Synopses & Reviews
Everything has a price, but it isn't always obvious what that price is. 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 cheap 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 a motivating force 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 price of a vote in corrupt São Tomé and in the ostensibly uncorrupt 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 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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Review
"At a time of seemingly proliferating risks, though, Porter's searching book is a welcome reminder of the necessity of prudent decision making."
-The New York Times Book Review
"Porter offers us a shiny new lens for understanding the relationships around us that we too often fail to see"
-Harvard Business Review
"Thoughtful, detailed, and fascinating..."
-BookPage
"While an elegant and enjoyable read, The Price of Everything is also timely: Porter makes a strong case in the wake of the recession that it's silly for economists and policy makers to assume people act according to rational assessments or even in their own best interest."
-The Associated Press
"...energetic tour of the daily cost-benefit analysis called life."
-Bloomberg News
"...both entertaining and enlightening."
-The Financial Times
"a lively guide through the morass of economic theory... Everything has its price, and here we have a lucid explanation of where that price comes from."
-Blogcritics
"I loved it. Why? Because it's the kind of book that gives you a lot of insight into how to understand pricing things. I found it quite interesting and it'll definitely help you."
-Chris Brogan
"...the accessibility of his prose carries us along. And nothing escapes his gaze."
-Sunday Times
"If ever proof were needed that money does indeed make the world go around, Eduardo Porter provides it in this examination of how and why we ascribe certain, often perplexing values to objects and people"
-Reader's Digest
"Porter's book is an enthralling look at the prices we put, consciously and unconsciously, on everything from a gallon of gas to a spare kidney. Everyone could learn something from this wise and clever book. I did."
- Tim Harford, Financial Times columnist; author of The Undercover Economist
"Everything in the world comes with a price, but what does a price mean and how is it set? This riveting narrative is the best book on these very human and very important questions. There is an interesting nugget on virtually every page."
- Tyler Cowen, coauthor of the Marginal Revolution blog
"A fascinating journey through what we see every day-but do not think about enough. Eduardo Porter makes you think hard about the corporate interests at work behind the veil of prices (and much more). Just because people are willing to pay does not mean that the price is right-in any sense of the word."
- Simon Johnson, coauthor of 13 Bankers; professor of entrepreneurship, MIT Sloan School of Management
"Porter discusses the role of economic value not only in determining the cost of a premium cup of coffee, but also how in much different individuals and society are willing to pay to reduce the likelihood of death from, say, disease or car accidents, and even the economic logic behind who marries whom and bargaining between the sexes in marriage. I highly recommend this book to everyone who would like an often amusing and yet highly insightful discussion of how choices are made, essentially over the whole range of human behavior."
- Gary Becker, economist and Nobel laureate
"Price, an 'unacknowledged legislator' of human behavior, has found its poet in Eduardo Porter. The Price of Everything is a wise, illuminating, and necessary book."
- Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
"Eduardo Porter unlocks the economic puzzles of daily life like a master safe cracker. The Price of Everything is clever, stylish and full of surprising insights. In other words, priceless."
- Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind and Grand Pursuit: A History of Economic Genius
Review
"Porter's book is an enthralling look at the prices we put, consciously and unconsciously, on everything from a gallon of gas to a spare kidney. Everyone could learn something from this wise and clever book. I did."
-Tim Harford, Financial Times, author of The Undercover Economist
"Everything in the world comes with a price, but what does a price mean and how is it set? This riveting narrative is the best book on these very human and very important questions. There is an interesting nugget on virtually every page."
-Tyler Cowen, co-author of the Marginal Revolution blog
"A fascinating journey through what we see every day-but do not think about enough. Eduardo Porter makes you think hard about the corporate interests at work behind the veil of prices (and much more). Just because people are willing to pay does not mean that the price is right-in any sense of the word."
-Simon Johnson, co-author of 13 Bankers and professor of entrepreneurship, MIT Sloan School of Management
Synopsis
An ingeniously thoughtful and provocative look at how people overlook and misunderstand the role prices play in their lives.
The Price of Everything starts with a simple premise: there is a price behind each choice that we make, whether we're deciding to buy a cheeseburger, go to church, or enact health care reform. Eduardo Porter sets out to uncover the hidden logic of price and value that drives all our actions.
The connections he uncovers are unexpected, sometimes shocking, always interesting, and ultimately highly enlightening. For instance, Porter:
a Explains why the most successful religions are the most expensive to join
a Questions whether the life of the old should be worth as much as the life of the young
a Explores why grooms pay for wives in some societies, and while wives pay for grooms in others
a Reveals why putting a price on kidneys would increase donations and save lives
Porter's wide-eyed approach brings new life to his subject, and his broad perspective leads him to draw unexpected connections bridging disparate disciplines and cultures. In this fascinating and elegant narrative, Porter proves just how important prices are, both to our individual lives and the general course of civilization.
Synopsis
Porter sets out to uncover the hidden logic of price and value that drives people's actions. The connections he uncovers are unexpected, sometimes shocking, always interesting, and ultimately highly enlightening.
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About the Author
Eduardo Porter has been on the staff of The New York Times since January 2004, covering economics, and joined the paper’s editorial board in July 2007. He began his journalism career in 1990 as a financial reporter for Notimex, the Mexican news agency, in Mexico City. He was a correspondent in Tokyo (1991-1992) and in London (1992-1996). In 1996, Porter was appointed editor of the Brazilian edition of América Economía, a business and economics magazine based in Sao Paulo. In 2000, he became senior special writer for The Wall Street Journal, based in Los Angeles, covering the Hispanic population in the United States. He is a graduate of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He has an MSc in quantum fields and fundamental forces from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London.