Explorations in Pragmatic Economics [Paperback]

For twenty years since the publication of his seminal paper The Market for 'Lemons' , George A. Akerlof's work has changed the way we see economics. This collection of Akerlof's most important papers provide both an introduction to Akerlof's work and a grounding in modern economics. Divided into two broad areas, micro- and macroeconomics, they cover the economics of information; the theory of unemployment; macroeconomic equilibria; the demand for money; psychology and economics; and the nature of discrimination and other social issues. Akerlof's substantial introduction to this volume tells the story of these papers, connecting them and showing how his later work has built upon his early contributions, in many cases improving their arguments, their subtlety, and their usefulness today.

Introduction
Part 1: Microeconomics
1. The Market for Lemons : Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism,George A. Akerlof
2. The Economics of Caste and of the Rate Race and Other Woeful Tales,George A. Akerlof
3. Discriminatory, Status-based Wages among Tradition-oriented, Stochastically Trading Coconut Producers,George A. Akerlof
4. Economics and Identity,George A. Akerlof and Rachel E. Kranton
5. The Economics of Tagging as Applied to the Optimal Income Tax, Welfare Programs, and Manpower Planning,George A. Akerlof
6. An Analysis of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in the United States,George A. Akerlof, Janet L. Yellen, and Michael L. Katz
7. Men Without Children,George A. Akerlof
8. The Economic Consequences of Cognitive Dissonance,George A. Akerlof and William T. Dickens
9. The Economics of Illusion,George A. Akerlof
10. Procrastination and Obedience,George A. Akerlof
11. Looting: The Economic Underworld of Bankruptcy for Profit,George A. Akerlof and Paul M. Romer
Part 2: Macroeconomics
12. RelativlÃS