Modern Principles of Economics

Tyler Cowen is Holbert C. Harris Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Director of the Mercatus Center. He is published widely in economics journals, including the American Economic Review and Journal of Political Economy. With Alex Tabarrok he co-writes the Marginal Revolution blog, often ranked as the #1 economics blog. He is also the author of numerous books on economics and he writes regularly for the popular press on economics, including for Bloomberg Opinion, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, and The Wilson Quarterly.  Alex Tabarrok is Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Tabarrok is co-author with Tyler Cowen of the popular economics blog, Marginal Revolution. His research looks at bounty hunters, judicial incentives and elections, crime control, patent reform, methods to increase the supply of human organs for transplant, and the regulation of pharmaceuticals. He is the editor of numerous books, his papers have appeared in numerous academic journals and his popular articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other magazines and newspapers.

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. Networks, Platforms, and the Economics of “Free 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.