Review by Choice Review
Readers drawn to this volume's title expecting light reading will be disappointed to find mainly rigorous intellectual, theoretical, philosophical, and analytical discussions, not to mention equations and diagrams, of the nature of sin and its multidimensional impacts in an economy. Observations such as "the felt notion of sin is a cause of X-inefficiency" and "If individuals are rational they will spot this lacuna and swiftly move to rectify this welfare loss" are typical of the coverage and the author's style. Cameron (Univ. of Bradford, UK) does include an examination of familiar controversial topics, behaviors, and prohibitions--capital punishment, addiction, adultery and prostitution (termed "partner outsourcing"), insider trading, scams and tax evasion (as well as cannibalism)--but he develops these "wrongs" from a rational choice perspective firmly entrenched within the discipline of economics. Cameron introduces rational choice, examines the role of religions (and religious "firms") as regulators of behavior and influences on economic growth and development, discusses costs ("negative externalities") posed by the seven deadly sins, and explores the inherent problems associated with honesty in a market economy. Replete with bounteous references and superb reviews of the literature at every turn, this is a splendid book for economists, other social scientists, and academic scholars. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty collections. A. R. Sanderson University of Chicago
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
