1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910154957103321

Autore

Sloman John <1947->

Titolo

Essentials of economics / / John Sloman, Dean Garratt

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Harlow, England : , : Pearson, , [2016]

©2016

ISBN

1-292-08232-1

Edizione

[Seventh edition.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (475 ages) : color illustrations, photographs

Collana

Always learning

Disciplina

330

Soggetti

Economics

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- About the authors -- Brief contents -- Detailed contents -- Custom publishing -- Student and lecturer resources -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Publisher's acknowledgements -- Part A INTRODUCTION -- 1 Economic issues -- 1.1 Engaging with economics -- An island economy -- Economic puzzles and issues -- 1.2 The economic problem -- The problem of scarcity -- Demand and supply -- 1.3 Dividing up the subject -- Macroeconomics -- Microeconomics -- 1.4 Modelling economic relationships -- The production possibility curve -- The circular flow of goods and incomes -- Techniques of analysis -- 1.5 Economic systems -- The command economy -- The free-market economy -- The mixed market economy -- chapter 1 Boxes -- 1.1 Macroeconomic issues: An historical perspective -- 1.2 The opportunity costs of studying economics: What are you sacrificing? -- 1.3 Command economies: Rise and fall of planning -- 1.4 Affording the mixed economy: The sovereign debt crisis of the early 2010s -- Part B MICROECONOMICS -- 2 Markets, demand and supply -- 2.1 Demand -- The relationship between demand and price -- The demand curve -- Other determinants of demand -- Movements along and shifts in the demand curve -- Utility and the demand curve -- 2.2 Supply -- Supply and price -- The supply curve -- Other determinants of supply -- Movements along and shifts in the supply curve -- 2.3 The determination of price -- Equilibrium price and output -- Movement to a new equilibrium -- 2.4 The free-market economy -- Advantages of a



free-market economy -- Problems with a free-market economy -- 2.5 Behavioural economics -- What is behavioural economics? -- Explaining 'irrational' consumer choices -- Relevance to economic policy -- Chapter 2 Boxes -- 2.1 Satisfaction and the rational consumer: Consumer surplus and 'benefit drivers'.

2.2 UK house prices: From raising the roof to falling through the floor -- 2.3 Stock market prices: Demand and supply in action -- 2.4 Commodity prices: Riding the commodities Big Dipper? -- 2.5 Nudging people: How to change behaviour -- 3 Markets in action -- 3.1 Price elasticity of demand -- Measuring the price elasticity of demand -- Interpreting the figure for elasticity -- Determinants of price elasticity of demand -- 3.2 Price elasticity of demand and consumer expenditure -- 3.3 Price elasticity of supply (Pe) -- The determinants of price elasticity of supply -- 3.4 Other elasticities -- Income elasticity of demand -- Cross-price elasticity of demand -- 3.5 Markets and adjustment over time -- Short-run and long-run adjustment -- Price expectations and speculation -- 3.6 Uncertainty and risk -- Responding to risk and uncertainty -- 3.7 Markets where prices are controlled -- Setting a minimum (high) price -- Setting a maximum (low) price -- Chapter 3 Boxes -- 3.1 The measurement of elasticity -- 3.2 Advertising and its effect on demand curves: How to increase sales and price -- 3.3 Short selling: Gambling on a fall in share prices -- 3.4 Problems with insurance markets: Adverse selection and moral hazard -- 3.5 Agriculture and minimum prices: A problem of surpluses -- 3.6 The effect of imposing taxes on goods: Who ends up paying? -- 4 The supply decision -- 4.1 Production and costs: short run -- Short-run and long-run changes in production -- Production in the short run: the law of diminishing returns -- Measuring costs of production -- Costs and output -- 4.2 Production and costs: long run -- The scale of production -- Long-run average cost -- The relationship between long-run and short-run average cost curves -- Long-run cost curves in practice -- Postscript: decision making in different time periods -- 4.3 Revenue.

Total, average and marginal revenue -- Average and marginal revenue curves when price is not affected by the firm's output -- Average and marginal revenue curves when price varies with output -- Shifts in revenue curves -- 4.4 Profit maximisation -- Some qualifications -- 4.5 Problems with traditional theory -- Explaining actual producer behaviour -- Chapter 4 Boxes -- 4.1 Diminishing returns in the bread shop: Is the baker using his loaf? -- 4.2 Malthus and the dismal science of economics: Population growth + diminishing returns = starvation -- 4.3 The relationship between averages and marginals -- 4.4 Costs and the economic vulnerability of firms: -- The behaviour of costs and firms' financial well-being -- 4.5 Minimum efficient scale: The extent of economies of scale in practice -- 4.6 The logic of logistics: Driving up profits -- 5 Market structures -- 5.1 The degree of competition -- 5.2 Perfect competition -- Assumptions -- The short-run equilibrium of the firm -- The short-run supply curve -- The long-run equilibrium of the firm -- 5.3 Monopoly -- What is a monopoly? -- Barriers to entry -- Equilibrium price and output -- Monopoly versus perfect competition: which best serves the public interest? -- Potential competition or potential monopoly? The theory of contestable markets -- 5.4 Monopolistic competition -- Assumptions -- Equilibrium of the firm -- Non-price competition -- Monopolistic competition and the public interest -- 5.5 Oligopoly -- The two key features of oligopoly -- Competition and collusion -- Collusive oligopoly -- Non-collusive oligopoly: the breakdown of collusion -- Non-collusive oligopoly: assumptions about rivals' behaviour -- Oligopoly and the consumer --



