Street Economist - by Axel Kaiser (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In The Street Economist, Axel Kaiser offers basic lessons in economics that should be part of everyone's education.

"If you read only one book on economics in your life, it should be Alex Kaiser's. Beautifully written and elegantly argued, it will change your mind, and maybe your life, certainly your politics. Kaiser takes you out of the lecture room and into the street, where the economy actually happens."--Deirdre McCloskey. In The Street Economist, Axel Kaiser offers basic lessons in economics that should be part of everyone's education. It is an effort to correct the mistake of "ivory tower economists" who conceive this science as an oracular discipline that can only be properly discussed by experts. Crucial concepts such as prices, capital, demand and supply, labor, inflation, value, and innovation, among others, are explained in simple and direct language in order to make them understandable to the general public. The Street Economist has been a best-selling book in almost all countries where it has been published. In Chile, it sold more than 50,000 copies in a year, and it is still the most sold nonfiction book after a year of its publication. It is now being published in 5 different languages.

Review Quotes

"If you read only one book on economics in your life, it should be Alex Kaiser's. Beautifully written and elegantly argued, it will change your mind, and maybe your life, certainly your politics. Kaiser takes you out of the lecture room and into the street, where the economy actually happens."--Deirdre McCloskey.

"If you want to understand the world you live in and how it works and don't have five years to get a PhD in economics, I suggest you read Axel Kaiser's The Street Economist. Dr. Kaiser explains economics the way my mamma did. After nursing the richest man in town for five weeks my older brother asked her how come he was so rich? My mamma with a sixth grade education but a PhD in street smarts answered, 'He works harder than we do and he's got sharper tools'. By sharper tools, she meant he was better educated. This short, simple book tells you everything you need to know to understand the world you live in and how to make it better." -- Phil Gramm, Economist, Author, Former Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and former Vice Chairman of UBS Investment Bank.

"To get ahead in this 21st century economy, you have to have street smarts and you must read The Street Economist. Sometimes the smartest ideas are the most common sensical." -- Stephen Moore former senior, Economic adviser to Donald Trump.

"To make informed decisions, be they about one's personal finances or about voting in elections or referenda, people must be literate in economics and finance. Not surprisingly, people regularly ask me what they can read to improve their economic and financial literacy. With the publication of Axel Kaiser's gem The Street Economist: 15 Economic Lessons Every Citizen Should Know, I now have a reference that I can endorse with enthusiasm. If you want to improve your economic and financial literacy, The Street Economist is the book to read." -- Prof. Dr. Steve H. Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics, The Johns Hopkins University

"This concise synthesis of economic wisdom economizes on your time. In just a few pages, you'll develop a keen eye for the fallacies that have crept into economic discourse, and gain a deep appreciation for the value of free enterprise. Axel Kaiser really has hit on the true principles of economics."--Casey B. Mulligan, Former Chief Economist, White House Council of Economic Advisors, Professor, University of Chicago

About the Author

Axel Kaiser Barents von Hohenhagen is a Chilean-German lawyer, Master in Investments, Commerce and Arbitration, Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Heidelberg (Germany). He is Director of the Friedrich Hayek Chair at the Adolfo Ibáñez University in Santiago de Chile and a Senior Fellow at the Atlas Center for Latin America based in Miami. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He is a best-selling author who has won several international prizes for his writings such as the Hayek Essay contest from the Mont Pelerin Society. His opinions have been published in international media such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Quillette, Forbes.com, Newsweek, The Washington Examiner, among others. He is an international lecturer and author of several best-selling books. A 2021 study published by the John Hopkins University Institute for Applied Economics placed him in third place among the influencers on economic matters with the greatest global impact in Latin America, Spain and the United States on Twitter.