The Logic of Life

The Rational Economics of an Irrational World

By: Tim Harford

Narrated by: John Lee

Life sometimes seems illogical. Individuals do strange things: take drugs, have unprotected sex, mug each other. Love seems irrational, and so does divorce. On a larger scale, life seems no fairer or easier to fathom: Why do some neighborhoods thrive and others become ghettos? Why is racism so persistent? Why is your idiot boss paid a fortune for sitting behind a mahogany altar?

Thorny questions - and you might be surprised to learn the answers from an economist. But Tim Harford, award-winning journalist and author, likes to spring surprises. In this deftly reasoned audiobook, Harford argues that life is logical after all. Under the surface of everyday insanity, hidden incentives are at work, and Harford shows these incentives emerging in the most unlikely places.

The Logic of Life is the first book to map out the astonishing insights and frustrating blind spots of a new economics in a way that anyone can enjoy. The Logic of Life presents an X-ray image of human life, stripping away the surface to show us a picture that is revealing, enthralling, and sometimes disturbing. The stories that emerge are not about data or equations but about people. Once you’ve listened to this addictive audiobook, life will never look the same again.

©2008 Tim Harford; 2008 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“Charming and informative.” (Newsday)

“This witty, intelligent book will help you see the entire world in a new light.” (Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner Economist)

“Like Harford’s earlier book, The Undercover Economist - if you haven’t got it, get it–this book uses the basic theory of rational choice to make transparent the logic behind common but important puzzling phenomena. Even a trained economist can enjoy discovering what he didn’t realize he already knew. I did.” (Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics)

Wonderful Book

Tim Harford has produced a book on economics that informs the reader about everyday life and circumstances. Of particular interest are discussions of equal opportunity and ethinic bias, changing neighborhoods and crime, along with other interesting topics. The reading is very good and the topic easy to follow. A most entertaining and informative read.

Another Gem

I'm not sure if the title of this book really conveys its coverage. The author shows that a great deal of behavior can be explained by assuming that people take a rational, economic approach to problem solving even though they may not realize it. His first book, Underground Economist, should be read first because it is an incredible introduction to topics in economics for people who hated their first economics course. This book tackles some tougher problems. It is a must read for people with or without prior economics training.

Great

It is not an easy listen. It is done very well. I will be revisiting it!

enlightening & good fun

John Lee does an excellent job of narrating "The Logic of Life." I can't believe the number of complicated topics that Harford explains, and Lee delivers the humor and the unexpected segues without overdoing them. He reads slowly enough that you can follow along without having to rewind too often--though you might want to rewind some, especially on the sections about romance, racism and addiction, because the content gets so interesting. I kept thinking, "So that's why it works that way." This was one of my best purchases in a long while, because I think I'll retain a lot of what I learned, and it was a pleasure to listen to.

Always Enlightening and Entertaining

I listened to Hartford's other book, "The Undercover Economist" before this and absolutely loved it. This was just as interesting.

Hartford explains a lot of why we do some of the seemingly peculiar things we do. It is well presented, clearly written, and will expose most the reader to many of the most currently accepted ideas in economics. I would recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in markets, people, or economics.

meh

The book starts with some startling insights. For example, who would have thought that oral sex was a rational alternative to intercourse for couples who didn't want to become pregnant, except perhaps anyone who has ever had or thought of having sex. And thank goodness we have people with PhD's to explain to us that owners take better care of their properties than renters because they have more invested in them, although I suppose we could have also got that insight from anyone who has ever owned or rented anything.

The first part of the book is full of uninspired insights such as these. If you can make it past them there are some interesting nuggets on "rational" discrimination and how dropping out of school can be seen as a rational response to discrimination in the work place. But, the books central thesis--that our behaviors are best viewed as rational responses to incentives--seems overly simplistic. For example, why am I writing a review of this book? It doesn't seem rational--why do I care if you waste a few hours on a silly book--and I'm sure I will regret writing it in a few minutes when I realize I am going to be late for work. Also, the book basically ignores the research presented in Blink and similar books, which suggest decisions are a mix of rational and instinctive processes. That's unfortunate.