Economics Unhinged

Economics Unhinged is comedy that revels in the splendour and absurdity of economic concepts and characters – both celebrated and obscure. After reading it, you’ll be able to:

• Propose a Tinder profile for the economic superhero ‘Economic Man’.
• Convincingly debunk rumours that the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index is named after someone trying to expel a large furball.
• Organise an altruism party.
• Explain how the coming of neo-classical economics was like the sexual revolution and why gold is badder than Mae West.
• Understand that while Shakespeare highlighted Richard III’s withered arm, hunchback, and villainous character, it’s his inelasticity (‘my kingdom for a horse’) that really disgusts economists.
• Ponder Milton Friedman’s dinner table conversation or Harriet Martineau’s biting critique of Queen Victoria’s coronation.
• Appreciate that while Karl Marx wasn’t part of the Marx Brothers, he may well have been Groucho’s kindred spirit.
• Discover the previously unknown Jane Austen classic about the industrial revolution, Scale and Scalability.
• And describe how, if the disciplines of Economics and Law were a married couple, they’d resolve that perennial tension over leaving the toilet seat up or down.

Economics Unhinged is the written equivalent of Margot Robbie explaining sub-prime loans in the 2015 movie about the global financial crisis, 'The Big Short' – unconventional, entertaining, and a little suggestive, but ultimately on topic. It’s the dismal science for dummies. So if you enjoy humour mixed with pop culture and the social sciences, and want to feign convincingly a ‘working knowledge’ of economics (if you are, say, a high school commerce teacher) then this book is for you.

Lachlan Wilson worked with a team of Australian Defence economists in the mid-noughties, explaining to preoccupied generals the strategic implications of economic trends. Previously he’d worked in a Japanese factory, seeking enlightenment in the mysterious ways of Asia’s original miracle economy but discovering instead only Suntory and bizarre vending machines.