Description

Book Synopsis
Air bags cause accidents, because well-protected drivers take more risks. This well-documented truth comes as a surprise to most people, but not to economists, who have learned to take seriously the proposition that people respond to incentives.

In The Armchair Economist, Steven E. Landsburg shows how the laws of economics reveal themselves in everyday experience and illuminate the entire range of human behavior. Why does popcorn cost so much at the cinema? The ''obvious'' answer is that the owner has a monopoly, but if that were the whole story, there would also be a monopoly price to use the toilet. When a sudden frost destroys much of the Florida orange crop and prices skyrocket, journalists point to the ''obvious'' exercise of monopoly power. Economists see just the opposite: If growers had monopoly power, they''d have raised prices before the frost.

Why don''t concert promoters raise ticket prices even when they are sure they will sell out months in advance? Why ar

The Armchair Economist

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    A Paperback / softback by Steven E. Landsburg

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      Book details

      Publisher Simon & Schuster Ltd
      Published 10 May 2012
      ISBN-13 9781471101311
      978-1471101311
      ISBN-10 1471101312
      Also in:
      Business, Finance & Law Economics

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Air bags cause accidents, because well-protected drivers take more risks. This well-documented truth comes as a surprise to most people, but not to economists, who have learned to take seriously the proposition that people respond to incentives.

      In The Armchair Economist, Steven E. Landsburg shows how the laws of economics reveal themselves in everyday experience and illuminate the entire range of human behavior. Why does popcorn cost so much at the cinema? The ''obvious'' answer is that the owner has a monopoly, but if that were the whole story, there would also be a monopoly price to use the toilet. When a sudden frost destroys much of the Florida orange crop and prices skyrocket, journalists point to the ''obvious'' exercise of monopoly power. Economists see just the opposite: If growers had monopoly power, they''d have raised prices before the frost.

      Why don''t concert promoters raise ticket prices even when they are sure they will sell out months in advance? Why ar

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