The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do

The Price of Everything starts with a simple premise: there is a price behind each choice, whether we're deciding to have a baby, drive a car, or buy a book. We often fail to appreciate just how critical prices are as motivating forces. But their power becomes clear when distorted prices steer our decisions the wrong way.

Eduardo Porter uncovers the true story behind the prices we pay and reveals what those prices are actually telling us. He takes us on a global economic adventure, from comparing the relative prices of a vote in corrupt Sao Tome and in the ostensibly aboveboard United States to assessing the cost of happiness in Bhutan to deducing the dollar value we assign to human life. His unique approach helps explain

-why polygamous societies actually place a higher value on women than monogamous ones do;

-why someone may find more value in a $14 million license plate than in the standard-issue $95 one;

-why some government agencies believe one year of life for a senior citizen is four times more valuable than that of a younger person.

Eduardo Porter writes about business, economics, and many other matters as a member of the New York Times editorial board. He has also worked as a journalist in Mexico City, Tokyo, London, Spo Paulo, and Los Angeles. He was the editor of the Brazilian edition of AmTrica Economia and covered the Hispanic population of the United States for The Wall Street Journal. He lives in New York.