Book Review: Can’t We Just Print More Money? Economics in Ten Simple Questions

The subject of Economics is all around us, currently exemplified through currency fluctuations, inflation and interest rates. Therefore, everyone should have a basic understanding of the subject. School Economics courses provide a good understanding of the world at present, but when speaking with my family and friends, it is clear that very few people comprehend economics.

Can’t We Just Print More Money? Economics in Ten Simple Questions, by Jack Meaning and Rupal Patel of the Bank of England (BoE), is an excellent starting point for anyone looking to have an introduction into economics as a subject. This funny yet informative guide on economics teaches people of all ages about the basics of the subject through 10 simple questions. I learnt a lot from this book, and I wish I had read it before I started studying A Level Economics.

The BoE is the United Kingdom’s central bank, responsible for printing money, regulating banks and keeping the economy running smoothly. In this book, the BoE’s team takes you inside their hallowed halls to explain what economics can – and can’t – teach us about the world.

If you have ever asked yourself these questions, “Why are all my clothes made in Asia?”, “How come I’m so much richer than my great-great-grandma?”, and “What even is money?”, then this book is for you.

One of my favourite things about this book was the use of real-life examples. For example, Meaning and Patel explained inelastic supply, by linking it to the England Euro Final, which I found very interesting. This would resonate with football fans, many of whom considered it a once in a lifetime opportunity (last time England reached the final was in 1966). “Those who had bought tickets for the match at Wembley well in advance were likely to have paid around £250 for a standard seat. But when England made it to the final, demand for tickets surged. The problem was, there was no way for supply to respond to the increase in demand. There is only one Wembley stadium - it can hold no more than 90,000 people at the best of times, and it could only take 67,000 in summer 2021. The supply of seats at that match was almost perfectly inelastic, insensitive to even huge price rises. The ticket touts - an industry with a canny understanding of the inelastic nature of supply were eventually charging as much as £35,000 per ticket”. Real life examples were present numerous times in the book, which is why this book would be a great read for anyone.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the BoE and interview Meaning and Patel on this book, and ask them questions I had about Economics. When asking them why they wrote this book, they replied that “We wanted to create a book that was easy to understand for anyone, there is no target audience, we want everyone to read it, whether that be a teenager or a pensioner.”

After speaking with the authors, I can see they have a passion for the subject and want to spread that passion to others, which this book does effectively.

'If you feel you should understand how economists think but have no idea where to start, this book is the answer . . . Buy this book for the inquiring person, young, old or in between.' Martin Wolf, Financial Times

Figure 1: The periodical’s author with Jack Meaning and Rupal Patel