The undercover economist : exposing why the rich are rich, the poor are poor--and why you can never buy a decent used car!
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

An entertaining and pain-free introduction to the key concepts of economics, by a Financial Times writer, this book is part field guide to economics and part exposé of the economic principles lurking behind daily events. Reporting back from Africa, Asia, Europe, and your local Starbucks, author Harford shows us the world through the eyes of an economist, and reveals that everyday events are in fact intricate games of negotiations, contests of strength, and battles of wits. He explains: why picking stocks is like picking a line in the supermarket; the connection between a drunken frat party and getting stuck in traffic; how coffee companies use fair trade products to skim money from customers--From publisher description.