Thinking Like an Economist: How Efficiency Replaced Equality in U.S. Public Policy

Abstract

Higher education professionals, both faculty and administrative staff, must have at minimum a basic understanding of how U.S. policy influences their institution, their field, and education generally. For some, grasping frequently convoluted processes and concepts of policymaking may seem a daunting task; yet, policy formation is the foundation of higher education and therefore must be understood, even if only at the most fundamental levels. Elizabeth Popp Berman’s Thinking Like an Economist provides an in-depth view into the role of economics in U.S. policymaking and its applicability to higher education and beyond. While she goes into the trenches of economic reasoning in policymaking, the average non-economically minded higher education professional will be able to glean meaningful takeaways.