{"product_id":"the-tyranny-of-the-market-joel-waldfogel-9780674025813","title":"The Tyranny of the Market","description":"\u003cp\u003eEconomists have long counseled reliance on markets rather than on government to decide a wide range of questions, in part because allocation through voting can give rise to a \"tyranny of the majority.\" Markets, by contrast, are believed to make products available to suit any individual, regardless of what others want. But the argument is not generally correct. In markets, you can't always get what you want. This book explores why this is so and its consequences for consumers with atypical preferences. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen fixed costs are substantial, markets provide only products desired by large concentrations of people. As a result, people are better off in their capacity as consumers when more fellow consumers share their product preferences. Small groups of consumers with less prevalent tastes, such as blacks, Hispanics, people with rare diseases, and people living in remote areas, find less satisfaction in markets. In some cases, an actual tyranny of the majority occurs in product markets. A single product can suit one group or another. If one group is larger, the product is targeted to the larger group, making them better off and others worse off. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe book illustrates these phenomena with evidence from a variety of industries such as restaurants, air travel, pharmaceuticals, and the media, including radio broadcasting, newspapers, television, bookstores, libraries, and the Internet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joel Waldfogel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674025814\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674025813\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.82lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.35h x 6.04w x 0.76d","brand":"Joel Waldfogel","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46906583318783,"sku":"9780674025813","price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_57aea926-3368-449f-be32-d5850e2615f6.jpg?v=1748770842","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-tyranny-of-the-market-joel-waldfogel-9780674025813","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}