The Little Book of Economics

international trade and finance
Serves as an insider's guide to the people and institutions that control America's economy such as the Federal Reserve and the federal budget
Explains the roots of America's current economic crisis and the risks the country faces in its aftermath, such as stratospheric government debt, while offering advice on overcoming these threats
Walks readers through the basic concepts and terminology they need to understand economic news
Punctures myths and political spin from both the left and the right with candid and often surprising insight
A must read for anyone who wants a better grasp of the economy without taking a course in economics , The Little Book of Economics is a unique and engaging look at how the economy works in all its wonderful and treacherous ways. After the global financial panic and recession of 2007-2009, you don't have to be president or a hedge fund manager to know that "It's the economy, stupid." Yet while the economy dominates the headlines, how it works and who influences it remain a mystery to most people. In The Little Book of Economics, Greg Ip, an award-winning journalist renowned for making complex economics easy to understand, walks you through how the economy really works. You'll learn:
How psychology and the Federal Reserve drive business cycles
How a financial crisis can transform a recession into a depression
The surprising effects of fertility rates, lawyers, and ideas on economic growth
Whether the United States faces a lost decade like Japan did in the 1990s
The causes of inflation, how it destabilizes society, and why deflation is even worse
How government debt can sometimes help end a recession but, other times, bring on disaster-and how to tell the difference
The symptoms of financial crises and why they often occur in election years
What goes on inside the Federal Reserve, what it does when interest rates are zero, and why its power to print money has made it the world's financial fireman
You can't understand the American economy without recognizing the growing influence of the rest of the world. So The Little Book of Economics digs into globalization, how it made America's mortgage crisis possible, how it's exploited by China to spur growth, and how it makes the United States richer even as it widens the gap between winners and losers.
One side effect of the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression is that it has ignited a fresh desire among citizens and investors to better understand the economy. The Little Book of Economics is an accessible, engaging, and entertaining guide to all of the wonderful and wicked ways in which the economy functions and what it all means to you.