Economics Against the Grain: Population economics, natural resources, and related themes

This is the first of a two volume collection of the late Julian Simon's important and radical contributions to a wide variety of economic problems. Often considered as controversial and unorthodox, these essays challenge conventional approaches.The book begins with introductory chapters in which the author discusses his background and experiences as a controversial scholar. Divided into six parts, the first part considers some basic concepts on issues such as welfare, natural resources, causality and product differentiation. The second part contains essays on managerial economics as well as general microeconomics including monopoly, duopoly and oligopoly. Advertising is discussed in the third part and industrial organization in the fourth. Part five focuses on policies for exchange and auction considering, among other issues, airline overbooking, and the final section features articles on macroeconomics.This collection of controversial essays will be welcomed by academics and students interested in unorthodox approaches to various economic theories and concepts.