Abstract This paper reviews Diane Coyle's book "Sex, Drugs, and Economics," which uses far-reaching examples such as the sex industry, illegal drugs, and sports to illustrate basic economic concepts. Coyle's thesis is that economics can explain human behavior in virtually every sphere of human life. Her book attempts to show this through basic economic concepts, such as supply and demand. Economics also is helpful to make apparently inexplicable aspects of human life clearer, such as why persons engage in risky activities more as teens than during other periods of their life, or why people chose to take illegal drugs. The paper concludes by stating that Coyle's book makes economics more understandable through its original and refreshing format.
From the Paper "Coyle analyzes the drug industry to examine the ways in which the industry functions much like a legitimate market. For example, dealers give away free samples, like marketers do with new forms of soap or shampoo, to get potential customers addicted or 'hooked' upon the product. (9) However, despite the fact that up to 50 percent of Americans have tried some form of illicit drug, not all drug consumers become hooked--the core market of persons who are addicted drive the incentive of sellers to continue to supply their habit, and the lack of comparable substitute goods for growers that yield a competitive profit creates an incentive to maintain the supply of the drug. (10)"
Abstract This compares the two books "Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, & a Dream" by H. G. Bissinger and "Hardball: A Season in the Projects" by Daniel Coyle. Both books deal with the subject of sports and racial discrimination.