5.6 Game theory -- Single-move games -- Multi-move games -- 5.7 Price discrimination -- Advantages to the firm -- Price discrimination and the consumer.

Chapter 5 Boxes -- 5.1 E-commerce: A return of power to the people? -- 5.2 Breaking sky's monopoly on live premier league football: The sky is the limit for the English Premier League -- 5.3 OPEC - the rise and fall and rise again of a cartel: The history of the world's most famous cartel -- 5.4 The power of oligopoly: Energising competition in the UK energy sector -- 5.5 The prisoners' dilemma -- 5.6 Profit-maximising prices and output for a third-degree price discriminating firm: Identifying different prices in different markets -- 6 Wages and the distribution of income -- 6.1 Wage determination in a perfect market -- Perfect labour markets -- The supply of labour -- The demand for labour: the marginal productivity theory -- Wages and profits under perfect competition -- 6.2 Wage determination in imperfect markets -- Firms with power -- The role of trade unions -- Bilateral monopoly -- The efficiency wage hypothesis -- 6.3 Inequality -- Types of inequality -- Measuring the size distribution of income -- The functional distribution of income -- The distribution of wealth -- Causes of inequality -- 6.4 The redistribution of income -- Taxation -- Benefits -- The tax/benefit system and the problem of disincentives: the 'poverty trap' -- Chapter 6 Boxes -- 6.1 Labour market trends: Patterns in employment -- 6.2 Wages under bilateral monopoly: All to play for? -- 6.3 Equal pay for equal work? Wage inequalities between men and women -- 6.4 Minimum wage legislation: A way of helping the poor? -- 6.5 Inequality and economic growth: Macroeconomic implications of income inequality -- 6.6 UK tax credits: An escape from the poverty trap? -- 7 Market failures and government policy -- 7.1 Social efficiency -- 7.2 Market failures: externalities and public goods -- Externalities -- Public goods -- 7.3 Market failures: monopoly power.

Deadweight loss under monopoly -- Conclusions -- 7.4 other market failures -- Ignorance and uncertainty -- Protecting people's interests -- The principal-agent problem -- Immobility of factors and time lags in response -- Macroeconomic goals -- How far can economists go in advising governments? -- 7.5 Government intervention: taxes and subsidies -- The use of taxes and subsidies -- Advantages of taxes and subsidies -- Disadvantages of taxes and subsidies -- 7.6 Government intervention: laws and regulation -- Laws prohibiting or regulating undesirable structures or behaviour -- Regulatory bodies -- 7.7 other forms of government intervention -- Changes in property rights -- Provision of information -- The direct provision of goods and services -- Nationalisation and privatisation -- 7.8 More or less intervention? -- Drawbacks of government intervention -- Advantages of the free market -- Should there be more or less intervention in the market? -- 7.9 The environment: a case study in market failure -- The environmental problem -- Market failures -- Policy alternatives -- How much can we rely on governments? -- Chapter 7 Boxes -- 7.1 The tragedy of the commons: The depletion of common resources -- 7.2 Should health-care provision be left to the market? A case of multiple market failures -- 7.3 Green taxes: Their growing popularity in the industrialised world -- 7.4 Trading our way out of climate change: The EU carbon trading system -- 7.5 The problem of urban traffic congestion: Does Singapore have the answer? -- Part C MACROECONOMICS -- 8 Aggregate demand and the national economy -- 8.1 Introduction to macroeconomics -- Key macroeconomic issues -- Government macroeconomic policy -- 8.2 The circular flow of income model -- The inner flow, withdrawals and injections -- The relationship between withdrawals and injections.



The circular flow of income and the key macroeconomic objectives.

Sommario/riassunto

The market-leading concise text in introductory economics     Want to see economics in action? Visit the Sloman Economics News Site for a blog that's updated several times a week with current affairs and topical stories all linked to your textbook so you can explore the background to the issues more deeply.     This new edition of the market-leading Essentials of Economics has been updated with the most recent data and coverage of economic issues as the world tries to recover from global financial turmoil and looks at explanations of how consumers and firms really behave. Its classic features and clear and engaging writing style is complemented by strong theoretical coverage and a wealth of pedagogical features to support learning.     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. John is also Visiting Professor at the University of the West of England, Bristol.  Dean Garratt is Principal Teaching Fellow in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick.