False Economy

A “provocative…persuasive” (The New York Times) book that examines countries’ economic destinies.

In False Economy, Alan Beattie weaves together the economic choices, political choices, economic history, and human stories, that determine whether governments and countries remain rich or poor.

He also addresses larger questions about why they make the choices they do, and what those mean for the future of our global economy. But despite the heady subject matter, False Economy is a lively and lucid book that engagingly and thought-provokingly examines macroeconomics, economic topics, and the fault lines and successes that can make or break a culture or induce a global depression. Along the way, readers will discover why Africa doesn’t grow cocaine, why our asparagus comes from Peru, why our keyboard spells QWERTY, and why giant pandas are living on borrowed time.

Author Biography

As International Economy Editor of the Financial Times and author of the bestselling False Economy, Alan Beattie writes about economic globalization, trade, development, and aid. Before joining the Financial Times, he was an economist at the Bank of England. He holds degrees from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in history and economics, respectively. He lives in Washington, DC.