Why We’re Getting Poorer

An insider's guide to our broken economy and how it fails to serve us.

Did you know that while we think of money as notes issued by the government, the truth is that the overwhelming majority of money today is credit created by private banks?

Did you know that the reason housing keeps getting less accessible is because we haven’t found a way to separate houses from land in our policies?

And did you know that far from globalisation being a mystical force, certain countries and currencies have dominated the way it has played out – to their own advantage?

Whilst economics is at the heart of the society we live in, governing so many functions from our taxes to where we live to the price of our shopping, few of us have a strong grasp on the subject. This book is here to help.

Why We're Getting Poorer delves into the key topics in economics – money, globalisation, inequality, climate change and growth – showing that what we think we know about these things is wrong, and teaching us what we really need to know. Deciphering the jargon and complexity of economic thinking, with examples ranging from the Simpsons to the German football league to The Inbetweeners, Cahal Moran shows us why our economy set us up to fail, and offers suggestions for how we can make positive changes.

Written by an award-winning economist and the YouTuber responsible for ‘Unlearning Economics’, Why We're Getting Poorer is a thrilling, iconoclastic guide to how the world really works.

Review

‘Easily one of the most compelling economics communicators of our generation.’

Yuan Yang, Financial Times columnist and MP for Earley and Woodley

‘Ridiculously good. Serious yet engaging and compellingly written … A powerful critique of the modern economy and convincing case for how we fix it.’

Tom Curran, author of The Perfection Trap

‘A fascinating examination of the failures of modern economics, and how these failures are harming us all.’

Grace Blakeley, author of Vulture Capitalism

‘A thoughtful and sharp insight into where we find ourselves – Moran encourages us to see the world differently and to think about what could be.’

Kieran Yates, author of All The Houses I’ve Ever Lived In

‘Why We're Getting Poorer asks big economic questions and answers them with compassionate humanity.’

Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level

‘A compelling case that it’s time for some new ideas about how the economy should be organised and managed.’

Diane Coyle OBE, author of Cogs and Monsters

‘Economists and non-economists alike can learn a lot from this entertaining book … A timely reminder that all economic systems should be judged according to their effects on human happiness.’

Paul Dolan, author of Beliefism

About the Author

Dr Cahal Moran is a Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He received his PhD in economics from the University Manchester on the subject of prospect theory. He is the co-author of the bestselling book The Econocracy: on the Perils of Leaving Economics to the Experts (Penguin Press). He is a lifelong member of the charity Rethinking Economics, which campaigns for a better economics education and has featured on BBC radio 4 alongside other members. He also runs a YouTube channel, Unlearning Economics, which has over 119,000 youtube subscribers, 53,000 twitter followers and has just launched a podcast. He lives in London.