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In this disarming and playful guide, Akash Kumar and Kumar Anand strip economics down to its essence. Zero jargon and (almost!) no graphs — and by the end, you’ll never read the news the same way again.
Like talking about paper leaks, petrol prices, freebies, onion prices, or “why is this country still so poor”?
Economics for Every Indian hands you the toolkit to actually understand the arguments behind these issues. In eight short, funny and jargon-free chapters, Akash Kumar and Kumar Anand show how prices talk, why nations rise and fall, and what the government has any business doing.
By the end, you’ll never read the news the same way again.
More praise for the book
a clear and engaging introduction
Professor Vernon L. SmithNobel Laureate in Economics
Akash Kumar and Kumar Anand have written a clear and engaging introduction to the content of economics for the curious reader.
everything you always wanted to know about economics but were afraid to ask
Gurcharan DasAuthor of India Unbound
Here is a lively, readable, common-sense guide to everything you always wanted to know about economics but were afraid to ask.
a marvellous little book that will open the eyes of every reader
Amit VarmaAuthor and Host of The Seen and the Unseen
Economics is the study of human behaviour, and helps us understand the world. And yet it is misunderstood as a dismal science. This is a marvellous little book that will open the eyes of every reader, and make them look around with both wonder and clarity. Much needed!
Adam Smith for India!
Professor Alex TabarrokMercatus Center at George Mason University
Adam Smith for India! Brings the timeless principles of economics to life – an indispensable guide to understanding how markets and politics shape India’s present and future.
Every Indian politician and policy maker should read this book.
Sadanand DhumeSenior Fellow at Council on Foreign Relations
Every Indian politician and policy maker should read this book. Akash Kumar and Kumar Anand have brilliantly made sensible economics accessible to ordinary Indians.
About as interesting as popular economics gets.
Pieter GaricanoManaging Editor, Works in Progress
This book will make you smarter about India and smarter about economics. You will finish seeing prices, politicians and your local mandi differently. About as interesting as popular economics gets.
both playful and intellectually serious
Professor Pravin KrishnaChung Ju Yung Distinguished Professor of International Economics and Business, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
This book is a delightful reminder that economics is not merely about models and equations, but about the quiet logic underlying everyday life. With wit, charm and an economist’s eye for the unseen, Akash Kumar and Kumar Anand turn familiar scenes – street markets, cricket matches, airport snacks and global supply chains – into windows on some of the discipline’s most powerful ideas. The result is a book that is both playful and intellectually serious, inviting readers to appreciate the remarkable role of economics in making modern prosperity possible. A lively and thoughtful guide to learning how economists see the world.
written in the tradition of Henry Hazlitt and Thomas Sowell
Katherine Mangu-WardEditor-in-Chief, Reason
I found much to learn from this excellent basic economics primer from Akash Kumar and Kumar Anand written in the tradition of Henry Hazlitt and Thomas Sowell.
insightful as well as enjoyable, a rare combination
Niranjan RajadhyakshaExecutive Director, Artha Global, and Former Executive Editor, Mint
This book is insightful as well as enjoyable, a rare combination. Akash Kumar and Kumar Anand have used simple examples from everyday life to write this excellent guide to the economic way of thinking.
It deserves to be read by every student and every curious citizen.
Professor Umakant DashVice Chancellor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune
This book bridges the vast gap between what economists know and what citizens understand about their own economy with clarity, wit and a storyteller’s flair. A rare book that makes economics both illuminating and engaging. It deserves to be read by every student and every curious citizen.
an effective antidote to the economic illiteracy that plagues both India and the world
Professor Per BylundJohnny D. Pope Chair, School of Entrepreneurship, Oklahoma State University
Economics: For Every Indian is a refreshing addition to the vast library on economics. Rather than focusing on the apparent precision of maths, models and formulas, Kumar and Anand make economics comprehensible for normal people. They explain how markets and economies work using simple, easy-to-grasp language and do so with illustrative examples and references to Indian society and culture to make the reader feel at home. The result is an effective antidote to the economic illiteracy that plagues both India and the world.
