Economics of the Undead

Zombies, Vampires, and the Dismal Science

Edited by Glen Whitman, James Dow

Publication date:

17 July 2014

Length of book:

298 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442235021

Whether preparing us for economic recovery after the zombie apocalypse, analyzing vampire investment strategies, or illuminating the market forces that affect vampire-human romances, Economics of the Undead: Zombies, Vampires, and the Dismal Science gives both seasoned economists and layman readers something to sink their teeth into. Undead characters have terrified popular audiences for centuries, but when analyzed closely, their behaviors and stories—however farfetched—mirror our own in surprising ways. The essays collected in this book are as humorous as they are thoughtful, as culturally relevant as they are economically sound, and provide an accessible link between a popular culture phenomenon and the key concepts necessary to building one’s understanding of economic systems big and small. It is the first book to apply and combine economics and our society’s fascination with the undead, and is an invaluable resource for those looking to learn economic fundamentals in a fun and innovative way.

Contributions by: Kyle William Bishop, Eleanor Brown, Ian Chadd, Darwynn Deyo, Steven Horwitz, Daniel Farhat, Jean-Baptiste Fleury, Enrique Guerra-Pujol, Brian Hollar, Sebastien Lecou, Joseph Mandarino, Alain Marciano, Fabien Medvecky, David T. Mitchell, Michael O’Hara, M. Christine Phillips, A. Lynn Phillips, G. Michael Phillips, Lorna Piatti-Farnell, Robert Prga, Hollis Robbins, Sarah Skwire, Ilya Somin, David Tufte, Mary Jo Tufte, and Charlotte Weil

Introduction: Living Dead and the Modern Economy
by Glen Whitman and James Dow

Part I: Soulless Mates
Human Girls and Vampire Boys, Part 1: Looking for Mr. Goodbite, by Glen Whitman
Human Girls and Vampire Boys, Part 2: ’Til Death Do Us Part, by Glen Whitman

Part II: Apocalyptonomics
Packing for the Zombie Apocalypse, by James Dow
Eating Brains and Breaking Windows, by Steven Horwitz and Sarah Skwire
To Truck, Barter… And Eat Your Brains!!!: Pursuing Prosperity in a Post-Productive World, by Brian Hollar
What Happens Next?: Endgames of a Zombie Apocalypse, by Kyle William Bishop, David Tufte, and Mary Jo Tufte
Order, Coordination, and Collective Action among the Undead, by Jean-Baptiste Fleury and Alain Marciano

Part III: Blood Money
Investing Secrets of the Undead, by James Dow
Zombification Insurance, by Eleanor Brown and Robert Prag
Monsters of Capital: Vampires, Zombies, and Consumerism, by Lorna Piatti-Farnell
Trading with the Undead: A Study in Specialization and Comparative Advantage, by Darwyyn Deyo and David T. Mitchell
Buy or Bite?, by Enrique Guerra-Pujol
To Shoot or to Stake, That Is the Question: The Market for Anti-Vampire Weapons, by Charlotte Weil and Sébastien Lecou
Taxation of the Undead: Non-Sentient Entities, by Joseph Mandarino

Part IV: The Dead Body Politic
Tragedy of the Blood Commons: The Case for Privatizing the Humans, by Glen Whitman
Zombies as an Invasive Species, by Michael E. O'Hara
What Would the Reasonable Man Do in a World Gone Mad?, by Brian Hollar
Brain-Dead vs. Undead: Public Ignorance and the Political Economy of Responses to Vampires and Zombies, by Ilya Somin
Sinking Our Teeth into Public Policy Economics: A Taste of Immortality, by Fabien Medvecky
Where Oh Where Have the Vampires Gone? An Extension of the Tiebout Hypothesis to the Undead, by A.L. Phillips, M.C. Phillips, and G.M. Phillips

Part V: Brain Food
The Economics of Bloodlust, by Ian Chadd
Between Gods and Monsters: Reason, Instinct, and the Artificial Vampire, by Daniel Farhat
Killing Time: Dracula and Social Discoordination, by Hollis Robbins

Pop Culture Bibliography
Notes
Index
Contributor Biographies

Whitman and Dow, both professors of economics at California State University, Northridge, gather 23 essays that explore the centrality of economic issues to today’s popular vampire and zombie novels and films. Whitman uses vampire romance to explain marriage markets, suggesting, among other things, that undead love tales shed light on the sunk cost fallacy. Dow takes the characteristic wealth of vampires (they do have to finance a very long retirement) as an excuse to talk about compound interest. Other essays connect the zombie apocalypse with Adam Smith (how will postapocalypse survivors 'return to their prior level of prosperity'?), True Blood to privatization, zombie invasion to problems like the spread of feral hogs in the U.S., and the residential and geographic choices of the undead to the Tiebout Hypothesis. More insightfully, contributor Lorna Piatti-Farnell notices the way Gothic language pervades Marx’s writings about capitalism. This frothy foray into Econ 101 might seduce freshman to the dismal science.