From dismal to happy

When you read this, the sun may well be shining. Indeed, I hope for all our sakes that it is. But for much of this summer, the weather has been pretty dismal, at least in Munich.

"Dismal" is a word that is often employed to describe economics. "The dismal science" was the phrase used by the 19th-century British historian Thomas Carlyle.

At the time (1849), Carlyle was arguing for the reintroduction of slavery on the grounds that it was a better way to regulate the labour market than the forces of supply and demand so loved by economists. Whatever!

In recent years, economists have tried hard to free their subject from the prejudice that it is both dismal — because it is always dealing with problems — and boring.

Textbooks have become more colourful and interesting, and there has been a slew of books trying to show the relevance of economics to everyday issues. Among the best-known are Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist. Another book has the (almost) irresistible title, More sex is safer sex. 

I have also tried to make economics more accessible through my 50-part series in this blog, Economics for Amateurs.

But my favourite economics book is The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, which, as the title suggests, explains economics with the help of cartoons. Among the best pages is the one that contrasts "plain English" with "economic gibberish" — the kind of jargon economists normally talk. Here's an example:

Plain English: "I am planning to spend $12 on apples and $6 on bananas...but maybe I should spend one dollar more on apples and one dollar less on bananas."

Economic Gibberish: "Is your marginal utility from eating one more dollar's worth of apples greater than your marginal utility from eating one more dollar's worth of bananas?"

This delightful book is perfect for anyone who wants to understand microeconomic principles in an entertaining but not trivial way.

It made me happy for a couple of hours and may do the same for you. Not bad for a dismal science.