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Imperial Library
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Index
Halftitle page
Frontispiece
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Epigraph
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
A Brief Primer on Economics
An Even Briefer Primer on Comics
Now, the Rest of the Story
1. Everyone Loves a Good Backstory, Even Economists
Why Do You Do What You Do?
I’m a Hero Now
How Incentives Guide Our Actions
What Makes You Happy?
How Are You Going to Use Those Superpowers?
So You’re a Hero Now? What Can You Do?
It’s Only the Beginning
2. Who Is That Masked Man?
What Do I Have to Lose?
Every Choice Has a Cost
The Invisible Hand: Bringing Buyers and Sellers Together since 1776
I Quit. Sincerely, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Is It Better to Have Loved and Lost?
I Can’t Believe You Didn’t Tell Me. Now Get Out!
I Can’t Remember Who I Told About My Hero Work
Like a Good Neighbor …
Lex and Lois
Don’t Violate the Code
The Answer Is …
3. Keep Your Friends Close, Or Why Do Superheroes Team Up?
How I Learned to Stop Brooding and Love the Sidekick
Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better, But That Doesn’t Mean I Should
What About My Friends?
Trade You My Apple for Your Cookie
Holy Comparative Advantage Batman!
And the Answer Is …
4. But Your Enemies Closer…Why Do Superheroes Fight Each Other?
Heroes Fighting Heroes
Game Theory: The Basics
Please Read All the Rules Before Playing
He’d Never Rat Me Out … Would He?
What Heroes and Prisoners Have in Common
And the Answer Is …
5. Don’t Give Up Your Day Job. Why Do Superheroes Go to Work?
Working for a Living
I Suppose Now You Want to Be Paid
You Need to Produce Something Different
Fixing the Free-rider Problem
And the Answer Is …
6. Give Up Already! When Superheroes Are Fighting Crime, Who Wants to Be a Criminal?
Villain Origins: Tell Me About Your Mother
Crime Is Terribly Revealing
Moral Hazard, Not Dukes of Hazzard
Tournament of Champions
Don’t You Touch Him
And the Answer Is …
7. Who’s Going to Clean Up This Mess?
Why You Should Hate Superheroes Too—Part I: Insurance
Superheroes As the Factory
Superhero Perp Walk
Fifteen Minutes Can Save You Fifteen Percent
We’re Running a Business Here
Why You Should Hate Superheroes Too—Part II: Lemons
And the Answer Is …
8. Where Do They Get Those Wonderful Toys?
It’s Good to Be Rich
You May Not Want to Know How the Sausage Is Made
Where Are Your Toys, Mr Terrific?
Production Function—Just a Little Bit of Math
Using Your Toys to Get the Bad Guys
Making Batgirl Great Again
And the Answer Is …
9. Why Don’t Superheroes Take Over the World?
Superman and the Economic Way
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
You Say You Want an Institution
Here Comes the Judge, Here Comes the Judge, Here Comes the Judge
Dude, That’s My Car!
Authority Plus Monopoly Minus Transparency Equals Corruption
Superman Began As a Law and Order Man
Working Within the System … The Economic System
I Will Defend Truth, Justice, and the Economic Way …
…But What If I Didn’t?
And the Answer Is …
10. Who Is the Greatest of Them All?
I’ll See Your Superman and Raise You a Batman
In This Corner …
…And in This Corner
Right Makes Might
Utility Assemble!
And the Winner Is???
Glossary
Index
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