Deciphering Economics - Timely Topics Explained

This compact yet comprehensive guide provides a wealth of information that is timely, easy to understand, and relevant to the academic and civic lives of students, teachers, researchers, and the general public.

Economics surround us, impacting the decisions people make as consumers, producers, workers, savers, investors, taxpayers, and voters. This guide offers a thorough and understandable overview of basic economic concepts and principles, providing building blocks for understanding the systems of economics in today's complex world. It then explores contemporary, economics-related topics, issues, and challenges that exist within local communities, the U.S. economy, and the global economy.

Using language that is clear, precise, and accessible to high school and community college students as well as to general readers, the book covers microeconomic topics, macroeconomic topics, and international economics. It connects theory and practice as it examines how economic decisions are made and looks at the roles of the private and public sectors in achieving growth, stability, and employment. In addition, the author explores overarching trends in the global economy and the prospects for economic development in emerging nations and offers specific ways to locate other quality print and online resources on economics.

List of contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Using This Reference
Guide to Related Topics
Timeline: Key Economic Events That Shaped the Modern Era, 1776-2014
Part I: An Introduction to Economics
1 The Basics of Economic Thinking
Economic Science
Five Basic Economic Principles
Economic Schools of Thought: An Historical Overview
2 Basic Economic Concepts
Scarcity, Choice, and Opportunity Cost
The Circular Flow Model
Demand
Supply
Market Equilibrium
3 Economic History and Economic Systems
Stages of Economic History
Economic Systems: The Models
Capitalism
Other Economic Systems
Part II: Microeconomic Topics
4 Consumer Power and Behavior
Consumer Rights and Protections
Consumer Movements
Consumer Behavior
Consumer Issues
5 Businesses: The Basic Production Unit
Business Basics
Business Organization
Market Structures
Business Behavior
6 Workers and Worker Power
Workers and Worker Behavior
Labor Unions and Worker Power
Labor Issues
7 Governments Raise and Spend Money
Government Revenues
Government Spending
The Federal Budget
Part III: Macroeconomic Topics
8 Growing the Economy
The Gross Domestic Product
Measuring Economic Growth
Determinants of Economic Growth and Productivity
Limitations of Economic Growth
9 The Financial System Promotes Economic Activity
Money and the Money Supply
Banks and Other Depository Institutions
Other Financial Institutions
Issues in the Global Financial System
10 Promoting Economic Stability
Price Instability
Unemployment and Underemployment
The Federal Reserve System and Monetary Policy
Fiscal Policy
Part IV: International Topics
11 International Trade and the Global Trading System
Trade Basics
Trade Barriers
Trade Agreements
Challenges to Trade Liberalization
12 The Global Economy and Globalization
The Global Economy
Pillars of Globalization
Challenges to Globalization
13 Sustainable Economic Development
Classifications of Economies
Sustainable Economic Development
Challenges to Global Prosperity
Glossary of Selected Terms
Common Abbreviations in Economics
Selected Bibliography
Key Economic Web Sites
Index to Primary Documents
Index to Economics in History
General Index

About the author

David E. O'Connor is a nationally recognized economics teacher at the Edwin O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut. He has also served as a College Board Consultant in Economics, President of the Connecticut Council for Social Studies, and Instructor at the Taft Summer Institute for Teachers. He has conducted over 100 teacher workshops and written 18 books and teacher's manuals in the fields of economics, ethnic history, and world history, including Basic Economic Principles (Greenwood, 2000), Demystifying the Global Economy (Greenwood, 2002), and The Basics of Economics (Greenwood, 2004).

Product details

• Authors: David Connor, O&apos, David O'Connor, David E. O'Connor
• Publisher: Greenwood Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.05.2014
• EAN: 9781440804106
• ISBN: 978-1-4408-0410-6
• No. of pages: 286
• Subject: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Miscellaneous