Free Lunch Thinking

An essential read if you want to know how economics has erred - and how it can do better.—Gabriel Zucman, author of ‘The Hidden Wealth of Nations’I couldn’t put it down. A thorough and nuanced examination of the evolution of supply side economics and the debates we had around how to put the theory into practice. I loved it.—Arthur Laffer, creator of the Laffer CurveA brilliant tour de force exposing the limitations of economic theories. Bergin punctures many accepted myths and - with care and rigour - demonstrates how much accepted economic orthodoxy is based on ideology and not reality. A very readable and well-researched book that we all should read.—Margaret Hodge, former chair of the UK parliament’s Public Accounts CommitteeAn entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of economic theories that have been both widely accepted and largely wrong … I devoured it in a couple of sittings.—Reuters BreakingviewsFantastically provocative book … a really great read.—David McWilliams, economist and author

Tom Bergin is an investigative financial journalist for Reuters. His work has prompted parliamentary inquiries and won numerous awards in Britain, the United States and Asia, including a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business Journalism and the Orwell Prize for Journalism. In 2013, he was named Business Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards. His previous book, Spills & Spin- The Inside Story of BP, was named a Sunday Times Politics Book of the Year in 2011. Before entering journalism 20 years ago, Tom worked in asset management and as an energy broker. He grew up in Ireland and lives in London.