The Undercover Economist, or How To Turn Wheat Into Toyotas

Economist David Friedman observes... that there are two ways for the United States to produce automobiles: they can build them in Detroit, or they can grow them in Iowa. Growing them in Iowa makes use of a special technology that turns wheat into Toyotas: simply put the wheat onto ships and send them out into the Pacific Ocean. The ships come back a short while later with Toyotas on them. The technology used to turn wheat into Toyotas out in the Pacific Ocean is called "Japan," but it could just as easily be a futuristic biofactory floating off the coast of Hawaii. Either way, auto workers in Detroit are in direct competition with farmers in Iowa.

That's from pg 211 of The Undercover Economist, by Tim Harford, which I just finished reading.

Economics is frequently hard and its results are often nonintuitive. Tim's book somehow manages to make economic truths seem obvious without being trivializing. On top of that, it was quite fun to read. That, I think, is quite a remarkable achievement.

Do yourself a favor and read it. And if there's a student in your family, give them a copy too.