How to think like an economist Great economists who shaped the world and what they can teach us

Using 24 biographical sketches, How to Think Like an Economist traces the development of economic thought from Aristotle to the present. Mochrie (Heriot-Watt Univ., Scotland) does an admirable job. Crisply and engagingly written, each chapter brings out the salient contributions of the profiled thinker. Not all the individuals covered are great economists. There are philosophers, mathematicians, political scientists, and psychologists as well. Still, there is no denying that all of them, economists or not, profoundly contributed to and moved knowledge of economics forward. The book proceeds chronologically, tying the flow and evolution of ideas from one chapter to the next. It presents a comprehensive list of important ideas, ranging from the invisible hand to Keynesian economics and the economics of the family and human behavior. Mochrie emphasizes the connection between ideas and practical implications. The biographical detail provided in each chapter helps bring the subject matter to life. Though the book lacks footnotes and a bibliography, Mochrie is highly knowledgeable about his subjects. The book provides an enjoyable, general-interest read. It is suited for undergraduates and would work well as an assigned text in an honors or capstone course and as a supplementary text in a course on the history of economic thought. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, undergraduates, and professionals. --Kevin J. Murphy, emeritus, Oakland University

Mochrie, an economics professor at Heriot-Watt University, debuts with an erudite history of economics, told through profiles of thinkers who have advanced the discipline. According to Mochrie, Aristotle believed that charging interest was immoral, and Saint Thomas Aquinas only grudgingly allowed that merchants could ethically profit from trade. Elsewhere, Mochrie impartially contrasts Adam Smith's conception of the market as a mechanism for channeling self-interest into socially benign cooperation with Karl Marx's ideas about how market dynamics empower capitalists to exploit workers. In addition to discussing the ideas of John Stuart Mill, John Maynard Keynes, and Friedrich Hayek, Mochrie highlights the contributions of contemporary economists, describing how Gary Becker applied economic analysis to ostensibly non-financial relationships (he argued that families exist only because membership confers monetary benefits) and how Esther Duflo's research showed the benefits of conducting randomized controlled trials over analyzing data collected for other purposes. Mochrie has a talent for making economic ideas accessible, and the analysis covers major disputes within the discipline without picking sides. This is an ideal resource for readers whose eyes otherwise glaze over at the mere mention of supply-and-demand curves. (Aug.)