The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World (Little Books. Big Profits)
Greg Ip

The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World (Little Books. Big Profits)

$13.95
Last updated Sep 23, 2026 at 3:00am
Greg Ip

About this product

An accessible, thoroughly engaging look at how the economy really works and its role in your everyday life Not surprisingly, regular people suddenly are paying a lot closer attention to the economy than ever before. But economics, with its weird technical jargon and knotty concepts and formulas can be a very difficult subject to get to grips with on your own. Enter Greg Ip and his Little Book of Economics. Like a patient, good-natured tutor, Greg, one of today's most respected economics journalists, walks you through everything you need to know about how the economy works. Short on technical jargon and long on clear, concise, plain-English explanations of important terms, concepts, events, historical figures and major players, this revised and updated edition of Greg's bestselling guide clues you in on what's really going on, what it means to you and what we should be demanding our policymakers do about the economy going forward.From inflation to the Federal Reserve, taxes to the budget deficit, you get indispensible insights into everything that really matters about economics and its impact on everyday life
Special sections featuring additional resources of every subject discussed and where to find additional information to help you learn more about an issue and keep track of ongoing developments
Offers priceless insights into the roots of America's economic crisis and its aftermath, especially the role played by excessive greed and risk-taking, and what can be done to avoid another economic cataclysm
Digs into globalization, the roots of the Euro crisis, the sources of China's spectacular growth, and why the gap between the economy's winners and losers keeps widening
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Editor's Take

Readers on Amazon describe this book as straightforward, well-written, and easy to follow, with several saying it offers a simple, readable overview of macroeconomics and everyday economic forces. Goodreads reviews are broadly positive too, with readers praising its accessible prose and clear explanation of how the economy works, though some review coverage notes the book can feel one-sided in places.

Review coverage from MoneyWeek is more mixed, calling out a more partisan or one-sided tone in parts, while still treating it as a serious popular economics title. Other book-review sources describe it as a concise primer that explains GDP, inflation, the business cycle, monetary policy, trade, and financial crises in plain language.

On YouTube, the search results surfaced two videos that appear to be directly about this book: a book summary video and a chapter-summary video. No additional verification was available beyond the search results, so only those two video IDs are returned.

Price History

Specifications

Publisher Wiley
Publication date January 14, 2013
Edition Revised and Updated
Language English
Print length 288 pages
ISBN-10 1118391578
ISBN-13 978-1118391570
Item Weight 2.31 pounds
Reading age 1 year and up
Dimensions 5.3 x 1 x 7.1 inches
Part of series Little Books. Big Profits
Best Sellers Rank #306,370 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #262 in International Economics (Books) #699 in Economics (Books)
Customer Reviews 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (245)

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