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Klappentext What do sex, contraceptives, marriage, divorce, alcohol, religion, politics, crime, and punishment have in common with inflation, monopoly, and exchange rates? The answer given in this book is that the formers are all aspects of human behavior, which, like the latter, can be analyzed and modeled using conventional economic methods. The application of economic reasoning to human behavior, which was until recently considered to be beyond the scope of economic analysis, was pioneered by Gary Becker, the 1992 Nobel Laureate in Economics. Becker's excursions into sociology, anthropology, and political science led him to think about issues such as marriage, religion, and crime in an entirely new way, and eventually to assert that all actions, whether working, playing, dating, or mating, have economic motivations and consequences. This book is an accessible introduction to Becker's work and ideas. It explains to students the ways in which the standard tools of economics can be used to understand a wide range of human activities, and in doing so, offer provocative insights into a wide range of social issues. Zusammenfassung The essays in this 1995 volume address Beckerian theory! asserting that all social and political activity is motivated by economic interests and affected by economic consequences. Rational choice theory! applying economic reasoning! expands the domain of economics to the whole spectrum of human interaction. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction Kathryn Ierulli, Edward L. Glaeser and Mariano Tommasi; Part I. Discrimination and Immigration: 1. The economics of discrimination: a primer Barry R. Chiswick; 2. The economic analysis of immigration George J. Borjas; Part II. Crime, Punishment and Rights: 3. Rational criminals and profit maximising police: the economic analysis of law enforcemen David Friedman; 4. Property rights in children James S. Coleman; Part III. All in the Family: 5. Human capital, fertility and economic growth Robert Tamura; 6. Marriage market models Shoshana Grossbard-Shechtman; 7. The marriage premium Kermit Daniel; Part IV. Government and Politics: 8. The process of government Edgardo Enrique Zablotsky; 9. The economic approach to democracy John G. Matsusaka; Part V. Health, Religion and Mass Behaviour: 10. The economic approach to addictive behavior Michael Grossman; 11. Household production, human capital, and the economics of religion Laurence R. Iannaccone; 12. The blind leading the blind: social influences, fads, and informational cascades David Hirshleifer; 13. Public health and economic epidemiology Tomas Philipson....
