The Undercover Economist & Messy How to Be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World Tim Harford

This two-book set pairs two works by Tim Harford, The Undercover Economist and Messy: How to Be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World. Taken together, the books consider how decisions are made by individuals and within wider systems, moving from the everyday realities of money to the ways organisation can influence behaviour.

In The Undercover Economist, Harford reframes economics as a practical way of understanding who gets what, and the reasons behind it. Using familiar questions and real-world problems, he sets out to make the workings of money clearer and more accessible than a purely statistical view.

Included titles

• The Undercover Economist
• Messy: How to Be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World

Key details

• Two-book collection
• Author: Tim Harford
• Includes The Undercover Economist
• Includes Messy: How to Be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World

Synopses

The Undercover Economist

Harford argues that economics is centred on who gets what and why, rather than being a collection of dry statistics. He explains how money works through examples ranging from the price of a cup of coffee to broader questions of efficiency and fairness, and also touches on topics including health care and traffic.

Messy: How to Be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World

Harford explores the appeal of tidiness and the reassurance many people take from scripts, systems and categorisation. While recognising the usefulness of organisation in areas such as libraries, global trade and scientific collaboration, he suggests that the impulse to label and order everything can be pushed too far, particularly within corporate and government environments.