Have you ever wondered the followings?
(1)
Sales
increase even though the endorsement of a celebrity appears to convey NO
information about the quality of a product (p.14).
(2)
Some
concerts predictably sell out weeks in advance, and would still sell out even
if the promoters raised ticket prices, but the prices AREN’T raised (p.13).
(3)
Much
primitive agriculture and even in parts of the Third World
today shares a strange common feature. There are very few large plots of land;
instead, each farmer owns several SMALL plots SCATTERED around the village (p.16
– 17).
(4)
People
give each other store-bought gifts but NOT cash or gift voucher, which is never
the wrong size or color (p.18-19).
(5)
Many
firms provide their employees with more health coverage than is required by
law, say $5000 worth of medical insurance. But NOT giving employee an extra $5000 in wages and let them spend it as
they want (p.23).
(6)
The
demand for beef is far greater than the demand for shark fin, but cattle are
NOT threatened with extinction (p.81).
(7)
Once
you enter the theater, the owner has a monopoly on popcorn, soft drinks and
rest rooms. Popcorn and soft drinks are
usually charged higher in the theater whereas rest rooms are FREE of charge
(p.159 – 167).
(8)
Government officials told you that the number of driver deaths
would be lowered by mandating
the use of seat belts. However, the economists predicted that once the
regulation went into effect, the number of auto accidents INCREASED (p.3 - 4).
The
human behviours mentioned above seem to be irrational. Some even appear to
violate the economics theories that we learn in high school. But are they? How
does the author reconcile or explain these phenomena? If you are interested in
the way he explores and explains these phenomena, there is another book, More sex is a safer sex, that I mentioned in this blog “008.
Are you ready for this?” You are welcome to read this too.
Landsburg,
Steven E. (2009). The Armchair Economist:
Economics and Everyday life. London
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