Includes bibliographical references and index.

This book starts with a simple premise: there is a price behind each choice that we make, 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 shaping our lives, but their power becomes clear when distorted prices steer our decisions the wrong way. Eduardo Porter takes us on a global economic adventure, from comparing the relative prices of a vote in corrupt São Tomé 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. He weaves together the constant--and often unconscious--cost and value assessments we all make every day. While exploring the story behind the price of everything from marriage and death to mattresses and horsemeat, Porter draws unexpected connections that bridge a wide range of disciplines and cultures.--From publisher description.