Reading and Understanding Economics

Reading and Understanding Economics enables you to get to grips with all the issues in today’s economy discussed at length everywhere you look in the media leaving you armed with a new vocabulary of key economic terms ready to conduct your own analysis next time you read a newspaper or listen to the news for business or pleasure

• Key economic terms used in each article are highlighted and explained at the end of each topic and collected together in a comprehensive glossary at the end of the book. Different to the standard approach of academic textbooks, explanations are accessible to all readers drawing on practical analogies to help understand the concepts.
• What do you Think? questions at the end of each topic allow you to independently test your understanding and can also form the basis of further discussion activities in Class.
• Investigate the FT Data and Go to the Web encourage you to obtain and analyse data and conduct a web based activity requiring you to apply your newly acquired knowledge.
• Further Reading at the end of each chapter links themes covered in each topic to a range of Introductory Economic text books. References always include the relevant chapter and where appropriate page numbers. References will be updated annually to reflect the most recent publications.

After graduating with a degree in Economics, and an MSc from the London School of Economics, Kevin Boakes started his working life on the bond trading desk at Greenwell Montagu Gilt-edged, which is now part of HSBC Investment Bank. As their Chief UK Economist he was responsible for giving on the spot advice to bond traders as soon as economic stories hit the news screens. He regularly contributed articles to newspapers including the Times, Observer and Guardian and appeared on the BBC’s Money Programme and the Financial World Tonight. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Accounting and Finance at Kingston university. In addition to his academic work he has run a number of economics and financial market training courses for various Investment Banks. In early 2008 his first book “Reading and Understanding the Financial Times”, a practical analysis of financial articles from the FT, was published.