Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies ─ And Other Pricing Puzzles

Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies, And Other Pricing Puzzles unravels the pricing mysteries we encounter every day. Have you ever wondered why all movies, whether blockbusters or duds, have the same ticket prices? Why sometimes there are free lunches? Why so many prices end with "9"? Why ink cartridges can cost as much as printers? Why merchants offer sales, coupons, and rebates? Why long lines are good for shoppers? Why men earn more than women, around the globe - and why they always will?Richard McKenzie goes on to show how the 9/11 terrorists still kill Americans every day, because their attack distorted the perceived risks and relative prices of air vs. automobile travel, and jacked up both security costs and flight delays. Professor McKenzie also explores the unintended consequences of well-meaning efforts to spur the use of environmentally friendly fuels: starvation among millions of people around the world, and the destruction of rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesia.How can these things be? If you think you know the answers, think again. Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies, And Other Pricing Puzzles shows you that the real reasons are sophisticated and surprising - and in Professor McKenzie's hands, both informative and entertaining.You won't need a degree in economics to enjoy this fascinating book, just an armchair and an inquiring mind.Reviews:"Anything we think about every day is important. And who goes a day without thinking about prices? But prices are more important than most people realize. If you are interested in reducing pollution from cars, or not being fooled into paying too much, or too little, for products, or in just getting the best deal on popcorn at the movies, you will benefit from knowing more about prices than most people do. And there is no easier, or entertaining, way of finding out more on how and why prices are important than by reading McKenzie's fascinating book Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies, And other Pricing Puzzles. And are people really fooled by all those prices that end in 99 cents? You'll be surprised." Dwight Lee, University of Georgia, 2008-01-25"This book is about more than popcorn prices. McKenzie uses clear economic reasoning to explain so many things that are otherwise puzzling. He also shows that the federal government's rules for getting on airplanes have caused more deaths than the terrorists caused on 9/11. How does economics show that? Read, be entertained-- and learn." David R. Henderson, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, 2008-03-21"This is one of the very best books on pricing. If you are looking to understand the economics of the world around you, you can do no better than to start here." Tyler Cowen, George Mason University; economics blogger of www.marginalrevolution.com, 2008-02-27"Truly liberating. Using a series of fascinating enigmas we've all encountered in our daily lives, Richard McKenzie reveals how the real economic world works. Highly readable. Extraordinarily enlightening." W. Michael Cox, senior vice president and chief economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 2008-02-23

Richard McKenzie is the Walter B. Gerken Professor of Enterprise and Society in the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. He has written a number of books on economic policy, most notably the Microsoft antitrust case in the United States. His latest book, In Defense of Monopoly: How Market Power Fosters Creative Production (University of Michigan Press, 2008) challenges the theoretical foundations of antitrust law and enforcement. His commentaries have appeared in national and major regional newspapers in the United States, and he produced an award-winning documentary film, Homecoming: The Forgotten World of America's Orphanages, that has aired across the country on public television. Richard McKenzie is a frequent columnist for Wall Street Journal.