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The price of everything : solving the mystery of why we pay what we do / Eduardo Porter.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : Portfolio Penguin, 2011.Description: viii, 296 p. : 24 cmISBN:
  • 9780434019786
  • 9780434019786
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 338.5/21 22
LOC classification:
  • HG223 POR 2011
Online resources:
Contents:
The price of things -- The price of life -- The price of happiness -- The price of women -- The price of work -- The price of free -- The price of culture -- The price of faith -- The price of the future.
Summary: This book starts with a simple premise: there is a price behind each choice that we make, whether we're deciding to have a baby, drive a car, or buy a book. We often fail to appreciate just how critical prices are as motivating forces shaping our lives, but their power becomes clear when distorted prices steer our decisions the wrong way. Eduardo Porter takes us on a global economic adventure, from comparing the relative prices of a vote in corrupt São Tomé and in the ostensibly aboveboard United States to assessing the cost of happiness in Bhutan to deducing the dollar value we assign to human life. He weaves together the constant--and often unconscious--cost and value assessments we all make every day. While exploring the story behind the price of everything from marriage and death to mattresses and horsemeat, Porter draws unexpected connections that bridge a wide range of disciplines and cultures.--From publisher description.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Barcode
Books in General collection Books in General collection Mzuni ODeL- Balaka Satellite Centre Library General Stacks HG 223 POR 2011 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 030639 Available mZulm-030639

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The price of things -- The price of life -- The price of happiness -- The price of women -- The price of work -- The price of free -- The price of culture -- The price of faith -- The price of the future.

This book starts with a simple premise: there is a price behind each choice that we make, whether we're deciding to have a baby, drive a car, or buy a book. We often fail to appreciate just how critical prices are as motivating forces shaping our lives, but their power becomes clear when distorted prices steer our decisions the wrong way. Eduardo Porter takes us on a global economic adventure, from comparing the relative prices of a vote in corrupt São Tomé and in the ostensibly aboveboard United States to assessing the cost of happiness in Bhutan to deducing the dollar value we assign to human life. He weaves together the constant--and often unconscious--cost and value assessments we all make every day. While exploring the story behind the price of everything from marriage and death to mattresses and horsemeat, Porter draws unexpected connections that bridge a wide range of disciplines and cultures.--From publisher description.

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