The Econosphere

Acknowledgments ... xi About the Author ... xiii Preface ... xv Chapter 1 Born with a Loaf of Bread ... 1 How the World Prospers ... 1 We All Share the Same Goal: Maximize Happiness ... 2 Love and Protect Your Econosphere ... 5 The Marketplace Is Perfect: It Is Information That Is Imperfect ... 6 You Live in the Econosphere ... 10 Can You Be Green About Your Econosphere? ... 11 The Econosphere's Tough Love ... 15 What Happens When We Try to Stop Change? Here's Your (1952) Buick! ... 17 The Protection Racket ... 19 The Kinder, Gentler Econosphere ... 21 Chapter 2 Where Does the Economy Come From? ... 23 What Is a Job, Anyway? ... 25 All Work and No Play Does Not Maximize Utility ... 28 The Econosphere Is Merely and Mundanely the Sum of Its Parts ... 28 Remember When China and India Were Polluting Their Econosphere? ... 31 They Don't Make Big Heavy Chandeliers Like They Used To ... 32 Chapter 3 A Lifetime of Opportunities ... 37 1964: Bundles of Economic Potential and Joy ... 38 Place: The Product of Generations of Economic Incentives ... 39 The Occupation of Infants? Being Cute and Cuddly ... 42 1970: A Little Bit Older, A Little Bit Wiser ... 45 Of Cooties and Other Social Bugaboos ... 47 1980: Charlotte and Milton Sitting in a Tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G ... 50 1982: Milt, Why Weren't You in Class This Morning? ... 51 1998: Charlotte the Yuppie and Milt the Townie ... 53 2000: Tech-Wreck in Bigton; Renovation Boom in Pickleboro ... 56 2002: Home Again ... 58 It's Not Just Candy and Flowers; There Is Math Involved ... 59 Chapter 4 Why's My Piece of the Pie Smaller Than His? The Gift of Inequality ... 63 We're All Utility Maximizers; Just Some Are Better at It Than Others ... 65 It's Not a Zero-Sum Game ... 66 What Are the Sources of Dissimilar Wealth? ... 70 How to Consider Inherited Wealth ... 71 Earned Wealth ... 74 Those Either Not So Hungry or Not So Talented ... 76 Perfect Market, Imperfect Information ... 77 What to Do About Inequality ... 81 If Not Taxes, Then What?

Craig Thomas is a veteran private-sector economist, working today as Senior Economist at one of the largest financial services firms in the United States. Among his previous posts, he served as Director of Research for Citi Property Investors, Citigroup's private equity real estate arm, developing information that drives billions of dollars of investment decisions. Specializing in regional, macro, and real estate economics, he has modeled and analyzed myriad markets and asset classes, presenting his findings worldwide. Unlike most serious economists, he is also a gifted communicator. His economics columns quickly gathered an avid readership of more than 30,000 economists and noneconomists who appreciate his unique ability to explain complex theory in a simple and entertaining way.