{"product_id":"madmen-intellectuals-and-academic-scribblers-edward-j-l-pez-9780804780971","title":"Madmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers: The Economic Engine of Political Change","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMadmen, Intellectuals, and Academic Scribblers\u003c\/i\u003e presents a simple, economic framework for understanding the systematic causes of political change. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWayne A. Leighton and Edward J. Lez take up three interrelated questions: Why do democracies generate policies that impose net costs on society? Why do such policies persist over long periods of time, even if they are known to be socially wasteful and better alternatives exist? And, why do certain wasteful policies eventually get repealed, while others endure? The authors examine these questions through familiar policies in contemporary American politics, but also draw on examples from around the world and throughout history. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAssuming that incentives drive people's decisions, the book matches up three key ingredients--ideas, rules, and incentives--with the characters who make political waves: \u003ci\u003emadmen\u003c\/i\u003e in authority (such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Margaret Thatcher), \u003ci\u003eintellectuals\u003c\/i\u003e (like Jon Stewart and George Will), and \u003ci\u003eacademic scribblers\u003c\/i\u003e (in the vein of Friedrich Hayek and John Maynard Keynes). Political change happens when these characters notice holes in the structure of ideas, institutions, and incentives, and then act as entrepreneurs to shake up the status quo.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Edward J. Lez, Wayne A. Leighton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0804780978\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780804780971\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Stanford Economics and Finance\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/21\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2012 pg. 90\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/03\/2012","brand":"Edward J. Lez","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44059764457727,"sku":"9780804780971","price":105.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_fa6e5163-be3e-48c1-accf-0cd4210aa57c.jpg?v=1685060195","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/madmen-intellectuals-and-academic-scribblers-edward-j-l-pez-9780804780971","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}