A book about economics you actually can’t put down
Rajesh JainSerial Entrepreneur, Author and Founder, Netcore
I’ve built businesses for over three decades and picked up most of my economics through my entrepreneurial experience. I wish more of us thought clearly about how economies actually work. Kumar and Akash don’t lecture; they make you see the world around us differently. A book about economics you actually can’t put down; and the one India was missing. A must-read for everyone.
in this delightful book, full of keen insight
Mohit SatyanandEntrepreneur and Investor
What is the magic that whisks mutton biryani to your doorstep within 15 minutes of dreaming of it? The answer is not “Zomato”. Well, it may be, but that doesn’t tell us how rice grown in Punjab, spices from Kerala, edible oil from Malaysia and a delivery boy from Jharkhand ring your doorbell at midnight. What are the forces that bring all these ingredients together to bring you a dish fit for kings? Who didn’t have air-conditioning, by the way ... Economics is the study of satisfying our material desires, and in this delightful book, full of keen insight, Kumar and Akash tell us how economics works; and how, in the wrong hands, it is prevented from doing so.
a masterful rendition of Bastiat’s Economic Sophisms for an Indian audience!
Parth J. ShahDean and Co-Founder, Indian School of Public Policy, and Founder, Centre for Civil Society
Every Indian who reads a newspaper, argues about government spending and corruption, or wonders why the same government that sends a rocket to Mars cannot fix potholes – this book is for you. The authors give citizens the intellectual tools to ask the right questions and to resist the comfortable but seductive simplicity of bad ideas. What makes this book unique is how it teaches through stories that we all can easily recognize. By the time you reach the epilogue, you haven’t just absorbed economic principles – you’ve seen them living inside the India you already know. As someone who has spent years championing the principles of market liberalism at the Centre for Civil Society, it is a proud moment to see these ideas find such vivid expression in Akash and Kumar’s hands. This is nothing less than a masterful rendition of Bastiat’s Economic Sophisms for an Indian audience!
This is a huge achievement.
Luis MirandaChairperson and Co-founder, Indian School of Public Policy, and Former Chairman, IDFC Private Equity
Kumar and Akash have done a great job to explain complex economics concepts in a way that non-economists can understand. This is a huge achievement. I hope that the ideas in this book on free markets, public choice, amongst others, get into mainstream debate so that India becomes a more prosperous country.
it ended my search for a book that would help students and lay readers engage with critical topics in economics
Pankaj DasDirector, Modern English School, Kahilipara, Guwahati, Assam
I was delighted to read this book by Akash Kumar and Kumar Anand – it ended my search for a book that would help students and lay readers engage with critical topics in economics – money, price, profit, inflation; how citizens’ life is affected through laws, rules, institutions, policies, incentives of public officials, suppliers, consumers and voters; how wealth is created – how citizens get to be wealthy and enjoy liberty; why some countries are poor and some are rich. And all of this written in a real-life and intimate style that holds readers’ attention. I am sure this book will be immensely popular with teachers, students and other readers.
Read a few pages
Chapter 6 · pp. 109–110Why Do Some People Get Rich While Others Stay Poor?
What happened to your neighbourhood PCO booth?
New Things Sometimes Kill Old Things (and That’s Okay!)
Akash’s uncle ran a public call office (PCO) booth in a small bazaar in Bihar. If you’re very young, you might not even know what that is. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, these yellow and black signed shops were everywhere – the only way most Indians could make a phone call. His uncle’s shop was always busy. People would queue up, shouting over crackling lines to relatives in Dubai or Delhi, watching nervously as the meter ticked up the rupees.
Then mobile phones arrived. First for the rich, then cheaper Chinese models, and suddenly everyone had a phone in their pocket. Akash’s uncle saw the writing on the wall. His PCO booth also started offering mobile recharges and then completely transformed itself into a recharge and mobile accessories shop.
For a few years, it worked. People needed scratch recharge cards, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, and someone to help them figure out how these new gadgets worked. But that did not last long. People started recharging online. He ran out of business and had to shut shop. The story of Akash’s uncle and his PCO booth is the story of creative destruction. The same technology that killed his PCO booth business unlocked massive value for society. Instead of walking to a booth and waiting in line, anyone could now call from anywhere. Migrants could hear their children’s voices every night, not just on Sundays.
The destruction is visible and immediate, but the creation is invisible and takes time. When PCO booths closed, everyone could see the shopkeepers losing their livelihood. What was not visible immediately was the new jobs. Thousands of new jobs in mobile tower installation and maintenance, lakhs of people employed in mobile retail and repair shops. Ola, Swiggy, PhonePe, even YouTube and the people who depend on these apps for their livelihood.
The mobile revolution did end up killing PCO booth jobs. But in due time, it created far more employment than it destroyed. Try telling that to Akash’s uncle when his recharge business started failing. The destruction hit him personally and immediately. The creation happened elsewhere, to other people, over many years.
