Charles Wheelan

Naked Economics

1. IDEA 1

   Economics without the jargon

   Wheelan sets out to explain economics without graphs or complicated maths. He argues that the main ideas are simple, important for everyday life, and often misunderstood by voters and politicians, so he uses stories and examples instead of formulas.

2. IDEA 2

   Markets organise a complex world

   Wheelan explains how markets coordinate millions of people through prices, so that goods reach shops without anyone planning the whole system. Self-interest, competition and prices together produce surprising order, though markets do not solve every problem.

3. IDEA 3

   Incentives shape what people do

   People respond to rewards and costs, Wheelan stresses, and policies that ignore this often fail. He gives examples of rules that encouraged the opposite of what was intended because the incentives they created were poorly designed.

All 8 ideas from Naked Economics →