Principles of Economics

by Frank, Robert H.; Bernanke, Ben; Johnston, Louis D. (CON)

• ISBN13: 9780073402888
• ISBN10: 0073402885
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-08-29
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Summary

In recent years, innovative texts in mathematics, science, foreign languages, and other fields have achieved dramatic pedagogical gains by abandoning the traditional encyclopedic approach in favor of attempting to teach a short list of core principles in depth. Two well-respected writers and researchers, Bob Frank and Ben Bernanke, have shown that the less-is-more approach affords similar gains in introductory economics. Although a few other texts have paid lip service to this new approach, Frank/Bernanke is by far the best throughout, and the best executed principles text in this mold. Avoiding excessive reliance on formal mathematical derivations, it presents concepts intuitively through examples drawn from familiar contexts. The authors introduce a coherent short list of core principles and reinforce them by illustrating and applying each in numerous contexts. Students are periodically asked to apply these principles and to answer related questions and exercises...Frank/Bernanke also encourages students to become "Economic Naturalists," by employing basic economic principles to understand and explain what they observe in the world around them. An economic naturalist understands, for example, that infant safety seats are required in cars but not in airplanes because the marginal cost of space to accommodate these seats is typically zero in cars but often hundreds of dollars in airplanes. Such examples engage student interest while teaching them to see each feature of their economic landscape as the reflection of an implicit or explicit cost-benefit calculation. .

Table of Contents

Part I Introduction Ch 1 Thinking Like an Economist Ch 2 Comparative Advantage Ch 3 Supply and Demand Part II Competition and the Invisible Hand Ch 4 Elasticity Ch 5 Demand Ch 6 Perfectly Competitive Supply Ch 7 Efficiency and Exchange Ch 8 The Invisible Hand in Action Part III Market Imperfections Ch 9 Monopoly, Oligopoly, and Monopolistic Competition Ch 10 Games and Strategic Behavior Ch 11 Externalities and Property Rights Ch 12 The Economics of Information Part IV Economics of Public Policy Ch 13 Labor Markets, Poverty, and Income Distribution Ch 14 The Environment, Health, and Safety Ch 15 Public Goods and Tax Policy Part V Macroeconomics: Data and Issues Ch 16 Spending, Income, and GDP Ch 17 Inflation and the Price Level Ch 18 Wages and Unemployment Part VI The Economy in the Long Run Ch 19 Economic Growth Ch 20 Saving, Capital Formation, and Financial Markets Ch 21 The Financial System, Money, and Prices Part VII The Economy in the Short Run Ch 22 Short-Term Fluctuations Ch 23 Spending and Output in the Short Run Ch 24 Stabilizing the Economy: The Role of the Federal Reserve Ch 25 Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply Ch 26 Macroeconomic Policy Part VIII The International Economy Ch 27 Exchange Rates and the Open Economy Ch 28 International Trade and Capital Flows Glossary