The New Economics of Human Behaviour

Book Overview

This 1995 volume views important social and political issues through the eyes of economists. Pioneered by Gary Becker, this approach asserts that all actions, whether working, playing, dating, or mating, have economic motivations and consequences, and can be analysed using economic reasoning. Intended as an introduction to the current state of the field, the essays are informal and non-technical, while still using up-to-date economic reasoning to illuminate such topics as crime, marriage, discrimination, immigration, fads and fashions. The expanding domain of economics is illustrated, as problems from sociology, political science, anthropology, and public policy are all included in this Beckerian view: the world of human interaction, as seen by an economist.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521479495
• ISBN13: 9780521479493
• Release Date: August 1995
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Great Demonstration of the Power of Economics

This tribute to the work of Gary Becker by his students is a great example of how economics can be used to explain areas of social and human behavior outside the traditional purview of substantive economics. I use this book in my introductory political economy class, and although the chapters are sometimes difficult to read, this has become one of my students favorite books.