Introduction to Economic Reasoning: United States Edition

With a goal of encouraging students to become informed decision-makers, Introduction to Economic Reasoning, Seventh Edition, provides a non-technical, concise introduction to basic economic theories that is ideal for a one-semester course. The Seventh Edition relates coherent explanations of general theories and models with thought-provoking, current features that apply and enliven core concepts. The hands-on economic reasoning approach promotes the idea that students can use economic analysis in their everyday lives to help them succeed in their careers and understand today’s global economic issues.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE. INTRODUCTION: SCARCITY AND THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM Chapter 1. The Study of Economics The Economic Problem Cost-Benefit Analysis and Opportunity Cost The Production Possibilities Curve The Three Fundamental Questions Five Economic Goals Conflicts and Trade-Offs Economic Theory and Policy Economists and Conclusions The Organization of the Text Chapter 2. Economic Systems The Model of Pure Capitalism The Model of Pure Command Socialism Mixed Economies: The Real-World Solution PART TWO. MICROECONOMICS: MARKETS, PRICES, AND THE ROLE OF COMPETITION Chapter 3. Demand and Supply: Price Determination in Competitive Markets Demand The Law of Demand Determinants of Demand Change in Quantity Demanded versus Change in Demand Supply The Law of Supply Determinants of Supply Change in Supply versus Change in Quantity Supplied The Process of Price Determination Changes in the Equilibrium Price Economic Efficiency and the Role of Prices Chapter 4. Applications Using Demand and Supply Government Intervention in Pricing Elasticity of Demand Chapter 5. Costs and Decision Making Explaining Human Behavior: The Role of Assumptions The Importance of Marginal Analysis The Improper Estimation of Costs Business Decision Making and the Pursuit of Profit Short-Run Costs of Production The Cost Curves Selecting the Profit-Maximizing Level of Output Gas Stations, Fast Food, and the All-Night Grocery Store Chapter 6. Price Taking: The Purely Competitive Firm The Nature of Pure Competition The Firm under Pure Competition Profit Maximization in the Short Run Profit Maximization in the Long Run The Benefits of Pure Competition Chapter 7. Price Searching: The Firm with Market Power The Acquisition of Market Power Price Searching The Profit-Maximization Rule Evaluating the Short-Run Profit or Loss Barriers to Entry and Long-Run Profits Price Searchers and Resource Allocation Price Searchers and Economies of Scale Chapter 8. Industry Structure and Public Policy Industry Structure and Market Power Pure Competition Monopolistic Competition Oligopoly Monopoly The Consequences of Monopoly or Oligopoly Antitrust and Regulation Chapter 9. Market Failure Externalities as a Source of Market Failure Market Failure and the Provision of Public Goods Government Failure: The Theory of Public Choice PART THREE. MACROECONOMICS: THE ECONOMY AS A WHOLE Chapter 10. Measuring Aggregate Performance Measuring Unemployment Measuring Inflation Measuring Total Output Chapter 11. Aggregate Demand and Supply: The Model of the Self-Correcting Economy Aggregate Demand Changes in Aggregate Demand Aggregate Supply Changes in Aggregate Supply The Equilibrium Output and Price Level The Impact of Changes in Aggregate Demand or Supply The Model of the Self-Correcting Economy Chapter 12. Fiscal Policy The Federal Budget Classical Economics, the Great Depression, and John Maynard Keynes The Existence of Unemployment or Inflation Discretionary Fiscal Policy: Combating Unemployment or Inflation Automatic Fiscal Policy: The Economy’s Automatic Stabilizers Fiscal Policy and the Federal Budget Issues Related to Fiscal Policy The Public Debt Chapter 13. Money, Banking, and Monetary Policy What Is Money? How Depository Institutions Create Money The Federal Reserve System Monetary Policy and the Federal Reserve Money, Interest Rates, and the Level of Economic Activity The Limits to Monetary Policy Chapter 14. The Activist-Nonactivist Debate The Activist Position: Keynes Revisited The Nonactivist Position: The Monetarists The Nonactivist Position: The New Classical Economists A Different Form of Activism: Managing Aggregate Supply Summing Up: Final Thoughts on Policy Activism Chapter 15. Economic Growth: The Importance of the Long Run Economic Growth and Why It Matters Sources of Economic Growth Policies to Promote Growth Debates about Growth Policy PART FOUR. INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: TRADE, EXCHANGE RATES, AND THE ROLE OF TRADE AGREEMENTS Chapter 16. International Economics Interdependent Economies and U.S. Trade The Rationale for International Trade Barriers to Trade Reducing Barriers: The Role of Trade Agreements Exchange Rates Managing Exchange Rates Glossary Photo Credits Index

About the Author :
Dr. William Rohlf is a Professor of Economics at Drury University. Dr. Rohlf was awarded his doctorate in 1972 from Kansas State University; a Masters from the Kansas State University in 1969; and a bachelors degree from Baker University, Baldwin City, Kansas, in 1967.