Very Well Written. As a huge Taylor swift fan, I immediately wanted to read this, and it gave me a different perspective of her. I was not expecting this type of book but upon reading it, I found out i wasnt aware of what she was actually doing to the world around us. Such a great book!

I will take any opportunity to talk about the pure magic and genius that is Taylor Swift, but having a literal report of the economic impact that she has created just shows what a powerhouse she really is.

I was lucky enough to attend The Eras Tour in 2024, and I saw firsthand the effects of the tour on New Orleans, LA - it was legitimately a different city that week! Small businesses were thriving, the streets were clean, the city was safe, and it was one of my favorite experiences.

Overall, this book is so well written and thought out, and I really enjoyed reading it!

Note: I understand that it's far too late for this comment, but "Swiftie" is always spelled with an ie, and not a y.

Thank you to the author and University of California Press for my advance digital copy!

A brilliant and beautifully written book about the profound impact of female mega talents like Taylor Swift on the economy. Women, own your economic power like Taylor, and your life will be immeasurably better!

I differ from other readers whose reviews I have seen in that I am not a fan of Taylor Swift and am not taken in by the power of her celebrity or in awe of her in that way. Yet, I found this book to be an incisive and interesting look at the socioeconomic and political history of women in work. In this book Heggeness uses Taylor Swift as a lens through which we can analyse and better understand how the role of women in the American workforce has transformed over time and how economic independence is just as fundamental a right to actively bolster and support in the fight for women's rights as reproductive rights, right to political participation, and the right to education are. I especially appreciate that the author doesn't shy away from discussing race, sexuality, invisible labour, caregiving and the current attack on initiatives such as diversity and equity. As a result of the choice to include these topics, Heggeness provides a rich and nuanced view of how we define and understand the role of women in the economy and challenges the way that we are taught to seek and interpret data about the circumstances of societies at large by walking the reader through the ways that certain kinds of data are prioritised whilst other more inconvenient data is either ignored or not even recorded.

Swiftynomics was a smart, empowering, and surprisingly fun read that made economics feel fresh and deeply relevant. The author blended pop culture, feminism, and data with wit and insight, showing how women, both megastars like Taylor Swift and everyday people, drive the economy in powerful ways. I loved how engaging and accessible it was while still delivering sharp analysis and real takeaways. It made me see both pop culture and economics through a new lens.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the University of California Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

An enchanting read about the money side of Taylor Swift. It was interesting to read about the economic impact by her, especially with the Eras Tour and how she boosted the economic of cities.

“Swiftynomics” is a look at the macro and microeconomics impact of women in the world. This book is primarily concerned with women and labor, consumer choices by women, and the broader cultural impact of women as active participants in modern day capitalism. With this in mind, I found the title and framing of this book both confusing and a little strange.

The content of this book seems to have some interesting things to say about the intersections of gender and economics. However, I found that it was obscured by the often times awkward shoehorning of Taylor Swift into each chapter and paragraph. I found it very distracting to have subheadings that were all titles of Taylor Swift songs when the arguments of those sections often had nothing to do with the song’s subject matter. I found myself getting bogged down in wondering why the author chose to title each section and what the connections might be to Swift’s hyper intentional lyrical choices.

Each chapter does try to explicitly tie in some aspect of Swift’s life or career with the themes it’s exploring, but the connections were flimsy at best.

I was really looking forward to this book, as I’m both a swiftie and a behavioral economics nerd. If this book had been presented as quite simply a look at gender and economics in the 21st century and had ONE chapter that focused on Taylor Swift, that would have landed much better than what it is currently doing.

I also want to note that the title of this book is especially misleading and confusing — since the Eras Tour, the Swift effect is a known phenomenon used to describe the economic impact of Taylor Swift on countries and cities her tour visited. My thought initially was that this was going to be a book that focused solely on the economic impact of Taylor Swift or the economic power of swifties. While this book speaks to that briefly, the scope is much larger.

The research and writing in this book are clearly done with care and rigor. And I don’t object to the quality of the writing! I wish this book had been marketed differently and had tried less to shoehorn Swift into every single idea.

A fascinating deep-dive into women’s participation in the economy, structured around how Taylor Swift (and the Eras tour, her re-records and purchase of her masters, and everything else surrounding her) demonstrates it.

If you’re a fan, you’ll appreciate the references (each section begins with a lyric or quote). If you’re not a fan, don’t worry— this book uses Taylor as a starting point, but covers everything from other musical artists to actual economists.

(I got this ARC through NetGalley)