Economics affects almost everything we do: from our decisions at work to our shopping habits, voting preferences and social attitudes. This new edition of the popular text by David Begg and Gianluigi Vernasca enables the reader to understand todays economic environment by examining the underlying theory and applying it to real-world situations. Economics surveys the latest ideas and issues - such as the role of regulation in banking, the consequences of globalization and monetary union, and the efficacy of our current economic models. This coverage, combined with a rich array of pedagogical features, encourages students to explore our economic past and present, and to think critically about where this might lead us in the future. The new edition is updated to provide a comprehensive analysis of the financial crash - its causes, consequences, and possible policy responses, from fiscal stimulus to quantitative easing.
Part 1: Introduction 1. Economics and the Economy 2. Tools of Economics Analysis 3. Demand, Supply and the Market Part 2: Positive Microeconomics 4. Elasticities of Demand and Supply 5. Consumer Choice and Demand 6. Introducing Supply Decisions 7. Costs and Supply 8. Perfect Competition and Pure Monopoly 9. Market Structure and Imperfect Competition 10. The Labour Market 11. Factor Markets and Income Distribution 12. Risk and Information Part 3: Welfare Economics 13. Welfare Economics 14. Government Spending and Revenue Part 4: Macroeconomics 15. Introduction to Macroeconomics 16. Output and Aggregate Demand 17. Fiscal Policy and Foreign Policy 18. Money and Banking 19. Interest Rates and Monetary Transmission 20. Monetary and Fiscal Policy 21. Aggregate Supply, Prices and Adjustment to Shocks 22. Inflation, Expectations and Credibility 23. Unemployment 24. Exchange Rates and the Balance of Payments 25. Open Economy Macroeconomics 26. Exchange Rate Regimes 27. Business Cycles 28. Supply-side Economics and Economic Growth Part 5: The World Economy 29. International Trade