Did you know that Australia is helping Singapore 'be creative' to address its imbalance of ballet dancers to engineers and that there is a Transylvanian Cricket Club full of Aussies in Romania? Or that Israeli youngsters are crazy for Tim Tams and the French are buying Billabong board shorts in Bordeaux on Bastille Day? Well if you didn't, The Airport Economist is just for you.

Join Tim Harcourt - the airport economist - as he travels the globe in chase of the whys and wherefores of Australian international business success and unravels the economic life of the many countries he visits. He talks to business leaders, entrepreneurs, workers, government officials, academics, farmers and even a celebrity or two to uncover the world of export beyond economic text books and financial spreadsheets. He even manages to interview Megan Gale in Milan, watch Sachin Tendulkar build an innings in Mumbai and dodge swarms of motorcycles in Asia's newest tiger, Vietnam, all for the sake of research, of course.

With a clever turn of phrase, witty observations, and the grunt of supporting data, The Airport Economist proves that there is an export dimension to almost everything and that not all economics writing has to leave you high and dry.