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Economics in One Virus: An Introduction to Economic Reasoning through COVID-19
"A truly excellent book that explains where our pandemic response went wrong, and how we can understand those failings using the tools of economics." ―Tyler Cowen, coauthor of the blog Marginal Revolution Have you ever stopped to wonder why hand sanitizer was missing from your pharmacy for months after the COVID-19 pandemic hit? Why some employers and employees were arguing over workers being re-hired during the first COVID-19 lockdown? Why passenger airlines were able to get their own ring-fenced bailout from Congress? Economics in One Virus answers all these pandemic-related questions and many more, drawing on the dramatic events of 2020 to bring to life some of the most important principles of economic thought. Packed with supporting data and the best new academic evidence, this book offers a crash-course in economics analysis through the applied case-study of the COVID-19 pandemic, to help explain everything from why the U.S. was underprepared for the pandemic to how economists go about valuing the lives saved from lockdowns. After completing this highly readable, fast-paced, and provocative virus-themed economic tour, readers will be able to make much better sense of the events that they've lived through. Perhaps more importantly, the insights on everything from the role of the price mechanism to trade and specialization will grant even those wholly new to economics the skills to think like an economist in their own lives and when evaluating the choices of their political leaders.
320 pages, Paperback
Published April 27, 2021
90 people are currently reading
1,349 people want to read
About the author
Ryan A. Bourne
2 books14 followersRyan Bourne occupies the R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics at the Cato Institute and is a weekly columnist for The Times (UK). He has written on a number of economic issues, including fiscal policy, inequality, price and wage controls, and infrastructure spending.
His is the editor of a forthcoming multi-authored volume titled The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy.
His first solo book, Economics In One Virus: An Introduction to Economic Reasoning through COVID-19, will be released in early 2021. He has contributed to numerous other books too, including: Flaws and Ceilings: Price Controls and the Damage they Cause; Taxation, Spending, and Economic Growth; and A Fiscal Cliff: New Perspectives on the U.S. Federal Debt Crisis. He previously authored, along with Kwasi Kwarteng and Jonathan Dupont, A Time for Choosing: Free Enterprise in Twenty-First Century Britain.
Before joining Cato, Bourne was Head of Public Policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs and Head of Economic Research at the Centre for Policy Studies (both in the UK). He has extensive broadcast and print media experience, and has appeared on BBC News, CNN, Sky News, CNBC, and Fox Business Network. Bourne holds a BA and an MPhil in economics from the University of Cambridge.
His is the editor of a forthcoming multi-authored volume titled The War on Prices: How Popular Misconceptions about Inflation, Prices, and Value Create Bad Policy.
His first solo book, Economics In One Virus: An Introduction to Economic Reasoning through COVID-19, will be released in early 2021. He has contributed to numerous other books too, including: Flaws and Ceilings: Price Controls and the Damage they Cause; Taxation, Spending, and Economic Growth; and A Fiscal Cliff: New Perspectives on the U.S. Federal Debt Crisis. He previously authored, along with Kwasi Kwarteng and Jonathan Dupont, A Time for Choosing: Free Enterprise in Twenty-First Century Britain.
Before joining Cato, Bourne was Head of Public Policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs and Head of Economic Research at the Centre for Policy Studies (both in the UK). He has extensive broadcast and print media experience, and has appeared on BBC News, CNN, Sky News, CNBC, and Fox Business Network. Bourne holds a BA and an MPhil in economics from the University of Cambridge.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 1, 2021
I checked this out based on Tyler Cowen's recommendation. I figured this would be a synthesis of Cowen's state capacity libertarianism with the unintuitive market-based regulations that could have made the government's Covid-19 response more efficient per life saved. What I got instead was the kind of book that gets handed out to college students for free by libertarian student orgs. I can picture this sitting next to the Ayn Rand paperbacks on the handout table at the student org fair. Certain chapters make valid points, but I can't recommend this book due to the fallacies and reactionary non-answers that abound in most of the chapters. At least the author is brave enough to admit when 89% of the economics profession disagrees with him about something, before he dives in to his defense of how the other 11% thinks. He explicitly says that he places a lower value on the marginal human life saved than the average economist does, which IMO is the only way the math could make sense for his argument that lockdowns were too severe, given the massive death toll in spite of an unprecedented effort.
