Great Summer Reading

The summer doesn't seem to be quite here yet as I sit in my igloo in Newhaven wrapped in three pullovers and a fur coat - got to cut done on heating bills somehow - but I'm warming up my brain with a great new book - 'The Undercover Economist' by Tim Harford. I've asked the Librarian to get a copy so you can borrow it - but why not buy your own copy - it's a sensible investment.

Tim explains in a light and humourous way many of the important themes that underlie new economics - how is it China has risen from the point of famine to being the world's second biggest economy in just fifty years, whilst the standard of living in Africa has actually fallen during the same period; why owning the land and the means of distribution is far more important and profitable than the end-products that are sold in retail outlets on that land and at the end of those distribution channels; how the radio spectrum has also become a form of land and also a means of distribution; the importance of 'crowding-out' a market; why housing and health are markets that cannot operate freely in the interests of the poor and so on.

This book will give you a flying start to the second year A-level programme - especially for module 5 - but don't take my word for it, find out for yourself.