The Economic Naturalist: Why Economics Explains Almost Everything

(Paperback)

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Description

DISCOVER THE SECRETS BEHIND MANY EVERYDAY ENIGMAS Have you ever wondered why there is a light in your fridge but not in your freezer Or why 24-hour shops bother having locks on their doors Or why soft drink cans are cylindrical, but milk cartons are square The answer is simple- economics. For years, economist Robert Frank has been encouraging his students to ask questions about the conundrums and strange occurrences they encounter in everyday life and to try to explain them using economics. Now in this bestselling book, he shares the most intriguing - and bizarre - questions and the economic principles that answer them to reveal why many of the most puzzling parts of everyday life actually make perfect (economic) sense.

Reviews

Fascinating ... provides the answers to some of life's quirkiest conundrums * Daily Mail *
Explains how cold, hard cash really does make our world go round * Independent *
Can be returned to again and again like one of those all-you-can-eat buffets * New York Times *
Don't miss this addictive book. As Robert Frank and his students figured out dozens of everyday puzzles together, they produced ideas that are charming, curious, educational and lots of fun. Wonderful stuff. * Tim Harford, author of 'The Undercover Economist' and 'The Logic of Life' *
Fascinating, mind-expanding, and lots of fun * Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate *

Author Bio

Robert H. Frank is the Henrietta Louis Johnson Professor of Management and Professor of Economics at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management. His previous books include The Winner-Takes-All Society (with Philip Cook), Luxury Fever and Principles of Economics (with Ben Bernanke). Frank's many awards include the Apple Distinguished Teaching Award and the Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. www.robert-h-frank.com