Economic Analysis of Social Issues

by Grant, Alan

• ISBN13: 9780133023039
• ISBN10: 0133023036
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-02-05
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

NOTE: You are purchasing a standalone product; MyEconLab does not come packaged with this content. If you would like to purchase both the physical text and MyEconLab search for 0134098374 / 9780134098371  Economic Analysis of Social Issues Plus MyEconLab with Pearson eText (1-Semester Access) -- Access Card Package, 1/e

 

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• 0133023036 / 9780133023039 Economic Analysis of Social Issues, 1e
• 0134088603 / 9780134088600 MyEconLab with Pearson eText (1-Semester Access) -- Access Card

MyEconLab should only be purchased when required by an instructor.

 

Introductory one-semester course for freshman or sophomore non-majors without a background in economics.

 

Real-world data analysis, games, and economic experiments for socially engaged readers

Economic Analysis of Social Issues provides readers with a modern analytical approach to economics based on the tools of game theory. Readers who are passionate about contemporary social problems are given an analytical framework to discuss problems like pollution, health care, and the depletion of natural resources. Using fun, simple tools of game theory, readers discover that ultimately, these problems have similar origins. Readers will leave the course with a solid grasp of strategic behavior and understand how such behavior, exercised in the pursuit of individual incentives, can lead to poor collective outcomes.

 

A user-friendly, conversational writing style infused with analytical rigor makes the text approachable and easy to read. Economic experiments and games not found in any other text about the subject, along with real-time data analysis exercises allow readers to learn by doing. This approach teaches readers to analyze social problems, rather than memorize facts that will soon become dated or irrelevant.

 

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helps them better absorb course material and understand difficult concepts.

 

MyEconLab allows you to engage your students in the course material before, during, and after class with a variety of activities and assessments.

 

Author Biography

Alan Grant is professor of economics at Baker University. Prior to teaching at Baker, he was professor of economics at Eastern Illinois University and served as a visiting professor at Harlaxton College in England. He has taught the economic issues course for more than 15 years. Professor Grant is the recipient of a number of teaching awards and has been nationally recognized for teaching excellence. His research has been published in numerous professional journals, including Public Finance Review, National Tax Journal, Economics Letters, the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Applied Economics Letters, and the Journal of Economic Education, and has been highlighted in The Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, The Economist, and The New York Times.

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Basic Building Blocks

1. Fundamental Concepts in Economics

2. Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Value of Life

3. Basic Game Theory: Games Between Two Players

4. Game Theory: Games Between Three or More Players

 

Part 2: Markets and Government: A Recipe for Producing Wealth

5. Free Exchange: Individual and International Trade

6. The Market System: Functions, Structure, and Institutions

 

Part 3: The Environment: Property Rights, Transactions Costs, and the Role of Government

7. The Nature of Pollution Problems

8. Government Policies to Regulate Pollution

9. Resource Depletion and Sustainability

 

Part 4: Public Goods and the Public Sector

10. Public Goods and the Role of Government

11. Public Goods: Tackling Large Projects and Eminent Domain

12. The Volunteer's Dilemma: A Collective Inaction Problem

13. Voting:  You Can’t Always Get What You Want

 

Part 5: Health Care and Discrimination: Problems of Incomplete Information

14. The Economics of Health Insurance and Health Care

15. Segregation and Discrimination

 

Part 6: Macroeconomics

16. Gross Domestic Product and the Wealth of Nations:  An Introduction to the Macroeconomy

17. Unemployment

18. An Introduction to Money, Banks, and the Financial System

19. The Federal Reserve: Monetary Policy, Economic Activity, and Inflation

20. The Federal Government: Taxes, Spending, and Fiscal Policy

21. Income Inequality and the Redistribution of Income

 

Appendix:  Demand and Supply and Elasticity