The Logic of Life by Tim Harford

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Tim Harford, author of the Undercover Economist, has written another elegant book about the hidden forces that shape our lives. In the first book, he took the world of commerce and stripped it of a layer of mystery. Here, he shows us how the human brain is always making economic calculations, whether we know it or not. There has, it seems, been a recent increase in the incidence of oral sex. Why? Because, in the age of Aids, the price of sex has, effectively, risen; people are seeking a cheaper alternative. Next, he analyses poker, smoking, and divorce. The chapter on divorce is particularly good — Harford looks at the relationship between broken marriages, the pill, and washing machines. It's beautiful stuff. There's also a very good analysis of why money is worth less in big cities, and a lovely chapter on human history, in which Harford takes us through a million years in 22 pages.

Synopsis by Foyles.co.uk

THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST showed how ordinary economics explained everyday curiosities, such as the price of a cup of coffee and the traffic jam on the way to the supermarket. THE LOGIC OF LIFE shows how the new economics of rational choice theory explains much, much more. Drug addicts and teenage muggers can be rational. Suburban sprawl and inner city decay are rational. Endless meetings at the office and the injustices of working life? Rational. Economics explains why your boss is overpaid, whether we should build more prisons, and whether a city like New Orleans can recover from disaster. THE LOGIC OF LIFE introduces you to engaging stories and characters linked together in a bold narrative sweep. The book starts with the most intimate decisions - to have sex, to take drugs, to lead an honest life - then zooms out to discuss the logic of the family, of neighbourhoods, large corporations, cities themselves. This is the new economics of everything you never thought was economics, and it will help you see the world in a new way.