Econospinning

PRAISE FOR ECONOSPINNING

"We know that economists are dismal scientists, but scientists nevertheless. This book casts doubt about the science of economic journalism by showing that it's often politically biased, superficial, and inconsistent with facts. An important book."
—Baruch Lev, Philip Bardes Professor of Accounting and Finance, New York University Stern School of Business

"Econospinning shines the spotlight on how economic data are chronically misreported by journalists and manipulated by political pundits. Epstein raises the bar in how to think about and interpret economic statistics."
—Bill Dudley, Advisory Director, The Goldman Sachs Group

"Bull markets in bad economic ideas are a lot like bubbles in financial assets—it takes just the right mixture of the cynical and the credulous to produce really extreme outcomes. And, as with asset bubbles, the sooner bad ideas are deflated, the less damage they do. Gene Epstein's clear-eyed analysis in Econospinning is a timely corrective for many of the flawed notions that have made their way into circulation in recent years."
—Lou Crandall, Chief Economist, Wrightson ICAP

"A shocking and provocative book. Econospinning shows how the brightest and most credentialed economists—from Krugman in the Times to bestselling author Steven Levitt—abuse data, and in rather blatant ways at that."
—Amar Bhidé, Lawrence D. Glaubinger Professor of Business Columbia University Graduate School of Business

"Gene Epstein preaches that a statistic is not how it's labeled; it's how it's collected. Beware the intersection of an emotionally evocative label and a spuriously precise number."
—Neal Soss, Managing Director, Credit Suisse

"Gene Epstein's book will raise journalistic standards and cause readers everywhere to mind the news with more care. Paul Krugman has now met his match."
—Kent Smetters, Associate Professor of Insurance and Risk Management, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Gene Epstein knows a thing or two about economic data. Before becoming the Economics Editor for Barron's in 1993, he was a senior economist at the New York Stock Exchange. Now in Econospinning, Epstein supplies readers with a book that attempts to cut through the veil of economic misinformation commonly reported in today's media.

Assuming no prior knowledge on the readers part, each chapter of Econospinning is structured around fairly simple propositions about the economy or about specific economic data—from tracking employment numbers to measuring corporate profitability—that are then contrasted with the distortions of today's media coverage.

Along the way, Epstein exposes bad reporting by the elite media, including The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The Economist—and especially by The New York Times and its economics columnist Paul Krugman,

Epstein also deconstructs CNN newscaster Lou Dobbs’ coverage of outsourcing and globalization; the illusory connection between abortion and lower crime rates, and bad theories about the role of real estate brokers, featured in the bestseller Freakonomics; the treatment of the working class portrayed in Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed; and the sensationalized coverage of the employment report by CNBC’s "Squawk Box."

From the disputes over Social Security to misinterpretations of the unemployment rate, Econospinning points out the unfortunate lack of integrity that pervades mainstream economic reporting.

Gene Epstein (New York, NY) has been Barron's Economics Editorsince 1993 and writes the column, "Economic Beat." A frequent speaker on the conference circuit, Epstein has been interviewed on CNBC, CNN, NJN Public TV, and BBC TV. He holds an MA in economics from the New School and a BA from Brandeis University.

GENE EPSTEIN has been Barron's Economics Editor since 1993 and writes the column, "Economic Beat." A frequent speaker on the conference circuit, Epstein has appeared on CNBC, CNN, NJN Public TV, and BBC TV. He is a former senior economist at the New York Stock Exchange and has taught economics at St. John's University and the City University of New York. He holds an MA in economics from The New School and a BA from Brandeis University.