The Economics of Life: From Baseball to Affirmative Action to Immigration, How Real-World Issues Affect Our Everyday Life

From economics Nobel Laureate Gary Becker and historian Guity Nashat Becker comes this collection of the economist's popular BusinessWeek columns. These 138 essays have fueled numerous debates, touching on hot-button issues from crime to organization of sports. The Beckers' surprising--and uncompromising--positions on drugs ("legalize them"), immigration ("auction off immigration slots"), welfare ("curtail it sharply"), and other topics provide a provocative commentary on our times.

Gary S. Becker won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1992 for his theory of "economic reasoning." Professor of Economics and Sociology at the University of Chicago, Becker writes a monthly column for Business Week, is a frequent editorialist for The Wall Street Journal, and is a regular guest on such television programs as The McNeil-Lehrer Report and Adam SmithÕs Money World. Guity Nashat Becker is Associate Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Fellow of the Hoover Institution, and a graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism. She has written several books and appeared on many TV and radio programs. The Beckers live in Chicago.

From the Ivory Tower of Columnist.Regulation and Privatization.Labor Markets and Immigration.Human Capital and Schools.Families.Discrimination.Crime and Addictions.Antitrust and Cartels.Special Interest and Politics.Government Taxes.Capitalism and Other Economic Systems.International Trade and International Agreements.Stock Market and Recessions.Economists.