Intemperate Spirits: Economic Adaptation during Prohibition

Using the basic economic principle of making decisions using a cost-benefit framework—and how changes in one or the other can result in a different decision—this book uncovers how various groups responded to incentives provided by the Prohibition legislation. Using this calculus, it is clear that even criminals are rational characters, responding to incentives and opportunities provided by the 18^th Amendment and the Volstead Act. The book begins with a broad look at the adaptations of the l...