Table of Contents

Preface 1. The Big Ideas in Economics 2. The Power of Trade and Comparative Advantage Part 1: Supply and Demand 3. Supply and Demand 4. Equilibrium: How Supply and Demand Determine Prices 5. Elasticity and Its Applications 6. Taxes and Subsidies Part 2: The Price System 7. The Price System: Signals, Speculation, and Prediction 8. Price Ceilings and Floors 9. International Trade 10. Externalities: When the Price Is Not Right Part 3: Firms and Factor Markets 11. Costs and Profit Maximization under Competition 12. Competition and the Invisible Hand 13. Monopoly 14. Price Discrimination and Pricing Strategy 15. Oligopoly and Game Theory 16. Competing for Monopoly: The Economics of Network Goods 17. Monopolistic Competition and Advertising 18. Labor Markets Part 4: Government 19. Public Goods and the Tragedy of the Commons 20. Political Economy and Public Choice 21. Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy Part 5: Decision Making for Businesses, Investors, and Consumers 22. Managing Incentives 23. Stock Markets and Personal Finance 24. Asymmetric Information: Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection 25 Consumer Choice Part 6: Economic Growth 26 GDP and the Measurement of Progress 27 The Wealth of Nations and Economic Growth 28 Growth, Capital Accumulation, and the Economics of Ideas: Catching Up vs. the Cutting Edge 29 Saving, Investment, and the Financial System Part 7: Business Fluctuations 30 Unemployment and Labor Force Participation 31 Inflation and the Quantity Theory of Money 3. Business Fluctuations: Aggregate Demand and Supply 33. Transmission and Amplification Mechanisms Part 8: Macroeconomic Policy and Institutions 34. The Federal Reserve System and Open Market Operations 35. Monetary Policy 36. The Federal Budget: Taxes and Spending 37. Fiscal Policy Part 9: International Economics 38 International Finance APPENDIX A Reading Graphs and Making Graphs APPENDIX B Solutions to Check Yourself

About the Author

Tyler Cowen is Holbert C. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Director of the Mercatus Center and the James M. Buchanan Center for Political Economy.

Alex Tabarrok is Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and director of research for The Independent Institute.