Dog Economics: Perspectives on Our Canine Relationships

Archaeologists, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists study the origins of our relationship with dogs and how it has evolved over time. Sociologists and legal scholars study the roles of dogs in the modern family. Veterinarian researchers address the relationship in the context of professional practice, yet economists have produced scant scholarship on the relationship between humans and dogs. Dog Economics applies economic concepts to relationships between people and dogs to inform our understanding of their domestication. It interprets their contemporary role as both property and family members and explores factors that affect the demand for dogs as well as market failures of the American puppy market. Offering economic perspectives on our varied relationships with dogs, this book assesses mortality risks and addresses end-of-life issues that commonly arise. It develops a framework for classifying canine occupations, considers the impact of pet insurance on euthanasia, and assesses the social value of guide dogs.

考古學家、人類學家和進化生物學家研究我們與狗的關係的起源以及隨著時間的推移如何演變。社會學家和法學學者研究狗在現代家庭中的角色。獸醫研究人員在專業實踐的背景下探討這種關係，然而經濟學家對人與狗之間的關係的研究相對較少。《狗的經濟學》將經濟概念應用於人與狗之間的關係，以增進我們對其馴化的理解。它將狗在當代的角色解釋為財產和家庭成員，並探討影響對狗的需求以及美國幼犬市場的市場失靈的因素。本書提供了關於我們與狗的各種關係的經濟觀點，評估了死亡風險並解決了常見的末期問題。它建立了一個將犬類職業分類的框架，考慮了寵物保險對安樂死的影響，並評估了導盲犬的社會價值。