The Shortest History of Economics

Outline

The Shortest History of Economics (2024) tells the story of how economies developed, from early farming and trade to the industrial revolution, globalisation, and the digital age. Andrew Leigh explains key ideas and turning points in a lively and accessible way, showing how inventions, markets, and policies shaped the way people live and work. The book offers a quick but insightful tour of economic history.

• Economies grew out of early farming and trade, and those early steps set the pattern for everything that followed.
• The industrial revolution, globalisation and the digital age are the major turning points in how economies developed.
• Inventions, markets and policies together shaped how people live and work, not any one of them alone.
• Economic ideas are easier to grasp when told as a story of real changes in everyday life.
• A short, accessible tour of economic history can give you the big picture without needing technical training.

Andrew Leigh is an Australian economist, author, and politician who has served as a member of the Australian Parliament and as a government minister. Before entering politics, he was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. His books include Randomistas, How Economics Explains the World, and The Shortest History of Economics.