Pause and think
Chapter 2 · Comparative advantage
More Cricket, Less Chores – a Challenge
Adithya and Prashanth are teenage twins who live with their parents in Bengaluru. Every Sunday evening, they have to do household chores – laundry and dishes – and that too when IPL matches are telecast on TV.
Here’s the thing: Adithya is simply faster at everything. He can finish ironing his shirts in 30 minutes and washing his dishes in 60 minutes. The younger Prashanth takes 120 minutes to do the ironing and 90 minutes to do the dishes.
None of them wants to miss seeing Virat Kohli bat. Prashanth has a lightbulb moment. ‘Bro,’ he says to Adithya, ‘what if we trade our chores?’
Adithya laughs. ‘Maga, I’m faster at everything. How would this help?’
Decide who does each chore. Can both brothers get to the TV sooner?
this book is a masterclass in how politics and markets actually work in india
this book explains why bad policy ideas often sound deceptively simple & then also gives you the arguments to resist them
Akash and Kumar break down complex concepts without oversimplifying or talking down to you as a reader and I think that's the biggest achievement of any book of this kind. This could easily replace some of the high school textbooks around economics.
In your teens and 20s you’ll find a bunch of lazy Makus coming to you and sell garbage like money is bad, you don’t need money and that the rich is always plotting to take your wealth away. It’s very important that you say NO to them and read this book.
I genuinely wish I had this book when I was in school. I ended up devouring it in a single day and filled it with annotations along the way.
My friends’ book, hot off the press, has arrived, loving all the Bollywood songs references already :)
… My one complaint: the “pizza” on the cover should have been SAMOSAS!!!
This is the first book on economics that I have ever read… More than once, I caught myself thinking, “This is exactly what I have always believed!” — only to realize that what I was relating to was actually economics.
in the game of sidequesting and getting this book ASAP
i now have the phone numbers of almost 3 people who work at crossword indiranagar
and she just mentioned it’s sold out 😿
Got my copy today.
I should leave it at my parents home when I leave so my communist-leaning parents might pick up and read.
I recommend this book for all (Indians 🇮🇳). I felt reading like a concise Thomas Sowell. Nice & much needed. 🤝
Halfway through it, a timely book for every Indian. lively, engaging, and intellectually stimulating. co authored by my friend @aye_kaash, who has done a marvellous job 🙌
Boss, this is one of the most AMAZING books i've ever read.
Always been a fast and avid reader but this book holds the record for me.
Completed this in a single day.
Absolutely glued!
Promises to be a jargon free introduction to economics. On that count, it delivers. The book is easy to read and succeeds in explaining economic ideas without jargon, but its strong preference for free markets and its limited engagement with social equity make it feel less like a broad introduction to economics and more like an argument for a particular economic worldview.
You’d never consume news in the same way again after reading the book.
One thing that immediately stood out to me was the chapter titles and Hindi song references. They were hilarious, memorable, and honestly made me smile every time I started a new chapter.
It’s written in such simple, engaging language that even school kids would enjoy learning. Also great for adults with compromised attention spans looking to educate themselves. Required knowledge for every Indian.
That book that makes Indian economics consumable and more importantly relevant to every one of us. It's especially ideal for those of us that are not acclimatized to thinking from an economics point of view.
Absolutely wonderful book. Lots of India specific examples. I read the entire book on the day I received it.
Every single chapter is written with sharp logic and a beautifully structured flow… this book gives you a brilliant mental model to view the modern indian landscape. Akash and kumar hve done a phenomenal job here… 10/10 Highly recommended!
Just received a copy of my friend @aye_kaash’s book which explains economics in common parlance for informed non-specialist readers. Looking forward to read it!
A very breezy and lucid read. From the most elementary concepts in economics to pathbreaking theories that have won the Nobel, it covers everything in a simple digested read format, replete with everyday life examples and analogies.
Witty, creative and absolute fun read. This book feeds the curious keeda within every Indian, when it comes to talking about national economy and policies. My favorite chapter was ‘What happens when politics meets economics?’
The book offers crucial insights about important concepts and principles of economics… explained with examples from Indian markets, aspirations of common Indians, and government interventions, making the book relatable and fairly easy to understand.
My friend @aye_kaash has a book out (must read), but to really understand economics you gotta watch him shop.
