A textbook that examines how societies reach decisions about the use and allocation of economic resourcesWhile economic research emphasizes the importance of governmental institutions for growth and progress, conventional public policy textbooks tend to focus on macroeconomic policies and on tax-and-spend decisions. Markets, State, and People s "US president Harry Truman longed for a one-handed economist, because 'All my economists say 'on one hand' then 'but on the other'.' He was wrong to. Equivocal books do not usually do well in a polarised world. This one deserves to buck the trend."---Giles Wilkes, Financial Times