Some Cato books are brilliant, while others are weighed down by an ideological straitjacket. This book falls in the latter camp, most notably in the author's pitiful fear of criticizing President Trump. You would think a libertarian critique of politicians during Covid would be all over Trump, not only the most authoritarian President since Woodrow Wilson, but one who was caught on tape admitting to deliberately lying and downplaying the threat of Covid. His lies and misinformation throughout the crisis are directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Precious time we all could have used to prepare was squandered because Trump believed chaos and a "herd mentality" approach to Covid would increase his odds of reelection. But some of Cato's donors wouldn't be happy if Cato criticized Trump too harshly, so the book is strangely silent, aside from a few paragraphs in one chapter near the end (which are equivocal in casting blame on both sides). The reality of Trump, and the tens of millions in his death cult who flatly refused to comply with basic safety precautions, looms over the book's arguments for a hypothetical policy response that could never coexist with MAGA. - 6/6/21
Some Cato books are brilliant, while others are weighed down by an ideological straitjacket. This book falls in the latter camp, most notably in the author's pitiful fear of criticizing President Trump. You would think a libertarian critique of politicians during Covid would be all over Trump, not only the most authoritarian President since Woodrow Wilson, but one who was caught on tape admitting to deliberately lying and downplaying the threat of Covid. His lies and misinformation throughout the crisis are directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. Precious time we all could have used to prepare was squandered because Trump believed chaos and a "herd mentality" approach to Covid would increase his odds of reelection. But some of Cato's donors wouldn't be happy if Cato criticized Trump too harshly, so the book is strangely silent, aside from a few paragraphs in one chapter near the end (which are equivocal in casting blame on both sides). The reality of Trump, and the tens of millions in his death cult who flatly refused to comply with basic safety precautions, looms over the book's arguments for a hypothetical policy response that could never coexist with MAGA. - 6/6/21
April 14, 2021
This is a great read, using a single event (the pandemic) to illustrate many key economic concepts, e.g. moral hazard, externalities, endogeneity, the price mechanism, free trade, the costs and benefits of regulation. It's based on top-tier academic research, which is particularly refreshing in a world in which authors just hand-pick whatever study they'd like to show the point they want to make (even if the study is flimsy). The book also dismisses many common misperceptions about economics, e.g. that it's about prediction/forecasting, that it only focuses on financial wealth/GDP not welfare etc.
Over and above helping our understanding of economics in general, the book helps our understanding of the pandemic in particular. In particular, it explains how a better application of economic principles would have significantly improved responses to the pandemic. Even though the book takes a viewpoint, it is not dogmatic, and the views it takes are backed up by economic logic and evidence, rather than ideology or shooting from the hip.
Over and above helping our understanding of economics in general, the book helps our understanding of the pandemic in particular. In particular, it explains how a better application of economic principles would have significantly improved responses to the pandemic. Even though the book takes a viewpoint, it is not dogmatic, and the views it takes are backed up by economic logic and evidence, rather than ideology or shooting from the hip.
April 16, 2021
In my quest to find some more studies measuring causal impacts of various pandemic-specific policies, I stumbled across this excellent book - I rarely recommend or review books, but feel obligated to highlight how much I thoroughly enjoyed it. I devoured it in essentially one sitting - I don't normally even finish books let alone have them captivate me for that long!
Its author, Ryan Bourne, is a libertarian (which I could fairly be called as well in a broad sense) and employee of the Cato Institute. Its inspiration and title are an allusion to Hazlitt's imo much inferior book, Economics in One Lesson. Unlike Hazlitt, I found Bourne to be incredibly impressive, empirical, and balanced - even if the author's libertarianism definitely shines through on more than one occasion.
Not only did Bourne provide tons of citations to help get into the weeds on the most pressing angles of the pandemic, he did so in a way that effectively communicates how exactly economists go about analyzing the efficacy and tradeoffs of policies.
Going in, I would have guessed there would be exposure to pretty basic concepts like analysis of marginal costs and benefits, externalities, etc. And those are in there, great. I would not have guessed there would be an explanation of something like difference in differences research design in a way I think any layperson would understand. Genuinely phenomenal!
I thought the breadth and accessibility of economic and pandemic-specific concepts he covers in a relatively short space were very impressive, and I would heavily recommend it to anyone with tertiary interests in either of those subjects. It's also an excellent starting point into a bunch of great papers he cites throughout!
Its author, Ryan Bourne, is a libertarian (which I could fairly be called as well in a broad sense) and employee of the Cato Institute. Its inspiration and title are an allusion to Hazlitt's imo much inferior book, Economics in One Lesson. Unlike Hazlitt, I found Bourne to be incredibly impressive, empirical, and balanced - even if the author's libertarianism definitely shines through on more than one occasion.
Not only did Bourne provide tons of citations to help get into the weeds on the most pressing angles of the pandemic, he did so in a way that effectively communicates how exactly economists go about analyzing the efficacy and tradeoffs of policies.
Going in, I would have guessed there would be exposure to pretty basic concepts like analysis of marginal costs and benefits, externalities, etc. And those are in there, great. I would not have guessed there would be an explanation of something like difference in differences research design in a way I think any layperson would understand. Genuinely phenomenal!
I thought the breadth and accessibility of economic and pandemic-specific concepts he covers in a relatively short space were very impressive, and I would heavily recommend it to anyone with tertiary interests in either of those subjects. It's also an excellent starting point into a bunch of great papers he cites throughout!
