The Economics of Public Issues 20th Edition by Roger Miller, ISBN-13: 978-0134531984

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The Economics of Public Issues 20th Edition by Roger Miller, ISBN-13: 978-0134531984

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• Publisher: ‎ Pearson; 20th edition (July 11, 2017)
• Language: ‎ English
• 272 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 0134531981
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0134531984

For principles of economics, public policy, and social issues courses.

Brief, relevant readings that spark independent thinking and classroom discussions.

The Economics of Public Issues is a collection of brief, relevant readings that spark independent thinking and discussion in principles of economics and social issues. The 20th Edition encourages readers to apply theoretical discussions to today’s important issues to gain a deeper understanding of current microeconomic policy concerns.

Spark independent thinking and classroom discussion

• Readings are concise, allowing for easy integration into any principles of economics or issues-based classroom.
• A correlation guide in the preface illustrates how to integrate topics into different courses.
• Conversational and informative non-technical writing is geared toward principles-level students and does not require advanced math.
• Using the latest debates in social policy, the authors encourage readers to question their own assumptions and the analysis offered by the media and politicians on key issues.
• End-of-chapter questions offer students the opportunity to test their knowledge and review chapter concepts.

Table of Contents:

Contents

Suggestions for Use

Preface

New to This Edition

Chapters That Have Undergone Major Revisions

End-of-Chapter Questions

Selected Readings

Glossary

Instructor’s Manual

Special Thanks and Acknowledgments

Part One The Foundations of Economic Analysis

Chapter 1 Death by Bureaucrat

A Brief History of the FDA

The Impact of the 1962 Amendments

Terrible Trade-Off

The User Fee Revolution

Lessons from the FDA Story

Discussion Questions

Chapter 2 Innovation

Invention to Innovation to Widespread Use—Not Always Fast

Research and Development and Your Standard of Living

Innovation and Growth

Incentives and Innovation

The Importance of Patents

Is There a Market?

Who Gets the Profits?

Have All the Easy Inventions Been Discovered?

What Does the Future Hold?

Discussion Questions

Chapter 3 Flying the Friendly Skies?

The Economics of Safety

How Safe Is Safe Enough?

The Importance of Circumstances

Does the Government Know Best?

Do Consumers Know Best?

What About Terrorism?

Discussion Questions

Chapter 4 The Mystery of Wealth

The Importance of Legal Systems

The Economic Impact of Institutions

The Origins of Institutions

Institutional Change Today

Discussion Questions

Chapter 5 The Economics of Exclusion

Common Property

Access: Open or Closed?

The Problem with Open Access

Surf Gangs

The Benefits of Closed Access

Lobster Gangs

The Gangs and the Monument

No Pain, No Gain

Discussion Questions

Part Two Supply and Demand

Chapter 6 Sex, Booze, and Drugs

Supply-Side Enforcement

Violence Emerges

Usage Changes

Information Costs Rise

Dangerous Sex

Deadly Drugs and Bad Booze

Information and the Internet

Success Is Limited

Discussion Questions

Chapter 7 The Economics of Obesity

How Did We Get Here?

Can’t We Blame Our Sedentary Lifestyles?

It’s All About Calories

Cheap Food + Law of Demand = Weight Gain

The (Full) Price Matters

Menu Mandates—A Solution for Supersizing?

The Role of Smoking

Discussion Questions

Chapter 8 Kidneys for Sale

An Overview of Organ Transplants

The Case of Kidneys

The Case of Iran

The Fear of Involuntary Donations

The Costs and Benefits of Paying for Organs

Exploitation of the Disadvantaged?

Who Is Really Being Callous?

Discussion Questions

Chapter 9 Are We Running Out of Water?

The Ultimate Renewable Resource

Water, Water Everywhere

Discussion Questions

Chapter 10 Bankrupt Landlords, from Sea to Shining Sea

A Brief History of Rent Controls

The Adverse Effects of Rent Controls

Efforts to Evade Controls

Bureaucracies Flourish

The Losers from Rent Controls

Damage Around the World

Discussion Questions

Part Three Labor Markets

Chapter 11 Das Kapital in the Twenty-First Century

The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Poorer?

The Ebb and Flow of Inequality

Income Inequality Is Rising

Income Mobility

Mis-Measurement

Is Economic Equality Important?

The Sources of Inequality

Discussion Questions

Chapter 12 (Why) Are Women Paid Less?

Is It Discrimination?

The Importance of Children

Occupational Selection

Hours of Work

Dental Discrimination?

Discussion Questions

Chapter 13 The Effects of the Minimum Wage

Background

Does Low-Wage Mean Low-Income?

