Economics + MyLab Economics with Pearson eText (Package)

John Sloman was Director of the Economics Network from its foundation in 1999 until 2012 and is now Visiting Fellow at the University of Bristol, where the network is based. He is also Visiting Professor at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Dean Garratt is a Senior Teaching Fellow at Aston University, having previously been a Principal Lecturer at Nottingham Business School. Jon Guest is a Senior Teaching Fellow at Aston University and a Teaching Associate at Warwick Business School. Discover more on our Sloman Economics news site.

Preface Part A INTRODUCTION

Economics and Economies

Economics and Global Issues
The Core of Economics
Different Economic Systems
The Nature of Economic Reasoning



Boxes

What's the Latest Economics News?
Looking at Macroeconomic Data
The Opportunity Costs of Studying
Scarcity and Abundance
Command Economies
Adam Smith (1723-90)
Ceteris Paribus

Part B FOUNDATIONS OF MICROECONOMICS

Supply and Demand

Demand
Supply
Price and Output Determination
Elasticity
The Time Dimension



Boxes

UK House Prices
Stock Market Prices
Social Media Influencers and Their Effect on Demand Curves
Any More Fares?
*Using Calculus to Calculate the Price Elasticity Of Demand
Digital Platforms
Short Selling
Dealing in Futures Markets



Government and the Market

The Control of Prices
Indirect Taxes and subsidies
Government Rejection of Market Allocation
Agriculture and Agricultural Policy



Boxes

A Minimum Unit Price for Alcohol
The Impact on Prices Of Natural Disasters/Health Crises
How Can Ticket Touts Make So Much Money?
Ashes To Ashes?
The Fallacy of Composition

Part C MICROECONOMIC THEORY

Background to Demand: The Rational Consumer

Marginal utility theory
*The timing of costs and benefits
*Indifference analysis



Boxes

*Using Calculus to Derive a Marginal Utility Function
The Marginal Utility Revolution: Jevons, Menger, Walras
Taking Account of Time
*Cash Versus Vouchers
*Giffen Goods Versus Giffen Behaviour
*Consumer Theory: A Further Approach



Consumer Behaviour in an Uncertain World

Demand under conditions of risk and uncertainty
Behavioural economics



Boxes

Experimental Economics
*the Endowment Effect
The Best Made Plans
*A Simple Experiment to Test For Social Preferences
Nudging People



Background to Supply

The Short-Run Theory of Production
Costs in the Short Run
The Long-Run Theory of Production
Costs in the Long Run
Revenue
Profit Maximisation



Boxes

Malthus and the Dismal Science of Economics
Diminishing Returns in The Bread Shop
The Relationship Between Averages and Marginals
*The Relationship Between TPP, MPP and APP
The Fallacy of Using Historic Costs
Are Fixed Costs Always the Same as Sunk Costs?
Cost Curves in Practice
*The Cobb-Douglas Production Function
Minimum Efficient Scale
*Using Calculus to Find the Maximum Profit Output
The Logic of Logistics



Profit Maximising under Perfect Competition and Monopoly

Alternative Market Structures
Perfect Competition
Monopoly
The Theory of Contestable Markets



Boxes

Concentration Ratios
Is Perfect Best?
E-Commerce and Market Structure
Google: A Monopoly Abusing Its Market Power?
X Inefficiency
Cut-Throat Competition
Airline Deregulation in The USA And Europe



Profit Maximising under Imperfect Competition

Monopolistic Competition
Oligopoly
Game Theory
Price Discrimination



Boxes

Selling Ice Cream as A Student
Declining Levels of Competition
OPEC
Buying Power
The Prisoner's Dilemma
What's The Train Fare to London?
Personalised Pricing in Digital Markets
Just the Ticket?



The Behaviour of Firms

Problems With Traditional Theory
Behavioural Economics of the Firm
Alternative Maximising Theories
Asymmetric Information and the Principal Agent Problem
Multiple Aims
Pricing in Practice



Boxes

What Do You Maximise?
How Firms Increase Profits by Understanding Irrational Consumers
Constraints On Firms Pricing
When Is a Theory Not a Theory?
Merger Activity
Stakeholder Power?
How Do Companies Set Prices?



