Listen free for 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Undercover Economist cover art

The Undercover Economist

Written by: Tim Harford
Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.60

Buy Now for $26.60

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Author of the extremely popular "Dear Economist" column in Financial Times, Tim Harford reveals the economics behind everyday phenomena in this highly entertaining and informative book. Can a book about economics be fun to read? It can when Harford takes the reins, using his trademark wit to explain why it costs an arm and a leg to buy a cappuccino and why it's nearly impossible to purchase a decent used car. Supermarkets, coffee houses, airlines, insurance companies, and more are sucking money from our wallets. To protect ourselves and our bank accounts, we must better understand why companies do what they do.
©2006 Tim Harford (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC.

What the critics say

"The book is unequaled in its accessibility and ability to show how free market economic forces affect readers' day-to-day." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Undercover Economist

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Dan
  • 2023-03-23

Save your credits

Performance = I can forgive the cringe-inducing very fake British accent, but hearing every breath is frustrating. They need to re-edit this.
Content = An extremely outdated overview on microeconomics that carries many plainly wrong assumptions about consumer behaviour. It's like Microeconomics 101 from 2001 - all about free markets, free trade, and perfectly rational actors.
There is an entire chapter where he seems shocked to learn about extremely basic price strategies from marketers (wow, putting expensive food in high-end supermarkets, who would've thought!)
TLDR; Mostly extremely basic econ theory (supply & demand pricing) or outdated, often incorrect takes on consumer pricing and microeconomics.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I wish Tim Harford had narrated this

Well written, very engaging intro the basics of economics; but the narration is way too "breathy". Suprised this was not sorted inthe studio.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!