Economics demystified / by Melanie Fox, Eric Dodge.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction to economics -- Scarcity -- Four economic resources -- Opportunity cost -- Rational decision making -- Marginal analysis -- Economic models -- Appendix : math and graph review -- 2. Utility and consumer choice -- Principle of diminishing marginal utility -- Budget constraints -- Constrained utility maximization -- Spending the marginal dollar -- 3. Demand -- The Law of Demand -- Demand curves -- Determinants of demand -- Price elasticity of demand -- Cross-price and income elasticities of demand -- 4. Production and cost -- The inputs used in production : fixed and variable -- Short-run production -- Diminishing marginal product -- Costs in the short run -- Increasing marginal cost -- 5. Supply -- The marginal cost curve -- The Law of Supply -- Supply curves -- Determinants of supply -- The price elasticity of supply -- 6. Market equilibrium -- Competitive markets -- Equilibrium -- Efficiency in competitive markets -- Price controls -- Excise taxes -- 7. Perfect competition -- Revenue and costs -- Profit maximization, mathematically -- Accounting profit and economic profit -- Profit maximization, graphically -- Economic profit and loss in the short run -- Long-run adjustments -- 8. Monopoly -- Demand, marginal revenue, and elasticity -- Profit maximization -- Deadweight loss -- Government regulation -- Price discrimination -- 9. Imperfect competition: monopolistic competition and oligopoly -- Game theory -- 10. Factor markets -- The choice between labor and leisure -- Labor supply -- Labor demand -- How wages are determined -- Least-cost hiring -- 11. Introduction to macroeconomics -- Model of the economy as a whole : the circular flow diagram -- Measuring the state of the economy -- Counting GDP : expenditures approach -- Counting GDP : income approach -- GNP versus GDP : what's the difference? -- 12. Unemployment -- The labor force -- Idea of full employment -- Underemployment and discourage workers -- 13. Inflation -- Consumer Price Index -- Real and nominal dollars -- Consequences of inflation -- Deflation versus disinflation -- Employment and inflation -- 14. The model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply -- Real GDP and nominal GDP -- Model of aggregate demand (AD) and aggregate supply (SRAS and LRAS) -- 15. Money and the money market -- Functions and types of money -- The money supply -- Fractional reserves -- The role of the Central Bank -- The Money Market -- 16. Fiscal policy and monetary policy -- The interest rate -- Keynesian Theory -- Fiscal policy -- Monetary policy -- Applying policy actions to economic fluctuations -- 17. The global economy -- Production possibilities -- Comparative advantage and gains from trade -- Foreign exchange markets -- Currency appreciation and depreciation -- How do exchange rates affect aggregate demand? -- Balance of payments -- Foreign currency and economic policy -- Trade barriers -- 18. Public goods and the environment -- Private and public goods -- Positive externalities -- Negative externalities -- Government remedies for externalities -- How can economics reduce pollution? -- 19. Health Economics and the market for health insurance -- Healthcare markets -- The market for insurance -- Healthcare policy reform -- 20. Economic research.

Uses illustrations and real-life examples to explain economics concepts and theories, and features review quizzes at the end of each chapter.