New Features :

• New Chapters: In its third edition, Issues in Economics Today introduces new chapters that examine the economic impact of Wal-Mart, the economic impact of casino gambling, why college textbooks cost so much, and the housing bubble. These chapters, originally posted as Web chapters to accompany the second edition, have been updated and expanded for inclusion in the textbook. Chapter 37, “The Cost of War” uses the example of the recent war on Iraq and updates the material to focus on the occupation costs rather than simply the invasion. Similarly, Chapter 38, “The Economics of Terrorism” uses the example of the September 11 attacks to examine the effects of terrorism on the national economy and how the government responded. In its revised form it uses subsequent terrorist acts, like the London bombings of July 2005, to emphasize important points.
• Combined Chapters: In response to reviewer feedback, the gender and race and affirmative action chapters from the second edition have been combined as Chapter 26, “The Economics of Race and Sex in Discrimination.” Many readers felt they belonged together. In addition, the content of the chapter on the Consumer Price Index was folded into the discussion of problems with the measurement of inflation in Chapter 6.
• Kick It Up a Notch: This new feature to the second edition has been expanded to more chapters. This encourages students to challenge themselves with slightly more advanced concepts. For those who want extra practice with this section, additional material can be found in the Study Guide.
• All New Quiz Yourself Questions: Because fraternities, sororities, clubs, and organizations are notorious for maintaining homework banks, the Quiz Yourself, Talk about This, and Think about This questions have been changed for chapters that date back to the first edition.
• Frequent Web Updates: Because new economic issues arise all the time, web chapters are posted to the website during the life of the edition. A housing bubble chapter was added in 2005. The author’s pledge is to continue posting issues.