July 14, 2021
As the author advertises, this is not a book about covid, but this is a book about economics but uses covid as a study case.
I really enjoyed reading this book, which I think is also readable for those without economics background. Bourne introduces a lot of crucial concepts in economics that sound alien to non-economists. He further shows the readers how economists think (the real policy-making economists, not those wall street traders) and how numerous factors can influence policy-making that affects the whole society, for better or worse.
Overall, I think the book is very educating and informative at the same time and I learnt new stuff related to covid-era policymaking.
I really enjoyed reading this book, which I think is also readable for those without economics background. Bourne introduces a lot of crucial concepts in economics that sound alien to non-economists. He further shows the readers how economists think (the real policy-making economists, not those wall street traders) and how numerous factors can influence policy-making that affects the whole society, for better or worse.
Overall, I think the book is very educating and informative at the same time and I learnt new stuff related to covid-era policymaking.
July 18, 2021
Below the surface of herd thinking about Covid-19, the Chinese flu, the pandemic has been overblown.
April 28, 2021
Economics in One Virus corrects perhaps the biggest misunderstanding about economics: that there is a standalone thing called "the economy" that can be separated from the rest of society and our lives. Ryan Bourne brilliantly uses the pandemic to demonstrate that such a distinction cannot be drawn, that economics is the study of human beings and their decisions, and that a modicum of economic thinking can improve decision making - especially during a pandemic.
April 4, 2021
A clear-eyed analysis of the worldwide pandemic and the lessons it can teach policy makers going forward. Lucid, methodical and written for the general reader and policy wonk alike, this is a much-needed examination of how Covid-19 effected the global economy and how we can escape its lasting effects. Highly recommended for those who wish to engage with data and not dogma.
April 27, 2021
This is "the book" I've given to my graduating HS students as they depart for the big wide world. Ryan's writing is very engaging, consistently thought provoking and occasionally witty with the resultant experience for the reader that they might well finish this in a couple of sittings. A worthy contemporary addition to the pantheon of behavioural economics.
September 27, 2021
Very balanced and interesting analysis of the events of the Pandemic through an economic lens. Good rationale and research throughout, not ideological at all.
May 19, 2021
It's a good book if you want to understand why something during the COVID-19 pandemic happened the way it happened. For example, why airlines got special support packages, or how is it with producing everything locally (and that it makes sense neither during the normal time nor during the pandemic time). The author focused mainly on US politics, so not everything was helpful to me, yet still good enough to grasp the ideas of how regulations can affect the behavior of companies and citizens. I liked that the author looked into the problem from more than one point of view most of the time. One of the big topics was lockdown, obviously, and the comparison to roads was excellent. Many people die behind the wheel, yet we don't ban cars or limit speeds to 5km/h (or so) to avoid those deaths at any cost. Everything is about finding a reasonable balance, and lockdown is a very extreme solution, like banning cars. I don't agree with the author all the time, though. Definitely, I was glad for the chapter explaining why it can be OK that masks or disinfection prices are rising. Still, I think, if the government requires everyone to use it, the government should also make sure it's affordable for all citizens.
August 24, 2021
A very clever book.
The author poses questions of high relevance to policy makers, producers and consumers during the current pandemic episode and answers them within the framework of economic theory. Whilst more advanced students of economics can navigate the pages very quickly, they should focus and appreciate how the author links the events of the last 18 months to these concepts. For elementary students or just the casual reader, the text does provide sufficient content to teach well the necessary, minimum elements. The end of chapter summaries ("Economic Lesson" and "Economic Terms Introduced") are outstanding and valuable additions.
Well worth the read.
The author poses questions of high relevance to policy makers, producers and consumers during the current pandemic episode and answers them within the framework of economic theory. Whilst more advanced students of economics can navigate the pages very quickly, they should focus and appreciate how the author links the events of the last 18 months to these concepts. For elementary students or just the casual reader, the text does provide sufficient content to teach well the necessary, minimum elements. The end of chapter summaries ("Economic Lesson" and "Economic Terms Introduced") are outstanding and valuable additions.
Well worth the read.
December 13, 2021
This book was a let down. Based on the first two chapters I had high hopes for the book, but it simply did not deliver. At the time of writing I believe this book was more relevant, but a year later it is not. The economic concepts discussed are timeless, but the examples and explanations expire so quickly during these turbulent times.
December 5, 2021
The book was already somewhat dated by the time I read it, but Bourne's (economic) analysis was still insightful for someone based in Australia were many Covid issues were different from especially the US.
Want to read
July 9, 2021On Martin Wolf's summer reading list: https://pca.st/episode/1dc857a8-3838-...
December 9, 2021
I used this book for an academic internship on Covid-19 and small businesses. It's an easy read and it is very good if you need to pad your directed study in undergrad.
July 4, 2023
Serious and somewhat wordy.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews