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Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do
Portfolio Penguin
January 2011
On Sale: January 4, 2011
304 pages
ISBN: 1591843626
EAN: 9781591843627
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
Many of the prices we pay seem to make little sense. We
shell out $2.29 for a coffee at Starbucks when a nearly
identical brew can be had at the corner deli for less than a
dollar. We may be less willing to give blood for $25 than to
donate it for free. Americans hire the cheap labor of
illegal immigrants to fix the roof or mow the lawn and vote
for politicians who promise to spend billions to keep them
out of the country. And citizens of the industrialized West
pay hundreds of dollars a year in taxes or cash for someone
to cart away trash that would be a valuable commodity in
poorer parts of the world. The Price of Everything 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 uncovers the true story behind the prices we
pay and reveals what those prices are actually telling us.
He 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. His unique approach helps explain * Why polygamous societies actually place a higher value on
women than monogamous ones * Why someone may find more value in a $14 million license
plate than in the standard-issue $95 one * Why some government agencies believe one year of life for
a senior citizen is four times more valuable than that of a
younger person. Porter weaves together the constant-and often
unconscious-cost and value assessments we all make every
day. While exploring the fascinating 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. The result is a
cogent and insightful narrative about how the world really
works.
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