Cocktail Party Economics - Softcover

Adomait, Eveline J.; Maranta, Richard G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0132666006 ISBN 13: 9780132666008

Publisher: Pearson Education Canada, 2011

Synopsis

A little Economics training can go a long way in helping you understand the real world you live in. Assistant Professor of Economics Evie Adomait, along with her writing partner Richard Maranta, write simply about what can appear to be a complicated subject while never dumbing down the intellectual ideas which make Economic thought so important in this day and age. From the classroom to a cocktail party, this book will help you hold your own in conversations about Economics.

About this title

About the Author

Eveline Adomait was born to Dutch immigrants in rural Ontario. She attended the University of Guelph, intending to become a doctor until she realized that she couldn’t use a scalpel on anything alive. This required a change in direction. Fortunately, she was taking an introductory economics course and fell in love with the ideas (and look, Mom... no blood!). She has a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Guelph and for the past 20 years has made her career as a teaching professor at her alma mater. By her calculations, she has taught the equivalent of the population of a small city various economics courses at the first-, second-, and third-year levels. Her favourite is the first year, with class sizes ranging from 300 to 600 students, because this is the year in which many students experience “aha moments” when it comes to  economics. Their 18-year-old minds also keep her young.

Richard Maranta grew up in Brampton, Ontario, and graduated with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Waterloo, focusing on critical theory and self-destructive American authors such as William Faulkner. Richard went on to obtain a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa with the goal of becoming a secondary school teacher. However, he eventually ended up working for the dearly departed Nortel Networks in technical education and communications. He went on to co-found a company called Pinched Head, which develops innovative online courses for corporate clients. Richard continues to write and work with writers to say what needs to be said. For fun, he plays video games but has reluctantly come to realize that that he will never be as good at them as his two sons, who he used to let win.

Review

Cocktail Party Economics is a fun and quick read! I love the way it weaves together little things to explains big things. The flow of the stories and quotes, used to enliven the economics, feels like easy conversation. This is the easiest, and hence most “efficient”, introduction to economics I know.

Merwan H. Engineer, Full Professor of Economics, University of Victoria

Cocktail Party Economics is a refreshing, easy to understand introduction to the arcane world of economics. Using an engaging, conversational style filled with many practical examples, the book does a great job explaining the concepts behind media coverage of economic and business events. I also enjoyed the lively descriptions of long-dead economists and how their ideas are relevant to our daily lives.

Warren Jestin, Chief Economist, Scotiabank

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson Education Canada
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0132666006
• ISBN 13: 9780132666008
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192