The Undercover Economist

Tim Harford uses everyday puzzles to introduce the principles of economics, from supply and demand to market failure, externalities, globalisation and comparative advantage. He shows how Starbucks and other coffee sellers set their prices, why a decent used car is so hard to buy, why American health insurance is failing and why poor countries stay poor while China has grown rich. Supermarkets and airlines also come under scrutiny, along with game theory, inside information, market power and the way some environmental laws can benefit landlords. Harford separates industries with high profits for innocent reasons from those where something worse is happening. Little, Brown published it in 2005, and Freakonomics author Steven Levitt praised its writing.

It appears on a reading list from serial entrepreneur and investor Fabrice Grinda, who reads almost 100 books a year, and on Populum co-founder Ola Olusoga's list of books that guided his self-discovery.