Economics DeMYSTiFieD

Economics DeMYSTiFieD

by Melanie Fox, Eric Dodge
Released June 2012
Publisher(s): McGraw-Hill
ISBN: 9780071782845

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Book description

All the information you need—quick, easy, and ON THE MONEY

ECON. Do these letters make you sweat? You’re not alone. From college freshmen to PhD students, economics tops the list of panic-inducing classes.

But help has arrived. Economics DeMYSTiFieD is a curriculum-based, self-teaching guide that makes learning this important business topic easier than ever. Filled with illustrations, plain-English explanations, and real-life examples, it starts with the fundamentals and eases you into the more complicated theories, concepts, and mathematical formulas.

When it comes to making this complex topic easy to grasp, Economics DeMYSTiFieD corners the market.

This fast and easy guide features:

  • Expert overviews of key topics, including supply and demand, macro- and microeconomics, consumer price index, and monetary policy
  • Chapter-ending quizzes and a final exam for charting your progress
  • Math equations you can work out to bolster your comprehension
  • Special-focus chapters on the environment, healthcare, and insurance

Simple enough for a beginner, but challenging enough for an advanced student, Economics DeMYSTiFieD is your shortcut to mastery of this otherwise perplexing subject.

Table of contents

  1. Cover page
  2. Economics Demystified®
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication Page
  5. About the Authors
  6. Contents
  7. Introduction
  8. Chapter 1 Introduction to Economics
    1. Scarcity
    2. Four Economic Resources
    3. Opportunity Cost
    4. Rational Decision Making
    5. Marginal Analysis
    6. Economic Models
    7. Appendix: Math and Graph Review
  9. Chapter 2 Utility and Consumer Choice
    1. Utility Functions and Preferences
    2. Principle of Diminishing Marginal Utility
    3. Budget Constraints
    4. Constrained Utility Maximization
    5. Spending the Marginal Dollar
  10. Chapter 3 Demand
    1. The Law of Demand
    2. Demand Curves
    3. Determinants of Demand
    4. Price Elasticity of Demand
    5. Cross-Price and Income Elasticities of Demand
  11. Chapter 4 Production and Cost
    1. The Inputs Used in Production—Fixed and Variable
    2. The Short Run and the Long Run
    3. Short-Run Production
    4. Diminishing Marginal Product
    5. Costs in the Short Run
    6. Increasing Marginal Cost
  12. Chapter 5 Supply
    1. The Marginal Cost Curve
    2. The Law of Supply
    3. Supply Curves
    4. Determinants of Supply
    5. The Price Elasticity of Supply
  13. Chapter 6 Market Equilibrium
    1. Competitive Markets
    2. Equilibrium
    3. Changes to Equilibrium
    4. Efficiency in Competitive Markets
    5. Price Controls
    6. Excise Taxes
  14. Chapter 7 Perfect Competition
    1. Key Assumptions of Perfect Competition
    2. Revenue and Costs
    3. Profit Maximization, Mathematically
    4. Accounting Profit and Economic Profit
    5. Profit Maximization, Graphically
    6. Economic Profit and Loss in the Short Run
    7. Long-Run Adjustments
    8. Efficiency
  15. Chapter 8 Monopoly
    1. Key Assumptions
    2. Demand, Marginal Revenue, and Elasticity
    3. Profit Maximization
    4. Deadweight Loss
    5. Government Regulation
    6. Price Discrimination
    7. Appendix
  16. Chapter 9 Imperfect Competition: Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly
    1. Key Assumptions of Monopolistic Competition
    2. Short-Run Equilibrium in Monopolistic Competition
    3. Long-Run Equilibrium in Monopolistic Competition
    4. Oligopoly
    5. Key Assumptions of Oligopoly
    6. Game Theory
  17. Chapter 10 Factor Markets
    1. The Choice Between Labor and Leisure
    2. An Individual’s Labor Supply
    3. Labor Demand
    4. How Wages Are Determined
    5. Least-Cost Hiring of Two Inputs
  18. Chapter 11 Introduction to Macroeconomics
    1. A Model of the Economy as a Whole: The Circular Flow Diagram
    2. Measuring the State of the Economy
    3. Counting GDP: The Expenditures Approach
    4. Counting GDP: The Income Approach
    5. GNP Versus GDP—What’s the Difference?
  19. Chapter 12 Unemployment
    1. What Is Unemployment?
    2. The Labor Force
    3. Measuring Unemployment
    4. Two Types of Unemployment
    5. The Idea of Full Employment
    6. Underemployment and Discouraged Workers
    7. Theories of Unemployment
  20. Chapter 13 Inflation
    1. Introduction to Inflation
    2. The Consumer Price Index
    3. Real and Nominal Dollars
    4. The Consequences of Inflation
    5. Deflation Versus Disinflation
    6. Employment and Inflation
  21. Chapter 14 The Model of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
    1. Real GDP and Nominal GDP
    2. Understanding the Model of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
    3. Aggregate Demand (AD)
    4. Aggregate Supply (SRAS and LRAS)
    5. Equilibrium in the Macroeconomy
    6. Economic Growth
  22. Chapter 15 Money and the Money Market
    1. The Functions and Types of Money
    2. The Money Supply
    3. Fractional Reserves
    4. The Role of a Central Bank
    5. The Money Market
  23. Chapter 16 Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy
    1. The Interest Rate
    2. The Classical Theory of Economics
    3. Keynesian Theory
    4. Fiscal Policy
    5. Difficulties with Fiscal Policy
    6. Monetary Policy
    7. Problems with Fiscal and Monetary Policy
    8. Applying Policy Actions to Economic Fluctuations
  24. Chapter 17 The Global Economy
    1. Production Possibilities
    2. Comparative Advantage and Gains from Trade
    3. Foreign Exchange Markets
    4. Currency Appreciation and Depreciation
    5. How Do Exchange Rates Affect Aggregate Demand?
    6. Balance of Payments
    7. Foreign Currency and Economic Policy
    8. Trade Barriers
  25. Chapter 18 Public Goods and the Environment
    1. Private and Public Goods
    2. Providing Public Goods
    3. Positive Externalities
    4. Negative Externalities
    5. Government Remedies for Externalities
    6. How Can Economics Reduce Pollution?
  26. Chapter 19 Health Economics and the Market for Health Insurance
    1. Introduction to Health Economics
    2. Healthcare Markets
    3. The Market for Insurance
    4. Healthcare Policy Reform
  27. Chapter 20 Economic Research
    1. Introduction to Research in Economics
    2. The Research Process
  28. Final Exam
  29. Answers to Quizzes and Final Exam
  30. Index

Product information

  • Title: Economics DeMYSTiFieD
  • Author(s): Melanie Fox, Eric Dodge
  • Release date: June 2012
  • Publisher(s): McGraw-Hill
  • ISBN: 9780071782845