Recent Evidence

The Big Losers

Fight for $15

Nothing Is Easy

Discussion Questions

Chapter 14 The (Dis)incentives of Higher Taxes

The Luxury Tax

Static Versus Dynamic Analysis

Income Taxes and Labor Supply

The Evidence Is Clear

Incentives Apply to Everyone

A Lesson from Ireland

Discussion Questions

Part Four Market Structures

Chapter 15 The Platform Economy

Platforms and Two-Sided Markets

How Online Platform Firms Become Dominant

How Fringe Online Platform Firms Can Compete

Network Effects and Social Media

Network Effects and Online Auctions Services

Network Effects and Online Dating Services

Big Ideas, Big Platforms, Big Bucks

The Platform Economy Just Keeps Growing

Discussion Questions

Chapter 16 Contracts, Combinations, and Conspiracies

The Oil Cartel

The Diamond Cartel

The Caviar Cartel

The College Sports Cartel

Discussion Questions

Chapter 17 Coffee, Tea, or Tuition-Free?

The Basics of Price Discrimination

Price Discrimination by Airlines

Yield Management in Action

Price Discrimination by Colleges

Price Discrimination by Drug Companies

Discussion Questions

Chapter 18 Keeping the Competition Out

Taxicab Medallions

How It Works

Occupational Licensing

Some Hairy Competition

Governments Don’t Like Competition Either

Competition Uber All?

Discussion Questions

Part Five Political Economy

Chapter 19 Health Insurance for All . . . Or Maybe Not

Insurance Coverage

The Failure of the Mandate

You’re Sick But Have No Health Insurance—Not to Worry

The Hazards of Pre-existing Conditions

Many Hospitals Have Hit the Jackpot

The Continuation of a Two-Tier Healthcare System

The Impact on the Previously Insured

The Rise of the 49ers

The Bottom Line

Discussion Questions

Chapter 20 The Deception of Green Energy

Great Goals, But Not Much Science or Economics

A Problem with the Concept of Needs

Green Energy Deception #1—Wind Power

Green Energy Deception #2—Solar Power

What About the Environment?

Industrial Policy by Any Other Name

Green Energy Deception #3—Electric Cars

Policy and Politics

Discussion Questions

Chapter 21 The Fight over Genetically Modified Foods

The Early History of GMOs

The New GMOs

The Threat from GMOs

How Likely Is the Danger?

The GMO-Free Premium

A Question of Property Rights

The Green Revolution

Around the World

The Environmental Benefits of GMOs

Promise and Caution

Discussion Questions

Chapter 22 Student Loans

Why Go to College in the First Place?

It’s Not for Everyone

Does the High Cost of College Lead to More Student Loans, or Is It the Other Way Around?

The Relationship Between Taking on Student Loans and Your GPA

Student Debt Causes Other Demands for Credit to Fall

When Student Loans Aren’t Repaid, Who Pays?

Student Loan Forgiveness—Who Benefits?

Are Student Loans Different?

Discussion Questions

Chapter 23 The Graying of America

The Origins of the “Senior Boom”

The Costs of the Elderly

The Costs Are Paid by You

Political Economy in Action

The Future Path

Discussion Questions

Chapter 24 For Whom the Roads Are Tolled

The Costs of Driving

The Benefits of Less Congestion

Why Not Tolls?

Getting It Wrong . . .

. . . or Right

The Politics of Pricing

Alternatives to Tolls

The Long-Run Solution

Discussion Questions

Part Six Property Rights and the Environment

Chapter 25 What to Do About the Climate?

CO2 and Climate

Should We Worry?

Mitigating Climate Change

The Problem with Mitigation

Adapting to Climate Change

The Take Away

Discussion Questions

Chapter 26 Save That Species

Fishery Collapse Is Widespread

The Failure of Command and Control

Catch Share Systems

The Power of Incentives

TURFs Work Too

Can We Save the Whales, Too?

Serve the Bison

Discussion Questions

Chapter 27 Ethanol Madness

Ethanol Mandates and Subsidies

The Supposed Virtues of Ethanol

The Political Economy of Environmental Policy

Ethanol Winners and Losers

Discussion Questions

Chapter 28 The Death of Recycling

The Mobro 4000

Are We Running Out of Space?

How Hazardous Is Trash?

Recycling and Resources

Recycling Mandates

Recycling and the Environment

Recycling Is as Old as Trash Itself

The Problem

The Reports are Exaggerated

Discussion Questions

Part Seven Globalization and Economic Prosperity

Chapter 29 The Economics of the Big Mac

Some Are Poor, Some Are Rich, and Many Are in Between

Foreign Exchange Rates

Problems with Using Market Exchange Rates

Purchasing Power Parity—A Solution?

Big Mac to the Rescue

McWages, Real Wages, and Well-Being

Trends in Productivity

Discussion Questions

Chapter 30 Globalization and the Wealth of America

Gains from Trade

Globalization and the Opposition to It

Beggar-Thy-Neighbor

The Trump Promise

Dumping

Labor and Environmental Standards

The Political Economy of Trade Barriers

Discussion Questions

Chapter 31 The $750,000 Steelworker

The Nature of Trade

Protection for Automobiles

Protection for Other Industries

Total Employment Falls

The Impossibility of Real Protection

Discussion Questions

Glossary

Selected References

Index

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