Relaxation, Reading…and Regurgitation
Well, this week has been more eventful than I expected. This week was Reading Week. Some people spend the whole week getting plastered out of their minds in some exotic place. Some people use the time to make some extra cash by working some more hours. And some (*gasp*) actually use it for reading! I know, I know, it’s crazy. But I actually intended to do some heavy reading this week, some of which I got done, but not as much as I’d have liked.
To backtrack a little bit, I just finished reading a book by Tim Harford called “Undercover Economist.” It was a really interesting book about applying basic economic theory to things that people actually care about – you know, like the price of coffee and used cars. It’s easy to read, without employing a whole lot of economist-speak, so I’d certainly recommend it. The last couple chapters were especially interesting in light of the recent economic crisis – he talks about the immense benefits of free trade (and thus, I think he would be against this “Buy American” clause in the stimulus package), and also gives an insightful explanation as to how China has expanded its economy immensely in just a few short years, to the point of being poised to become the next world superpower. All in all, I thought it was a great book. If you are at all interested in what I said, you should check it out. But I’m not being paid…Continue Reading