Sunday Book Review

My favorite Dartmouth Trustee (don't tell Peter Robinson) review the latest book from my favorite economics professor (don't tell Bruce Yandle):

I liked The Price of Everything even better. The main focus of the price of everything is to illuminate Hayek's idea of spontaneous order and the value of the price system as an information mechanism that enables individuals to coordinate their plans better. As a novel, the book uses the fictional narrative arc of the story to illustrate the way in which independent human actions are coordinated and evolve into a emergent order that no one sees.

The other (related) point of the novel is to illustrate and update Leonard Reed's famous essay "I, Pencil." That story is used to show the "unplanned" nature of coordination in a global economy.

I found the book quite enjoyable and filled with marvelous stories and illustrations of the principle of spontaneous order and the price system as a mechanism for coordination. My sense is that concept is often elusive for many people.

Why Trade Matters

Russ Roberts is my favorite economics lecturer. Don't tell Bruce Yandle at Clemson.

For your Friday viewing pleasure, here is a talk he gave at a conference in Utah about the importance of trade on human prosperity:

Roberts warns that the beginning of the talk is a little dry, but it picks up quickly. And he wanders off-screen a lot, but he always comes back.