Chapter 1
What Economics Is and Why You Should Care
IN THIS CHAPTER
Taking a quick peek at economic history
Observing how people cope with scarcity
Separating macroeconomics from microeconomics
Getting a grip on economic graphs and models
Economics studies how people and societies make decisions that allow them to get the most from their limited resources. And because every country, every business, and every person has to deal with constraints, economics is everywhere. At this very moment, for example, you could be doing something other than reading this book. You could be grueling through your hundredth pushup, bingeing the hottest series on Netflix, or texting with that friend you reconnected with at your last reunion. You should only be reading this book if doing so is the best possible use of your limited time. In the same way, you should hope that the resources used to create this book have been put to their best use and that every dollar your government spends is being managed in the best possible way.
Economics gets to the heart of these issues by analyzing the behavior of ...
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