The Economics of Public Issues is a collection of brief, relevant readings that spark independent thinking.

The Economics of Public Issues, 17th Edition Table of Contents Part One: The Foundations of Economic Analysis 1: Death by Bureaucrat (when bureaucratic choices mean life for some people-and death for others) 2: The Economics of Oil Spills (why they happen and who should pay) 3: Supersize It (the economics of obesity) 4: Flying the Friendly Skies? (how safe is commercial air travel? How safe should it be?) 5: The Mystery of Wealth (why some nations are rich and others are poor) Part Two: Supply and Demand 6: Sex, Booze, and Drugs (the unintended-and often harmful-consequences of prohibiting voluntary exchange) 7: Kidneys for Sale (does a market for human organs make sense?) 8: Are We Running Out of Water? (on a planet that's two-thirds water, how can we be running out of the stuff?) 9: The (Dis)incentives of High Taxes (how high taxes illustrate the old adage, "there is no free lunch") 10: Bankrupt Landlords, from Sea to Shining Sea (when governments lower rents, tenants can suffer) Part Three: Labor Markets 11: (Why) Are Women Paid Less? (why are women paid less, while men are working less?) 12: The Effects of the Minimum Wage (how a "living wage" can ruin the lives of minority youngsters) 13: Immigration, Superstars, and Poverty (are the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer?) 14: The Underground World (how informal labor markets are raising wealth around the globe) Part Four: Market Structures 15: Patent Trolls and Seed Monopolies (do patents make us better off?) 16: Contracts, Combinations, and Conspiracies (why the NCAA and OPEC have more in common than four-letter names) 17: Coffee, Tea, or Tuition-Free? (who wins and who loses from price discrimination) 18: Keeping the Competition Out (when the government steps in, the competition steps out) Part Five: Political Economy 19: Health Care Reform (big bucks make bad policy) 20: The Pension Crisis (our promises are coming home to roost) 21: Mortgage Meltdown (how Congress got us into the subprime mortgage mess) 22: Raising Less Corn and More Hell (how your tax dollars end up in farmers' pockets) 23: The Graying of America (America is getting older, and you will foot the bill) Part Six: Property Rights and the Environment 24: Save that Species (saving a species is easy-with a little bit of economics) 25: Greenhouse Economics (the economics of global climate change) 26: Ethanol Madness (environmental policy gone bad) 27: The Trashman Cometh (the costs and benefits of recycling) Part Seven: Globalization and Economic Prosperity 28: Globalization and the Wealth of America (is globalization all bad?) 29: The $750,000 Steelworker (the economic consequences of restricting international trade) 30: The Lion, the Dragon, and the Future (do China, India, and other modernizing nations spell the demise of America?)