"Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life--from...

The 10th anniversary edition, with new chapters on the crash, Chimerica, and cryptocurrency
"[An] excellent, just in time guide to the history of finance and financial crisis." —The Washington Post

"Fascinating." —Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek

In this updated edition, Niall Ferguson brings his classic financial history of the world up to the present day, tackling...

Our endless consumption is untenable. (And it makes us miserable, too.) Can we reimagine "the good life"? All We Want reveals the origin of consumer culture--from the early ad men who learned to foment desire, to the politicians that promised endless material growth. Then, Michael Harris reveals alternatives to the consumer story: the enduring worlds of Craft, the Sublime, and Care. He has written a personal book that's part meditation and part manifesto....

This book explores how growing a cabbage can fight poverty, how a few dollars can help ten families start their own businesses, and how running errands for a neighbor can help you learn to become a bike mechanic. It asks the question "What if you could meet all your consumer needs while, at the same time, get to know your neighbors and protect the environment?"

An agenda-shaping look at the human costs of financial crisis-the culmination of ten years' work by two pioneering researchers. Politicians have talked endlessly about the seismic economic and social impact of the Great Recession, but many continue to ignore its disastrous effects on human health and have even exacerbated them by adopting harsh austerity measures and cutting key social programs at a time when citizens need them most. The result,...

Why We Need the Commons. A huge part of the economy is invisible, invaluable, and under siege. This is 'the commons,' a term that denotes everything we share. Some parts of the commons are gifts of nature: the air and oceans, the web of species, wilderness, and watersheds. Others are the product of human creativity and endeavor: sidewalks and public spaces, the Internet, our languages, cultures, and technologies. Jonathan Rowe illuminates the scale...

Uses illustrations and real-life examples to explain economics concepts and theories, and features review quizzes at the end of each chapter.