Grab bag of books

1. Vicki Howard, Brides, Inc.: American Weddings and the Business of Tradition.  Weddings have become big business; this book tells you how and why.

2. Matthew D. Adler and Eric A. Posner, New Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis.  There is not exactly a new thesis here, but it is the most intelligent discussion to date of the strengths and limits of cost-benefit analysis.

3. Nation-States and the Multinational Corporation, by Nathan M. Jensen.  Rule of law and credibility, not low corporate taxes, are the key features in luring foreign investment.  You pro-tax people might think this is good news, but it probably just means that the burden of those taxes falls on labor, or on consumers.

4. The Marketplace of Christianity, by Robert B. Ekelund, Robert Hebert, and Robert D. Tollison.  This book is full of stimulating hypotheses, especially if you don’t flinch at chapters with titles like "The Counter-Reformation: Incumbent-Firm Reaction to Market Entry."  The economics of religion remains one of the most exciting fields.

5. Democratic Constitutional Design and Public Policy: Analysis and Evidence, edited by Roger Congleton and Birgitta Swedenborg.  This book offers the best minds in European public choice, Barry Weingast, and Roger.

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