Brilliant Economics

Introduction

Economics is one of those subjects that many people are scared to talk about. Like astrophysics it contains unusual words and strange phrases while its practitioners’ books and articles contain incomprehensible equations that use Greek letters. But unlike astrophysics people use economics every day – without even knowing it. Anyone who has signed a mortgage deed, taken up a university course or decided how to pay for their shopping has made an economic decision. If they have taken an action based on instinct or because someone they knew did the same thing, then it may turn out to be a worse outcome than if they used even the most basic economic rationales.

Taking out a mortgage involves making some sort of assessment about the interest ...