. Label each section appropriately with each number. Please check your work for completeRead MoreNaked Economics: Essential Questions Essay643 Words   |  3 PagesREAD: Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science, Charles Wheeland, W.W. Norton, 2003. Completely- cover to cover. Directions: Create a time management plan for your reading schedule to ensure you have ample time to read the book. Set due dates for each chapter and each part of the assignment. Review your schedule with a parent or guardian. Expectations: Work must be typed, 12 point font, double-spaced. Label each section appropriately with each number. Please check your work for completeRead MoreNaked Economics Ch. 1-6 Summaries Essay804 Words   |  4 PagesChapter 1 The Power of Markets Charles states as his number one point that economics is really unpredictable. He uses the Coca-Cola Company as a fine example for this. That company starts of turning out to be loss and failure but within 10 years since it started it turned out to be very profitable. Charles also states that markets are extreme powerhouses over individual’s daily lives. Markets are also self-correcting because they use prices to allocate their resources. Individuals all workRead MoreNaked Economics Chapter 1996 Words   |  4 Pageslt;p class=contentgt; lt;stronggt;Christopher Drew!lt;/stronggt;lt;br /gt; lt;a href=http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vcGhvdG9idWNrZXQuY29tL2ltYWdlcy9jaHJpc3RvcGhlciUy MGRyZXc=gt;lt;img src=http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy319/Cosmos18/Decorated%20images/nevershoutnever22.jpg alt=OMG!! 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This type of investment is known as an investment into human capital. Human capital is the attributes of a person that are productive in some economic context. Often refers to formal educational attainment, with the implication that education is an  investment  whose returns are in the form of wage, salary, or other compensation. These are normally measured and conceived of as private returns toRead MoreIs Free Trade Passà ©? Essay1172 Words   |  5 Pagesparticular product (Carbaugh, 2011). Furthermore, based on economies of scale, nations with similar factor endowments will trade with each other as sometimes it is beneficial (Carbaugh, 2011). Arguments stemming from this new trade theory puts the economic case for free trade in doubt. Krugman presents two arguments against free trade based on the new trade theory. The first argument that opposes free trade is strategic trade policy. When a nation employs a strategic trade policy, the nation’sRead More Globalization and the Environment Essay examples1222 Words   |  5 PagesEconomy is not a separate thing from production, consumption and exchange. Economics pays no attention to goods and services provided by nature, air, water, soil and sunlight that produce everything we need for survival and all the riches we are able to accumulate. What is the cost of globalization to the environment? Does globalization have the same goals for a healthy planet and justice for people? Timothy Taylor writes, â€Å"Moreover, large multinational companies typically do not perceive it toRead MoreGlobalization Of The United States Essay1744 Words   |  7 Pagestheir manufactured goods. This principle works great for countries with good economies and many resources, but what about in developing countries where they don’t have comparative advantage in anything? Wheelan answers this question in his book Naked Economics. He says, â€Å"Workers in Bangladesh do not have to be better than American workers at producing anything for there to be gains from trade. Rather, they provide goods to us so that we can spend our time specializing at whatever we do best.† (Wheelan