Readings in Applied Microeconomics: The Power of the Market

Edited by me. Forthcoming, but available for Fall '09 courses. Or if you don't want to adopt it, buy a dozen or two to give as gifts. (Or use it as a doorstop; as I understand my contract, I'll be paid the same.)

$64.95 in paperback from the publisher or Amazon.

Includes some classics: Hayek's "The Use of Knowledge"; "I, Pencil"; two seminal articles by Demsetz; Klein and Leffler. Includes some underappreciated work: two chapters from Maurice and Smithson's The Doomsday Myth; Baumol's 1980 piece on incentives and economic growth; David Hemenway's history of the New York City ice cartel (and its failure). And includes some very cool more recent writing: Steven Horwitz's fine essay on who helped most after Katrina; John Lott on how radio solved its seemingly intractable public good problem; and Ronald Bailey on increasing returns.

A summary, the table of contents, and the preface are here (.pdf file).

Note: the book has nothing about our current financial problems. Those and some other alleged market problems--unsustainability, anti-community, systematic irrationality--will be addressed in the sequel, if there is one.

Comments

[pj]

Congrats! Hope it sells well.

[JorgXMcKie]

Well, I don't teach micro (or any other econ course), but perhaps in gratitude for the blog (or just to suckup) I'll purchase a copy. It does sound interesting.

[Michael Greenspan]

Many congratulations. I especially look forward to the chapter on Steppenwolf.

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

Looks like a lot good stuff in it. I'm looking forward to:

PRICE AND SELLER CONCENTRATION IN CEMENT: EFFECTIVE OLIGOPOLY OR MISSPECIFIED TRANSPORTATION COST?

[Phil]

Congratulations, Craig! May it hit the NY Times Bestseller list!