Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Economics of Context 1
Chapter 2: The Federal Reserve, Congress, and the Use of Context in Economic Policy 15
Chapter 3: We are All Economists and Don’t Know It 35
Chapter 4: How a Perfect World Would Work 57
Chapter 5: Shopper Nation: Why We Buy or Don’t Buy 79
Chapter 6: How is a Can of Tuna Like a Smartphone? Yes, Context! 101
Chapter 7: When to Spend, When to Cut, and When to Scratch Your Head Over the Federal Budget 123
Chapter 8: Tax Policy: Does Cutting Taxes Cure All Ills? 149
Chapter 9: Monetary Policy: Money, or Maybe the Federal Reserve, Makes the World Go ’Round 169
Chapter 10: The Panama Canal Widens and the Middle Class Grows in China—How Does That Affect Indiana? 187
Chapter 11: What Do We Do Now? 207
About the Authors 227
Index 229