The Undercover Economist

Harford is a British economist and journalist. He is the author of the long-running and popular column “The Undercover Economist,” which appears in The Financial Times and is syndicated in Slate magazine. He first published his book, which is also called The Undercover Economist, in 2005, and with this, he ushered in the era of popular economics. Harford’s writing style, characterized by a blend of storytelling, real-world examples, and humor, makes economics accessible to a wider readership.

Born in 1973, Harford earned a Master of Philosophy in economics from Oxford University and worked at prestigious institutions like the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. His academic and professional background equipped him with a solid foundation in economic theory and an understanding of real-world economic dynamics. He initially reported on economic news for Britain’s Financial Times, writing a popular column called “Since You Asked,” which planted the seeds for a less lofty or academic discussion of economics. Later, he started writing his most famous column, “The Undercover Economist,” which expanded on those economic themes and answered questions from readers. In 2007, he presented a TV series on BBC called Trust Me, I’m an Economist. Harford went on to publish more economics-centric books after the success of The Undercover Economist, including the bestsellers Fifty Inventions That Made the Modern Economy (2017) and The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics (2021). He is an in-demand speaker at TED Talks, PopTech, and various universities. Harford has earned several awards for his work in economics, including the Excellence in Journalism award from the Royal Statistical Society in 2012 and an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2019. As of 2024, he hosts three different podcasts that discuss global culture, politics, and economics.

Harford’s columns and books ushered in an era of economic writing meant for popular consumption, explaining economic theories in an accessible way. After The Undercover Economist was published and became a runaway success, it inspired other similar books like Dubner and Levitt’s Freakonomics, though this book is tailored to an American audience and written in an even more conversational tone. The Undercover Economist has been criticized for being reductive and even misleading because it distills very complicated economic situations into simple explanations. However, the rise of economics as a more popular subject is undoubtedly welcomed by readers, as demonstrated by the sales of Harford’s books.