The papers in this volume were originally presented at the Annual Middlebury College Conference on Economic Issues, which was funded by the Institute of Economic and Monetary Affairs. The institute has made it possible for Middlebury College to play a larger role in the economics profession than most other undergraduate schools. In doing so, it has exposed our students to a larger sense of economics than would otherwise be possible. We at Middlebury are extremely thankful to the institute for making that possible.

Running a conference is no easy task. Without the support of many individuals it would be an impossible undertaking. Two people stand out: Sheila Cassin, the Economics Department Secretary, and Helen Reiff, who acted as conference coordinator and saw that all went smoothly. They did the work and I took the credit: a simple arrangement, the inequities of which I am quite aware. Here, in the preface, which few read, I acknowledge my debt to them.

As you read the volume you will quickly see that this isn't a mere reprinting of conference papers. It's a book that fits together like a puzzle. The puzzle took a while to solve and had me piecing parts together – adding something here, subtracting something there – taking bits and pieces of the conference transcripts and getting the authors to turn them into full-blown papers. Doing so takes diplomacy (of which I have little), effort (of which I have lots), and a background spanning all of philosophy and the humanities.