Economics is all around us, crucial to every aspect of our lives. But how many of us know what an absolute advantage or a zero-sum game really is?

The Economist's A-Z guide to economics explains the most important economic terms and concepts. Written with the clarity and wit for which the newspaper is renowned, it features bite-sized overviews of essential economic ideas.

If you need to understand why a country's balance of payments is such a big deal, whether deflation is always a bad thing or exactly why John Maynard Keynes or Milton Friedman were so influential, then dipping into this guide will provide the answers.

Primer, glossary, dictionary and reference, this book offers everything you always wanted to know about economics but were afraid to ask.