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Economic Fables

Economic Fables Ariel Rubinstein
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-906924-77-5 £8.95
PDF ISBN: 978-1-906924-79-9 £0.00
epub ISBN: 978-1-906924-80-5 £2.95
mobi ISBN: 978-1-906924-81-2 £2.95

eBook Editions: (more info)


 

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Click here to listen to Ariel Rubinstein's interview on Economic Fables.

In his new book Ariel Rubinstein reflects on microeconomic topics and personal vita with ‘‘no claim to objectivity’’ in a‘‘completely subjective, controversial’’ manner (p. 14). It is a sheer intellectual delight to read the book. Rubinstein has mastered the art of conveying even the most abstract problems in contemporary economic theory to the general public. The book is engaging to the point that I finished reading it in one setting overnight (though, as a decision theorist, I do have a comparative advantage of being previously exposed to most of the book’s topics).The book is extremely thought-provocative. It takes a critical look at academic economics from the vantage point of a decades-long successful academic career. In fact, had I read and understood this book in my early undergraduate years, I might have never engaged in a professional economic career at all.
— Pavlo R. Blavatskyy, Journal of Economic Psychology, 34 (2013), 309-310

So, all in all, this is a great book for economics students, giving a clear introduction to some basic models and just as important to some important advice about how to use models, and how not to use them. The book has a terrific website where readers can try out some of the exercises. I would definitely use this if I were teaching. It is also a very enjoyable and thought-provoking read for practising economists, not to mention for all non-economists trying to pin down why they think economics has failed them during the crisis.
— Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, The Enlightened Economist, University of Cambridge (2012)

I had the good fortune to grow up in a wonderful area of Jerusalem, surrounded by a diverse range of people: Rabbi Meizel, the communist Sala Marcel, my widowed Aunt Hannah, and the intellectual Yaacovson. As far as I'm concerned, the opinion of such people is just as authoritative for making social and economic decisions as the opinion of an expert using a model.
Part memoir, part crash-course in economic theory, this deeply engaging book by one of the world's foremost economists looks at economic ideas through a personal lens. Together with an introduction to some of the central concepts in modern economic thought, Ariel Rubinstein offers some powerful and entertaining reflections on his childhood, family and career. In doing so, he challenges many of the central tenets of game theory, and sheds light on the role economics can play in society at large. The book is as thought-provoking for seasoned economists as it is enlightening for newcomers to the field.

Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind, describes Economics Fables as a "wonderfully inviting introduction to game theory, rich in personalities, history and sense of place. Ariel Rubinstein is not only a brilliant theorist with a knack for lucid exposition, but a gifted storyteller. Students will find the ideas surprisingly accessible. Aspiring scholars, wondering whether a life of the mind is worth pursuing, will find his personal journey of intellectual discovery thrilling."


Economic Fables
Ariel Rubinstein | May 2012
255 | 5.06” x 7.81” (198mm x 129mm)
ISBN Paperback: 9781906924775
ISBN Digital (PDF): 9781906924799
ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 9781906924805
ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 9781906924812
DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0020
BIC subject codes: KCA (Economic theory and philosophy)


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Chapter 0: Introduction 
Chapter 1: Rational, Irrational
Chapter 2: Game Theory: A Beautiful Mind
Chapter 3: The Jungle Tale and the Market Tale
Chapter 4: Economics, Pragmatics and Seven Traps
Chapter 5: (Sort of) Economic Policy
Bibliographical Notes 
Acknowledgements
Ariel Rubinstein is Professor of Economics at Tel Aviv University and New York University. His books include Bargaining and Markets (with Martin J. Osborne, 1990), A Course in Game Theory (with Martin J. Osborne, 1994), Modeling Bounded Rationality (1998), Economics and Language (2000) and Lecture Notes in Microeconomic Theory: The Economic Agent (2005). He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow and former President of the Econometric Society.
The author has created a website containing video clips, interactive questions and games relating to each chapter of the book. Anyone is free to access it here.

Professor Rubinstein's publications can be accessed and read on his website. Including access to the original Hebrew edition of Economic Fables.

Economic Fables is a wonderfully inviting introduction to game theory, rich in personalities, history and sense of place. Ariel Rubinstein is not only a brilliant theorist with a knack for lucid exposition, but a gifted storyteller. Students will find the ideas surprisingly accessible. Aspiring scholars, wondering whether a life of the mind is worth pursuing, will find his personal journey of intellectual discovery thrilling.
– Sylvia Nasar
Author of A Beautiful Mind and Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius

"This is a great book for economics students, giving a clear introduction to some basic models and just as important to some important advice about how to use models, and how not to use them. The book has a terrific website where readers can try out some of the exercises. I would definitely use this if I were teaching. It is also a very enjoyable and thought-provoking read for practising economists, not to mention for all non-economists trying to pin down why they think economics has failed them during the crisis."
– Diane Coyle, The Enlightened Economist, June 2012
Read the full review here

This is not a dense, humorless tome of the sort academics compose, but rather a highly readable, even amusing work that combines theoretical diagnoses with personal anecdotes. Here is a pleasant yet satisfying intellectual experience – one with the occasional glimpse into Rubinstein's life to boot – alongside jargon-free explanations of game theory, the author's field of expertise.
– Omer Moav, Azure, Autumn 2010
(review based on the original Hebrew edition)
Read the full review here