[bksvol-discuss] Submission/nonfiction/economics
- From: "Deborah Murray" <blinkeeblink@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:29:38 -0500
Hi all,
I've just submitted for proofing "Taking Economic Seriously" by Dean Baker.
This is a short one--92 pages. It's been read through with errors corrected.
Headers stripped; section titles/page numbers present/protected; text
formatted.
Description:
There is nothing wrong with economics, Dean Baker contends, but economists
routinely ignore their own principles when it comes to economic policy.
What would policy look like if we took basic principles of mainstream
economics seriously and applied them consistently? In the debate over
regulation, for example, Baker-one of the few economists who predicted the
meltdown of fall 2008-points out that ideological blinders have obscured the
fact there is no "free market" to protect. Modern markets are highly
regulated, although intrusive regulations such as copyright and patents are
rarely viewed as regulatory devices. If we admit the extent to which the
economy is and will be regulated, we have many more options in designing
policy and deciding who benefits from it. On health care reform, Baker
complains that economists ignore another basic idea: marginal cost pricing.
Unlike all other industries, medical services are priced extraordinarily
high, far above the cost of production, yet that discrepancy is rarely
addressed in the debate about health care reform. What if we applied
marginal cost pricing-making doctors' wages competitive and charging less
for prescription drugs and tests such as MRIs? Taking Economics
Seriouslyoffers an alternative Econ 101. It introduces economic principles
and thinks through what we might gain if we free ourselves from ideological
blinders and get back to basics in the most troubled parts of our economy.
A Boston Review Book
Deborah
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