For every taste and budget, a paperback

Paper Money, by Adam Smith. New York: Dell Books. 399 pp. $3.95.

Economics a dismal science in the hands of this latter-day Adam Smith? Not on your money! The title of his latest book is somewhat deceptive, though, for ''Paper Money'' deals extensively with the housing market as an inflation hedge, the OPEC cartel (or club, as he calls it), the energy crisis linked with the foregoing item, and the stock market.It does not deal overmuch with concerns of hard money vs. soft, but rather with how, in practical terms, money is being understood and used today. The book is fun to read, but probably somewhat overrated.