| |
| |
| Preface | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Foundations of Economic Analysis | |
| |
| |
| |
| Death by Bureaucrat (when bureaucratic choices mean life for some people-and death for others) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Ethanol Madness (how one government policy illustrates the nature of all government policy) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Flying the Friendly Skies? (how safe is commercial air travel? How safe should it be?) | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Mystery of Wealth (why some nations are rich and others are poor) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Supply and Demand | |
| |
| |
| |
| Sex, Booze, and Drugs (the unintended and often harmful consequences of prohibiting voluntary exchange) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Kidneys for Sale (does a market for human organs make sense?) | |
| |
| |
| |
| When High Prices Are Low Prices (why "record high prices" are often much lower than they seem) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Are We Running Out of Water? (on a planet that's two-thirds water, how can we be running out of the stuff?) | |
| |
| |
| |
| The (Dis)incentives of Higher Taxes (how high taxes illustrate the old adage that "there is no free lunch") | |
| |
| |
| |
| Bankrupt Landlords, from Sea to Shining Sea (when governments lower rents, tenants can suffer) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Labor Markets | |
| |
| |
| |
| (Why) Are Women Paid Less? (why are women paid less while men are working less?) | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Effects of the Minimum Wage (how a "living wage" can ruin the lives of minority youngsters) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Immigration, Superstars, and Poverty (are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer-and if not, why does it look that way?) | |
| |
| |
| |
| A Farewell to Jobs (why efforts to "save jobs" make us all poorer) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Market Structures | |
| |
| |
| |
| Big Oil, Big Oil Prices? (does ExxonMobil really decide how much we pay at the pump?) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Contracts, Combinations, and Conspiracies (why the NCAA and OPEC have more than four-letter names in common) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Coffee, Tea, or Tuition-Free? (who wins and who loses from price discrimination) | |
| |
| |
| |
| College Costs (...and Costs and Costs) (college costs have tripled, but the quality of the product hasn't; what's going on?) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Keeping the Competition Out (when the government steps in, the competition steps out) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Political Economy | |
| |
| |
| |
| Mortgage Meltdown (how Congress got us into the mortgage market mess) | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Political Economy of Collapsing Bridges (when shortsighted political decisions lead to long-term troubles) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Is Your Bank Manager Headed to Vegas with Your Money? (how deposit insurance encourages risky behavior by commercial banks) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Raising Less Corn and More Hell (how your tax dollars end up in farmers' pockets) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Crime and Punishment (incentives matter-especially to criminals) | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Graying of America (America is getting older, and you will foot the bill) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Property Rights and the Environment | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Trashman Cometh (the costs and benefits of recycling) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Bye-Bye, Bison (why some species are endangered and others aren't) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Smog Merchants (how markets can reduce pollution) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Greenhouse Economics (the economics of global climate change) | |
| |
| |
| |
| Globalization and Economic Prosperity | |
| |
| |
| |
| Globalization and the Wealth of America (is globalization all bad?) | |
| |
| |
| |
| The $750,000 Steelworker (the economic consequences of restricting international trade) | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Lion, the Dragon, and the Future (do China, India, and other modernizing nations herald the demise of America?) | |
| |
| |
| Glossary | |
| |
| |
| Selected References | |
| |
| |
| Index | |