Autorentext
Harlan M. Smith is Economics Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota. He has taught micro and macro theory, monetary, international, and development economics.

Klappentext

Written especially to be compatible with most introductory economics courses, this book encourages readers to apply basic economic principles to their own life experiences. It supplements basic economic training by providing a critical examination of the essential economic theorems and concepts, and the practical contexts in which they can be understood. Smith discusses caeteris paribus, the production possibilities frontier, supply and demand, competition, comparative advantage, wealth distribution, "the invisible hand", utility, elasticity, money and finance, the international economy, macroeconomics, and the future development of economics and economic systems. The book is organized so that it may either be used as a stand-alone text for the short course in economics or as a supplemental work to augment the main "Principles of Economics" texts used in the full course.

Zusammenfassung
This accessible workbook has been developed to provide readers with a solid grounding in economic principles. It offers a critical examination of 40 economic theorems and concepts - such as wealth distribution, supply and demand and finance - and the contexts in which they should be understood.

Inhalt

1. Why Study Economics? 2. The Definition, Character, and Misuse of Economics Some Introductory Concepts 3. How Some Basic Things Are Determined by an Economic System 4. Caeteris Paribus and Prediction 5. The Production Possibilities Frontier 6. Wants, Resources, Technology, Productive Units Economizing and Rationality 7. The Economic Principle 8. The Dehumanized Utility Function and Rationality 9. Human Ends 10. Individual and Social Decision-Making Demand, Supply, Competition, Invisible Hand 11. Price Determination 12. Elasticities of Demand and Supply 13. Market Prices and Social Values 14. The Perfect Competition Norm 15. The Invisible Hand Money and Finance 16. The Influence and Safety of Finance the Business Firm and Society 17. The Finn and Profit Maximization 18. Oligopoly, Stability, and Public Policy 19. Expectations, Uncertainties, and Probabilities 20. Externalities and Efficiency 21. Responsibility to Stockholders and Others The Distribution of Income and Wealth 22. Functional Income Distribution Theory 23. The Minimum Wage Law 24. Marginal Productivity as an Implicit Ethical Nonn 25. More on the Distribution of Income and Wealth 26. The Equity-Efficiency Trade-off Macroeconomics 27. Aggregate Demand and Supply 28. That Keynesian Revolution Controversy Again 29. The Welfare State 30. Inflation and Stagflation 31. Rules versus Discretion in Macroeconomic Policy The International Economy 32. International Economic Relations 33. The International Monetary System The Future Development of Economic Systems 34. The Economic Roles of Government 35. Comparative Economic Systems 36. Economic Development 37. Growth and Sustainable Economies The Future Development of Economics 38. What Picture of Social Problems? 39. The Relation to Social Philosophy 40. A Humanistic Economics Is Needed