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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