Notes
1 Bergeron is using the term “liberal” in the political economy sense to denote a philosophy based on a belief in the efficacy of free markets.
2 Chapter 2 present a standards overview of microeconomic tools – such as supply and demand and constrained maximization – and explains the importance of marginal conditions and the role comparative statics plays in economic analysis. The authors also use this chapter to describe regression analysis and natural experiments as different ways that economists test theories. While some of the microeconomic tools would serve as a review for those students who have had principles, the empirical methods are likely to be new to most students.
3 The relative income hypothesis states that people choose their fertility levels based on their income relative to that of their parents. This theory can explain baby booms and baby busts but does not perform as well at the individual level. For a full description of this model, see Richard Easterlin (Citation1987).
4 Beller's work is cited extensively in M.V. Lee Badgett and Heidi Hartmann (Citation1995).