Steven Landsburg Bücher

Witty economists are about as easy to find as anorexic mezzo-sopranos, natty mujahedeen, and cheerful Philadelphians. But Steven E. Landsburg...is one economist who fits the bill. In a wide-ranging, easily digested, unbelievably contrarian survey of everything from why popcorn at movie houses costs so much to why recycling may actually reduce the number of trees on the planet, the University of Rochester professor valiantly turns the discussion of vexing economic questions into an activity that ordinary people might enjoy. -- Joe Queenan, The Wall Street Journal The Armchair Economist is a wonderful little book, written by someone for whom English is a first (and beloved) language, and it contains not a single graph or equation...Landsburg presents fascinating concepts in a form easily accessible to noneconomists. -- Erik M. Jensen, The Cleveland Plain Dealer ...enormous fun from its opening page...Landsburg has done something extraordinary: He has expounded basic economic principles with wit and verve. -- Dan Seligman, Fortune

In the wake of his enormously popular books "The Armchair Economist "and "More Sex Is Safer Sex," Slate columnist and economics professor Steven Landsburg employs concepts from mathematics, economics, and physics in this sprightly tour of the deepest problems in philosophy: What is real? What can we know? Why is there something instead of nothing? And how should we live?Beginning with the broadest philosophical issues--theories of existence, knowledge, and ethics--Landsburg then turns to a dazzling variety of specific applications. He gives us a mathematical analysis for arguments for the existence of God; explains the real meanings of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and Godel's incompleteness theorem; and carefully dissects the meaning of social responsibility on the playground, in the marketplace, and in the voting booth. Stimulating, illuminating, and always surprising, "The Big Questions "reveals the relationship between the loftiest philosophical quests and our everyday lives.

In the tradition of Freakonomics, the author of The Armchair Economist presents a series of stunning arguments that turn everyday life on its head.

A witty and razor-sharp look at the many ways our individually rational decisions can combine into some truly weird collective results—and some hilarious and serious ways to fix just about everything. Economics is no longer the “dismal science” dreaded by college freshmen. In recent years, a band of economists has broken away from the charts and graphs of college textbooks, and begun to explain ordinary behavior in plain and often entertaining English. Steve Landsburg was one of the first of the new breed, in his book <i>The Armchair Economist </i>and long-running “Everyday Economics” column in Slate magazine. Now he is back, and more provocative than ever. In <i>More Sex Is Safer Sex</i>, Landsburg shows how the rational behavior of each one of us—when combined together—produces the often bizarre, seemingly irrational behavior of crowds. We all stand up at the ballpark, so none of us can see. We avoid casual sex, from fear of disease, and we thereby make sex more dangerous. Things really get interesting when Landsburg suggests ways to change the rules, and game the system. Why not charge juries if a convicted felon is exonerated? Why not have each member of Congress represent a national subset of voters, chosen alphabetically? Why not solve the “overpopulation” problem by having more children, who will help think of ways to improve our use of resources? <i>More Sex Is Safer Sex</i> will make you laugh and argue—and it will make you think about the world around you in new and unforgettable ways.

Intermediate microeconomics is both fun and intellectually challenging in this new edition, written by the author of The Armchair Economist, the popular trade book that explains basic economics to the general public. The text provides an exceptionally friendly and application-rich presentation, combined with a rigorous and careful development of microeconomic theory. All of the standard topics of intermediate price theory are included, as well as innovative topics such as alternative normative criteria, efficient asset markets, contestable markets, antitrust law, human capital, and the demand for public goods. A unique unifying theme of social welfare is used with little higher-level mathematics.