The Theory of Distribution of Income

Wage Determination Under Perfect Competition
Wage Determination in Imperfect Markets
Capital and Profit
Land and Rent



Boxes

Labour As a Factor of Production
*Using Indifference Curve Analysis to Derive the Individuals Supply Curve of Labour
Immigration and the UK Labour Market
Life at the Mill
The Rise and Decline of The Labour Movement In The UK
How Useful Is Marginal Productivity Theory?
The Persistent Gender Pay Gap?
Flexible Labour Markets and the Flexible Firm
Behaviour at Work
Stocks snd Flows
The Economics of Non-Renewable Resources

Part D MICROECONOMIC POLICY

Inequality, Poverty and Policies to Redistribute Income

Inequality and Poverty
Taxes, Benefits, and the Redistribution of Income



Boxes

Poverty in the Past
Minimum Wage Legislation
The Laffer Curve
*Tax Cuts and Incentives
Replacing tax Credits with Universal Credit
What the Future Holds



Markets, Efficiency, and the Public Interest

Efficiency Under Perfect Competition
The Case for Government Intervention
Forms of Government Intervention
*Cost/Benefit Analysis
Government Failure and the Case for the Market



Boxes

The Market for Vaccines
The Police as a Public Service
Should Health-Care Provision Be Left to The Market?
Deadweight Loss from Taxes on Goods and Services
*What Price a Human Life?
*HS2: Is it Really Worth It?
Mises, Hayek, and The Mont Pelerin Society



Environmental Policy

Economics of the Environment
Policies to Tackle Pollution and its Effects
The Economics of Traffic Congestion
Urban Transport Policies



Boxes

The Economics of Biodiversity
Green Taxes
Placing A Price on CO2 emissions
International Co-Ordination on Climate Change
Trading Our Way Out of Climate Change
Road Pricing in Singapore



Government Policy towards Business

Competition Policy
Privatisation and Regulation



Boxes

Fixing Prices at Mini-Golf Meetings?
Expensive Chips?
Ticketing Takeovers
Selling Power to the People

 

Part E FOUNDATIONS OF MACROECONOMICS

An Introduction to Macroeconomic Issues and Ideas

An Overview of Key Macroeconomic Issues
Measuring National Income and Output
The Business Cycle
The Circular Flow of Income
Unemployment
Inflation
The Open Economy



Appendix: Calculating GDP Boxes

Which Country is Better Off?
Can GDP Measure National Happiness?
Output Gaps
The Costs of Unemployment
The Costs of Inflation
The Phillips Curve
Dealing In Foreign Exchange



The Development of Macroeconomic Thinking: a Historical Perspective

The Macroeconomic Environment and Debates
Classical Macroeconomics
The Keynesian Revolution
The Rise of The Monetarist and New Classical Schools
The Keynesian Response
An Emerging Consensus Up to The Crisis Of 2008
The Financial Crisis and The Covid-19 Pandemic



Boxes

Balance the Budget at all Costs
The Crowding-Out Effect
Will Wage Cuts Cure Unemployment?
Menu Costs
The Paradox of Thrift

Part F MACROECONOMIC MODELS, THEORIES AND POLICY

Short-Run Macroeconomic Equilibrium

Background To the Theory
The Determination of National Income
The Simple Keynesian Analysis of Unemployment and Inflation
The Keynesian Analysis of The Business Cycle



Boxes

*Using Calculus to Derive the MPC
Confidence and Spending
Deriving the Multiplier Formula
Allowing for Inflation in the 45°- Line Diagram
Has There Been an Accelerator Effect in the UK?
Balance Sheets and the Business Cycle



Banking, Money, and Interest Rates

The Meaning and Functions of Money
The Financial System
The Supply of Money
The Demand for Money
Equilibrium



Boxes

Money Supply, National Income and National Wealth
the Growth of Banks Balance Sheets
The Rise of Securitisation
UK and Eurozone Monetary Aggregates
*Calculating the Money Multiplier



The Relationship between the Money and Goods Markets

The Effects of Monetary Changes on National Income
The Monetary Effects of Changes in The Goods Market
Modelling The Interaction of Monetary Policy And The Goods Market
Credit Cycles and The Goods Market



