From the Publisher: Better Living Through Economics consists of twelve case studies that demonstrate how economic research has improved economic and social conditions over the past half century by influencing public policy decisions. Economists were obviously instrumental in revising the...

In this unique resource, Nobel Prize winners, former presidential advisers, well-respected columnists, academics, and practitioners from across the political spectrum offer innovative policy ideas and insightful commentary on our most pressing economic issues. These essays take a hard look at...

Biographical note: BarroRobert: Robert J. Barro is Professor of Economics, Harvard University, and has written widely on macroeconomic and monetary economics. He is the author of Macroeconomics and the editor of Modern Business Cycle Theory.

Frontmatter -- FOREWORD -- AUTHOR'S PREFACE -- NOTE ON THE CONTENTS OF THE VOLUME -- TABLE OF CONTENTS -- PART I. INTRODUCTION: SOME ORIENTATION ISSUES IN ECONOMICS -- ONE. SCIENCE: A BRIEF EVOLUTIONARY ANALYSIS -- TWO. CONCEPTS, NUMBERS, AND QUALITY -- THREE. SOME OBJECT LESSONS FROM PHYSICS --...

Biographical note: GalbraithJohn Kenneth: John Kenneth Galbraith was Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Harvard University. James Goodman is Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University.

"Among the 'wicked problems' facing policymakers and voters today, the threat of catastrophic climate change, also called global heating, is so challenging that it was labelled as 'super-wicked'. The scientific evidence is clear-cut, and most of the technologies needed to stabilize the global...