The Economics of Life: From Baseball to Affirmative Action to Immigration, how Real-world Issues Affect Our Everyday LifeIn The Economics of Life, Gary Becker and historian Guity Nashat Becker have collected the best of the economist's popular work from Business Week (where he is a monthly columnist). These thought-provoking essays show us where we have been and where, for better or worse, we are headed. Many of them aroused heated debate upon their original publication, and they will no doubt do so again. Extending well beyond the traditional range of economics, these 138 essays crisply address the changing role of women in modern economies, crime, immigration, drugs, marriage contracts, the effects of the stock market collapse in 1987, whether the Japanese stock market has been rigged, the organization of major league baseball and other sports, communism, competition between religions, the "Swedish way", discrimination against minorities. Supreme Court decisions, government spending, addictions, and many other topics. Although the Beckers emphasize analysis, they do not shy away from advocating controversial changes in public policy and personal behavior. Among their provocative recommendations: legalizing drugs, selling the rights to immigrate, privatizing social security, enforcing marriage contracts more fully, curtailing welfare sharply, limiting the terms of Supreme Court justices and other federal judges, taxing drunk driving and other heavy drinking, and reforming health care to preserve free choice and competition. |
Contents
REGULATION AND PRIVATIZATION | 13 |
PRIVATIZATION | 30 |
LABOR MARKETS AND IMMIGRATION | 35 |
Copyright | |
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affirmative action American antitrust athletes average banks believe benefits better blacks capita income Chicago companies compete competition Congress cost countries Court crime criminals decades decline discrimination divorce drugs earnings economic economists effect elderly employees employment encourage example families federal golden parachutes greatly greenhouse effect groups growth harm high school higher Hispanics Hong Kong human capital illegal immigrants important incentives increase industrial interest investments Japan Japanese Korea labor force legislation less loans major ment million nations NCAA nomic past policies political poor pressure private schools production programs proposals public schools punishment quotas raise rates recent reduce reform regulations revenue skills Social Security South Korea Soviet Soviet Union spending subsidies Sweden Taiwan taxpayers tion trade tuition U.S. Supreme Court unem Union vouchers wages welfare white-collar crime women young