It's like a spiritual exercise in capitalism: watching him extract all possible information out of a seller until a perfect market emerges. A true Homo Economicus.
Everything our textbooks couldn't do, this one does.
It is a very simple and interesting book that connects economics with our everyday lives. It is quite useful and worth reading for developing a basic understanding of economics.
Really good book.
Why & How Onion price increases,
why Virat makes more money than Rohit and so on...
A brilliant primer to economics - especially in the Indian context. Engagingly written & makes for a v breezy read.
What’s great about this book is the mental models you develop as a result… it gives you overarching principles to understand the modern Indian landscape.
I expected this to feel dense or intimidating, but it’s surprisingly easy to get into. The book gives you different perspectives and enough context to think through things on your own, instead of trying too hard to impress or overwhelm the reader.
A book that’s mostly zero jargon and a lot of Indian context. If you’ve ever wanted economics explained without graphs or equations, this is a solid pick.
The authors have done a commendable job of using everyday, familiar, and local examples that readers can easily relate to.
This book expresses every concept of economics in a profound and simple way
this is a gem
Great little book, force your parents and your kids and even your friends to read it!
A must read for every Indian interested in understanding why is India poor, and how can India become rich.
As the title suggests, the book is quick and concise, and it answers almost every question we've ever had about the economy. Whether it's the earnings of Virat Kohli vs. Rohit Sharma or why Diet Coke is so expensive at airports.
Very accessibly written for any audience to begin constructing a framework of how to think about and engage with economics, and more so with current events.
A very insightful and engaging book with valuable lessons. Definitely worth reading and recommending 📚👌👌
this book costs rs 500
most of us can skip one matcha and buy the book instead
Witty, sharp, and answers the exact practical questions we all quietly wonder about. 10/10 recommend!
Stuck in slow-moving traffic on a rainy day in #Kochi, but at least I've got the perfect companion!
This book should be in every library.
Highly recommend
50 pages in, and this book is already blowing my mind with how insightful it is.
हम आपको समझा सकते हैं कि हम शहंशाह #अकबर से भी बड़े रईस कैसे हैं! …
Even complex topics are explained using simple and relatable examples, which makes concepts much easier to understand.
Came across this book through some random post on Twitter. Found its cover quite interesting, so thought to give it a read.
Honestly, I’m amazed by the way it simply and engagingly explained the economic concepts.
The best part is how it explains complex ideas using examples from the Indian context, making it very easy to understand even for readers who don’t have a deep background in economics.
Purchase it. Its worth it.
One of the few books that take in the Indian context and enables clear conceptual understanding of economic thinking.
This is the best book for basic concepts of economy for every individual
Work? blehhhh
This book? yeaaaahh~
can someone pls find the pdf of this pls pls
A brilliant book that simplifies economics for common readers. Clear explanations, relatable examples, and an engaging writing style.
This book is very useful for every Indian.
Since I believe this is vital reading for every Indian, more than happy to get upto 100 copies for interested folks.
Will even convince the authors to sign copies for you.
Thank you @aye_kaash and @kumaranand for this lovely token. Looking really forward to reading this as someone not from an econ background!
Very interesting book. It is a great read for individual's who are getting to understand the countries economies. Must read. Thank to my bubu for recommending this book.
Akash Kumar grew up in Motihari, Bihar. When he spent a school year in the United States as part of the KL-YES Programme of the US Department of State, he could not stop asking why some places stay poor while others get rich. That question never left. He studied at IIT Madras, led academic programmes for Students For Liberty across South Asia and had a short stint working with the Chief Minister’s Office of Maharashtra. He has written for Hindustan Times, Deccan Herald and News18, among others. Today he is co-founder and CEO at Raaz MD. When not building Raaz or arguing about economic policy, he is usually hunting for a good cup of specialty coffee.
Kumar Anand grew up in Saharsa, Bihar. It might explain why two people from small-town Bihar ended up writing a book about why prosperity is so unevenly distributed. Kumar is an economist and public policy professional with over fifteen years of experience working on questions of Indian economic growth, economic history and public policy at organizations including Asianomics Limited, the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Free A Billion and the Centre for Civil Society. He has written for publications including The Hindu, Rajasthan Patrika and the French weekly Le Point. He studied economics at the University of Delhi and the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune.
Book events
We wrote this book because we believe that change would only come through a change in ideas we believe in as a society. It begins when you pause to ask: ‘But what about the unseen?’ Because economics, really, is the art of seeing what most miss.
