This book on the economics of education is concerned primarily with how and why the student goes about acquiring whatever human capital he or she wishes and how the institutional setting of the university influences the amount of human capital that the student acquires. The learning process is dealt with, and an economic theory of learning, which was developed earlier in precise mathematical terms, is extended through a fuller treatment of the political environment in which education occurs. An objective is to make the economic analysis easily understood by professional educators and social scientists. Topics are as follows: an introduction to economics and the economics of education; the basics of the economic model; student preferences, abilities, and performance; professor preferences, public goods, and student performance; the question of whether teaching is the best way to learn; the effects of grade inflation on student evaluation and performance; the evaluation and pay of faculty; committees, "comment pollutions," and the internal governance of universities; the citizenship argument for education; the academic market, intercollegiate sports, and academic standards; and cheating and chiseling. (SW)