Understandable Economics: Because Understanding Our Economy Is Easier Than You Think and More Important Than You Know
About this product
Winner of Axiom Business Book Award's 2023 Bronze Medal for Economics
Incomes are stagnating, middle-class jobs are disappearing, economic growth is slowing, and the meager gains are mostly going to those who are already wealthy. More Americans than ever are frustrated by the direction in which we are headed. Understandable Economics aims to replace this frustration with a practical understanding of our economy and empower readers to identify and advocate for a better approach to the problems we face.
In this entertaining and informative guide, author Howard Yaruss breaks down our economic system in a straightforward way, avoiding jargon, formulas, graphs, and other technical material so common in books on this subject. Instead, he creates a compelling and comprehensive picture of our economy using accessible analogies, real-world observations, and entertaining anecdotes.
Understandable Economics will enable readers to answer questions such as:
Why is inequality soaring and what can we do about it?
Do tax cuts for the wealthy create jobs or just create more inequality?
Where does money come from, why does it have value, and who controls it?
What does the Fed do and how does it affect our lives?
Could alternative currencies like Bitcoin replace the dollar?
Is our national debt a threat?
Why do so many people believe free trade is good if it causes some people to lose jobs?
Why does the economy regularly turn down and how can we get it back on track?
... and many more.
Understandable Economics provides the context, tools and foundational knowledge readers need to thoroughly understand our economy, determine which policies would work best, and champion those policies effectively. Read more
Editor's Take
Amazon reviewers and Goodreads readers generally describe Understandable Economics as clear, accessible, and useful for readers without an economics background. Goodreads snippets highlight comments like “I enjoyed this book,” “the writing [is] very clear,” and praise for making economics understandable without heavy math or jargon.
Kirkus Reviews calls it an “impressively clear presentation” and says it should be useful as a one-stop primer. A blog review on ECONOGAL also says the book is well written and recommends it as a giftable read.
On YouTube, the available results appear to be interviews, author talks, and review-style discussions about the book rather than broad consumer reaction. Those videos frame the book as a plain-language guide that explains tariffs, inflation, inequality, and other economic issues in accessible terms.
- Overall sentiment: positive, especially for clarity and readability.
- Common praise: accessible language, useful explanations, strong primer for non-experts.
- Common criticism: no major negative themes stood out in the results surfaced.
Price History
Specifications
| Publisher | Prometheus |
| Publication date | September 15, 2022 |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 272 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1633888363 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1633888364 |
| Item Weight | 2.31 pounds |
| Dimensions | 6 x 0.99 x 9 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank | #434,628 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #21 in Exports & Imports Economics #112 in Macroeconomics (Books) #119 in Income Inequality |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (161) |