Appendix: The IS/LM Model Boxes

Choosing the Exchange Rate or the Money Supply
Party Games and the Velocity of Money
The Stability of the Velocity of Circulation
Crowding out in an Open Economy
Amplifiers and Economic Shocks



Aggregate Supply, Inflation and Unemployment

The AD/AS model
AD/AS and Inflation
Aggregate Demand and Supply with Inflation Targeting: The DAD/DAS model
The Labour Market and Aggregate Supply
 AD/AS and Macroeconomic Controversies



Boxes

The Aggregate Demand Curve
Cost-Push Inflation and Supply Shocks
Analysing Demand-Pull and Cost-Push Inflation Using the DAD/DAS model
Common Ground Between Economists?



The Relationship between Inflation, Unemployment and Output

The EAPC and the Inflation/Unemployment Relationship
Inflation and Unemployment: The Monetarist Perspective
Inflation and Unemployment: The New Classical Position
Inflation and Unemployment: The Modern Keynesian Position
Central Banks and Inflation Targeting
Central Banks, Economic Shocks and the Macroeconomy: An Integrated Model



Boxes

*Basing Expectations on the Past
The Accelerationist Hypothesis
The Rational Expectations Revolution
Forecasting the Weather
The boy who Cried Wolf
*A Model of Inflation Bias
Inflation Targeting



Fiscal and Monetary Policy

Fiscal policy and the public finances
The use of fiscal policy
Monetary policy
The policy-making environment



Boxes

COVID, Crises and Public Sector Spending
The Fiscal Impulse
Riding a Switchback
The Evolution of the Stability and Growth Pact
The Operation of Monetary Policy in the UK
Central Banking and Monetary Policy in the USA
Quantitative Easing
Monetary Policy in the Eurozone
Goodhart's Law
Using Interest Rates to Control Both Aggregate Demand and the Exchange Rate



Long-term Economic Growth and Supply-side Policies

Introduction to Long-Term Economic Growth
Economic Growth Without Technological Progress
Economic Growth with Technological Progress
Approaches To Supply-Side Policy
Supply-Side Policies in Practice: Market-Orientated Policies
Supply-Side Policies in Practice: Interventionist Policies



Boxes

Labour Productivity
Getting Intensive with Capital
UK Human Capital
The Supply-Side Revolution in the USA
A Modern Approach to Industrial Policy

Part G THE WORLD ECONOMY

 International Trade

The Advantages of Trade
Arguments for Restricting Trade
Preferential Trading
The European Union
The UK and Brexit



Boxes

Trading Places
Sharing Out the Jobs
Trade as Exploitation?
Free Trade and the Environment
Strategic Trade Theory
*The Optimum Tariff or Export Tax
Giving Trade a Bad Name
The Doha Development Agenda
Mutual Recognition: The Cassis De Dijon Case
Features of the Single Market



The Balance of Payments and Exchange Rates

Alternative Exchange Rate Regimes
Fixed Exchange Rates
Free-Floating Exchange Rates
Exchange Rate Systems in Practice



*Appendix: The Open Economy and IS/LM analysis Boxes

The Balance of Trade and the Public-Sector Budget Balance
The UK’s Balance of Payments Deficit
The Effectiveness of Fiscal and Monetary Policies Under Fixed Exchange Rates
The Price of a Big Mac
The Euro/Dollar Seesaw
The Effectiveness of Monetary and Fiscal Policies Under Floating Exchange Rates
Sterling Since the 1990s
Do Inflation Rates Explain Longer-Term Exchange Rate Movements?



Economies in an Interdependent World

Globalisation And the Problem of Instability
European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
Global Inequality
Trade and Developing Countries
The Problem of Debt



Boxes

Economic and Financial Interdependencies: Trade Imbalance in The US And China
Optimal Currency Areas
The Human Development Index (HDI)
When Driving and Alcohol do Mix
The Evolving Comparative Advantage of China
A Debt to the Planet

Postscript: Reality Island Appendix 1:Some Techniques of Economic Analysis Appendix 2: Websites Threshold Concepts and Key Ideas Glossary