Dan's Reviews > Economics: A Very Short Introduction

i listened to the audiobook version of this, which was a bad idea. i'm a little ashamed to admit that i ignored a lot of the more technical parts (mathematical examples, etc.), because i wasn't paying careful enough attention. i use audiobooks as a way to remain stimulated while making paintings in my studio, and this was a poor choice on my part, since it deserved more undivided attention.

that said, it's a pretty useful introduction, i guess. its central metaphor compares the lives of two little girls (one in the u.s. and one in ethiopia), contrasting the different ways their societies organize themselves economically. as that example suggests, the focus is on global development and its discontents (climate change, political transparency, etc.) so the focus veers away from classical economic matters from time to time. since this is the aspect of economics i'm most interested in (globalization, inequality, distribution of resources, etc.), it worked for me. but i should have sat down with it and read it in print format.