Host: The Cato Institute. In his new book, William Niskanen illustrates how economic incentives significantly aid in the creation of successful policies and applies his sharply focused economic perspective to such topics as unemployment, election law, and the economics of war and peace. This practical approach toward economic policy generates surprising results and offers suggestions to avoid common pitfalls of government policymaking.

William A. Niskanen is chairman emeritus and a distinguished senior economist at the Cato Institute. Between 1985 and 2008, Niskanen was the chairman of the Cato Institute, following service as acting chairman of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. Niskanen began his career as a defense policy analyst, and has since served in such roles as director of economics at the Ford Motor Company, professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley and Los Angeles and assistant director of the federal Office of Management and Budget. Niskanen’s 1971 book Bureaucracy and Representative Government is considered a classic, and the University of Chicago recently honored him with a lifetime professional service award.

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