Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias

Have you ever wondered why we can afford far more clothes than our grandfathers, but not the house where to store them? Why can the price of gasoline double within a few months, while it falls much more slowly? Why do the governments of certain countries ignore some horrifying conflicts happening on the planet, but don’t hesitate to interfere in others? Behind all of this lies economics. Darshini David invites us to follow the journey of a single dollar across the globe. Today, the U.S. economy makes up less than a quarter of the world’s total, yet 87% of transactions conducted in foreign exchange use American currency—dollars. By analyzing how money changes hands—physically or digitally—the author tries to unravel the knot of financial operations that determines our lives in all their forms. Each chapter of this book is an important piece of the puzzle that clearly shows how our world really works, who actually holds power, and how that power affects us. Darshini David is a writer, economist, and television presenter. She began her career as a financial analyst at HSBC. She worked for the BBC, covering topics such as business, economics, and the problems of consumer society. She is an economic correspondent for the UK’s major TV channel Sky News. She lives in London. “The All-Powerful Dollar” is her first book.