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E c o n o m ie Facts and Thomas Sowell Author of Basic Economics $26.00 US / $31.50 CAN w economic Facts and Fallacies is designed for m T people who want to understand economic issues M # without getting bogged down in economic jargon, graphs, or political rhetoric. Thomas Sowell exposes some of the most popular fallacies about economic issues in a lively manner that does not require any prior knowledge of economics. These fallacies include many beliefs widely disseminated in the media and by politicians, such as fallacies about urban problems, income differences, male-female economic differences, as well as economic fallacies about academia, about race, and about Third World countries. Economic Facts and Fallacies shows that fallacies are not simply crazy ideas but in fact have a certain plausibility that gives them their staying power—and makes careful examination of their flaws both necessary and important (and sometimes humorous). Written in the easy to follow style of the author's Basic Economics this latest book is able to go into greater depth, y with real world examples, on specific issues. Thomas Sowell has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst, and other academic institu tions, and his Basic Economics has been translated into six languages. He has written books and articles on a wide range of other social issues as well. During his career Dr. Sowell has been an economist in government, in private industry, and in independent research organizations ("think tanks"). The honors he has received include the National Humanities Medal, the Bradley Foundation Prize, and honorary degrees from various academic insti tutions. He is currently a scholar-in-residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. 12/07 ECONOMICS PRAISE FOR Economic Facts and Fallacies "Simply on the basis of the byline, I read everything Thomas Sowell writes. And it keeps me busy because he writes a lot. But I'm always richly rewarded, as I was once again when I picked up Economic Facts and Fallacies. Sowell is fearless and invariably so far ahead of the curve in discussing economics or politics or pretty much anything that the rest of us are left with eating his intellectual dust. I cant think of a higher compliment than that." — FRED BARNES, Executive Editor of the Weekly Standard and co-host of The Beltway Boys on Fox News Channel uEconomic Facts and Fallacies is the kind of book lesser lights would have labored for years to produce. Full of pithy and useful data, and imbued with the wisdom of a lifetime of eco nomic analysis, this is another home run for the sage of Palo Alto." — MONA CHAREN, nationally syndicated columnist $26.00 US/$31.50 CAN ISBN-13: T76-0-HbS-0D3MT-S ISBN-10: 0-HtS-0D3MT-M 5 2 6 0 0 A Member of the Perseus Books Group www.basicbooks.com 9ll780465llQQ3495l Economie Facts and F a l l a c i es E C O N O M IC F A C TS A ND F A L L A C I ES T H O M AS S O W E LL BBASIC BOOKS A Member of the Perseus Books Group New York Copyright © 2008 by Thomas Sowell Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810. Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge MA 02142, or call (617) 252-5298 or (800) 255-1514, or e-mail [email protected]. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sowell, Thomas, 1930- Economic facts and fallacies / Thomas Sowell. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-465-00349-5 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-465-00349-4 (alk. paper) 1. Economics. I. Title. HB171.S7133 2008 330—dc22 2007041653 10 9876543 Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. John Adams Hi