How to Teach Economics to Your Dog: A Quirky Introduction

by Rebecca Campbell, Anthony McGowan

Overview

A fun take on some of the biggest questions in economics, made accessible for non-experts (and dogs)

Monty is a dog, not a financial genius, but economics still shapes his everyday life.

Over the course of seventeen walks, Dr Rebecca Campbell chews over economic concepts and investigates how they apply to our lives – people and mutts alike. There are no graphs, no charts (Monty can’t read them) and definitely no calculus!

How to Teach Economics to Your Dog tackles the knotty question of what economics actually is. Is it a mathematical science like physics? Or a moral and philosophical investigation of how societies should manage scarce resources?

Along the way we meet some of the great thinkers from Adam Smith to Thomas Piketty, and ponder questions such as: What on earth does quantitative easing mean? And why are some countries so much richer than others?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780861546183
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	11/14/2023
Series:	How to Teach
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Dr Rebecca Campbell has a PhD from the London School of Economics where she is currently a Fellow in the Management Department, and Director of Studies of the prestigious Global Masters in Management. Before moving to LSE, she was the designer and CEO of successful fashion company Paddy Campbell. She lives in London.

Anthony McGowan is one of the most widely acclaimed young adult and children’s authors in the UK. His books have won numerous major awards. In 2020, he was awarded the CILIP Carnegie Medal for Lark. He was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal with Rook and won the Booktrust Teenage Prize and the Catalyst Award for Henry Tumour. His YA novel The Knife that Killed Me was made into a critically-lauded film in 2014. Anthony lives in London, with his wife, two children and dog.

Table of Contents

Preamble 1

Walk 1 The Toaster 7

Walk 2 Part I: A Short History of Nearly Everything 14

Walk 2 Part II: The Big Dogs 26

Walk 3 Part I: The Industrial Revolution 38

Walk 3 Part II: Marx and the Revolution That Didn't Happen 46

Walk 4 Markets: Who Is in Charge of the Bread Supply for London? 55

Walk 5 Household Behaviour: You Can't Always Get What You Want, But if You Try Real Hard… 72

Walk 6 Firms: Monopolies, Oligopolies, Collusion and Competition 86

Walk 7 Winners and Losers: Capitalism, Markets and Inequality 102

Walk 8 When Markets Fail: Externalities, Public Goods and Common Pool Resources 120

Walk 9 The Market and Information: Why Red Bull No Longer Gives You Wings 137

Walk 10 GDP: Not Everything That Counts Can Be Counted 152

Walk 11 Growth: How We Can Make the World a Better Place for the Gacoteras and the Chowdhurys 166

Walk 12 All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy 180

Walk 13 Part I: Financial Markets in Theory: Why We Should Love Bankers 196

Walk 13 Part II: Financial Markets in Practice: When It Goes Wrong, and How to Get Rich Quick 208

Walk 14 Money 221

Walk 15 Part I: Depressions, Recessions and What Governments Can Do to Help: Fiscal Policy 241

Walk 15 Part II: Depressions, Recessions and What Governments Can Do to Help: Monetary Policy 251

Walk 16 Going Global: Why International Trade Makes Us Richer (But Not All of Us) 261

Walk 17 A Final Walk to the Churchyard 280

Notes 287

Acknowledgements 299

Index 301

Editorial Reviews

‘Economics concepts can often be difficult to grasp, but the authors have done an admirable job of explaining them in plain language ... This is one of the few books on economics that works as a textbook while remaining actually readable!’

Terry Freedman

'Enjoyable... This undemanding presentation serves equally well as an introduction or a refresher course and will especially appeal to readers who appreciate their learning enhanced with a bit of whimsy'

Booklist

'An engaging and at times touching book'

The Guardian - John Crace

‘I have read many introductions to economics, none as entertaining and readily accessible as this one. Monty, you’re a lucky dog to have such wonderful teachers!’

Alexander Pepper

'A truly delightful scamper through economic ideas and history.'

Niall Kishtainy