College textbooks are expensive. You probably already know this. A new biology or economics book can cost $300.
And prices have been soaring, doubling over the past decade, growing faster than the price of housing, cars, even health care.
But, surprisingly, the amount students actually spend on textbooks has not been rising. In fact, the best data we could find on this shows students have been spending a bit less over time.
How is this possible? Well, when prices go up, people usually try to find ways to avoid paying those higher prices. That seems to be what is going on here.