Summary

If you think economics is a complicated discipline that's reserved for theorists and the intellectual elite and has nothing to do with you, think again. Economics impacts every aspect of our lives, from what we eat, to how we dress, to where we live. Economics might be complicated, but it has everything to do with you.Economics For Dummies helps you see how your personal financial picture is influenced by the larger economic picture. When you understand how what happens on Wall Street affects Main Street and how policies emanating from the White House impact the finances in your house, you'll be able to: Learn how government economic decisions affect you and your family Make better spending decisions and improve your personal finances Maximize your business profits Make wiser investments Written by Sean M. Flynn, PhD, Assistant Professor of Economics at Vassar College, Economics For Dummies covers all the basics of micro- and macroeconomic theory. The next time you need to understand an economic theory or calculation, whether it's on the nightly news or on a spreadsheet at work, you'll no longer be in the dark. Economics For Dummies covers all the history, principles, major theories, and terminology, including: How economics affect governments, international relations, business, and even environmental issues like global warming and endangered species How the government fights recessions and unemployment using monetary and fiscal policy How and why international trade is good for you even if you don't appreciate French champagne, Irish crystal, or Swiss watches How the law of supply and demand can explain the prices of everything from comic books to open heart surgeries How the Federal Reserve controls the money supply, interest rates, and inflation Basic theories such as Keynesian economics, the Laffer Curve, and Adam Smith's Invisible Hand Presenting complex theories in simple terms and helping you decode the jargon, understand the equations, and debunk the common misconceptions, Economics For Dummies could be a big boon to your personal economy!

Author Biography

Sean Flynn earned his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, studying under Nobel Prize winners George Akerlof and Daniel McFadden.

He is a member of the American Economic Association, the American Finance Association, the Economic Science Association, and the Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics.

His research focuses on the often puzzling and seemingly irrational behavior of stock market investors, but he’s also investigated topics as wide-ranging as the factors that affect customer tipping behavior at restaurants and why you see a lot of unionized workers only in certain industries. He’s also a leading expert on closed-end mutual funds.

Introduction.

Part I: Economics — The Science of How People Deal with Scarcity.

Chapter 1: What Does Economics Study? And Why Should You Care?

Chapter 2: Cookies or Ice Cream? Tracking Consumer Choices.

Chapter 3: Producing the Right Stuff the Right Way to Maximize Human Happiness.

Part II: Macroeconomics — The Science of Economic Growth and Stability.

Chapter 4: Measuring the Macroeconomy: How Economists Keep Track of Everything.

Chapter 5: Inflation Frustration: Why More Money Isn’t Always a Good Thing.

Chapter 6: Understanding Why Recessions Happen.

Chapter 7: Fighting Recessions with Monetary and Fiscal Policy.

Part III: Microeconomics — The Science of Consumer and Firm Behavior.

Chapter 8: Supply and Demand Made Easy.

Chapter 9: Getting to Know Homo Economicus, the Utility-Maximizing Consumer.

Chapter 10: The Core of Capitalism: The Profit-Maximizing Firm.

Chapter 11: Why Economists Love Free Markets and Competition.

Chapter 12: Monopolies: How Badly Would You Behave If You Had No Competition?

Chapter 13: Oligopoly and Monopolistic Competition: Middle Grounds.

Chapter 14: Property Rights and Wrongs.

Chapter 15: Market Failure: Asymmetric Information and Public Goods.

Part IV: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 16: Ten (Or So) Famous Economists.

Chapter 17: Ten Seductive Economic Fallacies.

Chapter 18: Ten Economic Ideas to Hold Dear.

Appendix.

Index.

Supplemental Materials

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