Supporters say a VAT can be good for economic growth. Critics say it encourages wasteful government spending.

How can you learn to think like an economist? One way is to think about what might be called dinner table economics--puzzles or patterns that arise in everyday life that would be good to understand.Robert Frank of Cornell University and author of The Economic Naturalist talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about a number of these puzzles including why grooms typically rent tuxedos but the bride usually buys her gown, why bicycles can be more expensive to rent than cars, the effects of the price of corn on the price of pork, and why scammers who invoke Nigeria keep using the same old story.

Hoover Institution fellow Tim Kane discusses inflation, wages, jobs, and why he sees signs of a recession for next year.