Nan in Mass Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I am vaguely aware that there are different schools of thought when it comes to economics. Vaguely. Is Whatever Happened to Penny Candy a book which explains one person's view, or does it explain the basics needed before one gets advanced enough to get into schools of thought, or does it explain more than one school of thought? It has been a number of years since I read it and I am fluff-brained anyway about money, so I don't remember. I think I might remember that my impression was that it explained several schools of thought along with explaining why one was right and the others wrong. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogMom5 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 :bigear: I am under the same impression. I hope someone who has used the book will chime in soon. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krstbrwn Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 :lurk5: I'm wondering, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice H Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Dear Nan, It's the philosophical underpinnings and policy applications where the heated arguments arise. Here is a 12 page .pdf written for laypeople. http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew/misc/EconomicsForTheCitizen.pdf Here is a relevant quote from it (I bolded the last line): Normative questions deal with what is better or worse. No theory can answer normative questions. Try asking a physics teacher which is the better or worse state: a solid, gas, liquid or plasma state. He'll probably look at you as if you're crazy. On the other hand, if you ask your physics teacher which is the cheapest state for pounding a nail into a board, he'd probably answer that the solid state is. It's the same with economic theory, as opposed to economists. That is, if you asked most economists which method of conflict resolution produces the greater overall wealth, they'd probably answer that the market mechanism does. The bottom line is that economic theory is "objective" or non-normative and doesn't make value judgments. Economic policy questions are normative or "subjective" and do make value judgments --questions such as: Should we fight unemployment or inflation, should we spend more money on education, and should the capital gains tax be 15 percent or 20 percent? It's in the area of value judgments where there's so much disagreement among economists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart'sjoy Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Just a bit from a mom who enjoyed her first dabblings in economics with Penny Candy and the companion teacher's guide, A Bluestocking Guide Economics by Jane Williams Penny Candy reads as the lifelong research by Maybury as to why he holds the economic view he has. He's not attempting to explain all the other views, but to point out where statistics invalidate other views while validating his view. Overall he lays a very understandable foundation of economic terms/ vocabulary and how they interact. What I enjoyed the most, was how he showed that different types of government produce different economic policies, and some are inerrerrantly more stable than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegro Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Whatever Happened to Penny Candy is written from the standpoint of Austrian economics, which is a free market-based view of the economy that emphasizes humans, not abstract market forces. The author, Richard Maybury, clearly discloses his bias at the beginning of this (and all) of his books, so you might want to look at that to see what you think. The book does have some very clear explanations of money, inflation, and other economic concepts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Aha! So, what I want my son to read is something on economic theory. That will give him enough foundation at least to make him wonder about that new idea of his that perhaps a smaller parachute would work perfectly well. He is intrigued by complex systems (think endless strategy games, the kind whose rules fill books) and has just figured out that economics deals with complex systems. I just need something fast and easy for him to read to help keep his thinking straight. Your document looks perfect. If he is interested, he can investigate further. I think I had better read it as quickly as I can find a spare moment. He is trying to explain his ideas to me in the car and I would like to be able to listen at least a little intelligently. Thank you! -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Ok. That is what I thought I remembered. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brightside Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Whatever Happened to Penny Candy is written from the standpoint of Austrian economics, which is a free market-based view of the economy that emphasizes humans, not abstract market forces. The author, Richard Maybury, clearly discloses his bias at the beginning of this (and all) of his books, so you might want to look at that to see what you think. The book does have some very clear explanations of money, inflation, and other economic concepts. :iagree: We loved the book here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Nan, the Teaching Company has some economics courses that also touch on things like game theory, decision making, complexity, etc., that might be of interest to your son: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/Courses.aspx?ps=901 Priority code 57516 will get sale prices on all the business and economics courses through 6/16. If you're interested in the "Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision-Making" course, PM me as I have a one-time code for an additional $10 off that one. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Richard Maybury is a conspiracy theorist and a political and economic extremist. His materials are not "mainstream" and (to his credit) he does not pretend that they are. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Penny Candy and all the other books (including the latest one I looked through about WWII) seem to me to be a Libertarian government perspective, more than any particular economic viewpoint. Does anyone else get that feeling from his books, or am I not spending enough time with the material? I usually end up putting it down because I prefer John Stossel's videos for getting in the Libertarian perspective (i.e. no government, or minimal government). Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Yes. We noticed it the first time round. I really really quickly skimmed some of the other books. I gave my older one the books to read but warned him. Peacewalkers include anarchists and socialists and others. He was already familiar with the author's perspective and recognized it as rather extreme. He found the books interesting because of that. My youngest will probably only read the Penny Candy one, probably not even that. He isn't interested in politics and he has been exposed to lots of it peacewalking already so I'll just have him read the Idiot's Guide to tie all his bits of knowledge together. I don't mind the children reading some things that aren't mainstream, but in this particular case, I wasn't sure it would serve my son's purpose. : ) -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in DE Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I just posted on another thread checking to see if anyone knew about "Economics in a Box". http://www.economicthinking.org/curriculum/EconomicsinaBox/ It looks interesting, but it's impossible to tell what it is like. No student or teacher pages shown. I can't even find much info on the materials used. I just thought you might want to see it. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegro Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 There is also a great Teaching Company lecture series on economics; the professor is Timothy Taylor. My daughter listened to these and read the Richard Maybury books when she studied economics last semester. Here is a link: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=550 :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 As I'm only looking for a basic intro to or "light" economics because it is required semester course by my school district to get an "equivalent to high school" certificate, I'm going to have my kids read Penny Candy and complete the Bluestocking Guide. The remainder of the Economics course will consist of discussions, research, and activities using a variety of media and resources including: v Basic Economies by Thomas Sowell v Economics in One lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics by Henry Hazlitt/6 DVDs v Economics by Timothy Taylor (Teaching Company Seminars) 18 DVDs v Economic Thinking Resources(www.economicthinking.org.) v Foundation for Economic Education Resources (http://www.fee.org) Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I just posted on another thread checking to see if anyone knew about "Economics in a Box". http://www.economicthinking.org/curriculum/EconomicsinaBox/ It looks interesting, but it's impossible to tell what it is like. No student or teacher pages shown. I can't even find much info on the materials used. I just thought you might want to see it. Jen I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is what MFW was using for part of their 12th grade curriculum which was on display at convention. If so, that would mean that some folks have used it and liked it (they have quite a few test pilot families). Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegro Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 We also used Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt and Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Aha! So, what I want my son to read is something on economic theory. That will give him enough foundation at least to make him wonder about that new idea of his that perhaps a smaller parachute would work perfectly well. He is intrigued by complex systems (think endless strategy games, the kind whose rules fill books) and has just figured out that economics deals with complex systems. I just need something fast and easy for him to read to help keep his thinking straight. Your document looks perfect. If he is interested, he can investigate further. I think I had better read it as quickly as I can find a spare moment. He is trying to explain his ideas to me in the car and I would like to be able to listen at least a little intelligently. Thank you!-Nan I enjoyed Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell (also Austrian school). I read the 1st edition and then a few years later discovered the 3rd edition, which is almost twice as long and also has study questions in the back. I really liked this book for its discussion of subjects like what prices represent. We also found the Idiot's Guide to Game Theory at the library recently, which also looked interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Richard Maybury is a conspiracy theorist and a political and economic extremist. His materials are not "mainstream" and (to his credit) he does not pretend that they are. Bill I've seen other threads where Penny Candy and or Maybury was negatively referenced, but I always seem to have missed the posts where specifics are mentioned. Would you mind giving examples of the conspiracy theorist or extremist labels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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