Understanding Economics Book

	Preface
1	Why Study Economics?	3
2	The Definition, Character, and Misuse of Economics	4
	Some Introductory Concepts	14
3	How Some Basic Things Are Determined by an Economic System	14
4	Caeteris Paribus and Prediction	16
5	The Production Possibilities Frontier	21
6	Wants, Resources, Technology, Productive Units	23
	Economizing and Rationality	27
7	The Economic Principle	27
8	The Dehumanized Utility Function and Rationality	28
9	Human Ends	34
10	Individual and Social Decision-Making	35
	Demand, Supply, Competition, Invisible Hand	37
11	Price Determination	37
12	Elasticities of Demand and Supply	41
13	Market Prices and Social Values	42
14	The Perfect Competition Norm	44
15	The Invisible Hand	48
	Money and Finance	56
16	The Influence and Safety of Finance	56
	The Business Firm and Society	63
17	The Firm and Profit Maximization	63
18	Oligopoly, Stability, and Public Policy	67
19	Expectations, Uncertainties, and Probabilities	67
20	Externalities and Efficiency	70
21	Responsibility to Stockholders and Others	73
	The Distribution of Income and Wealth	82
22	Functional Income Distribution Theory	82
23	The Minimum Wage Law	83
24	Marginal Productivity as an Implicit Ethical Norm	86
25	More on the Distribution of Income and Wealth	90
26	The Equity-Efficiency Trade-off	97
	Macroeconomics	103
27	Aggregate Demand and Supply	103
28	That Keynesian Revolution Controversy Again	118
29	The Welfare State	128
30	Inflation and Stagflation	129
31	Rules versus Discretion in Macroeconomic Policy	132
	The International Economy	134
32	International Economic Relations	134
33	The International Monetary System	144
	The Future Development of Economic Systems	147
34	The Economic Roles of Government	147
35	Comparative Economic Systems	157
36	Economic Development	162
37	Growth and Sustainable Economies	164
	The Future Development of Economics	168
38	What Picture of Social Problems?	168
39	The Relation to Social Philosophy	172
40	A Humanistic Economics Is Needed	173
	Notes	179
	Bibliography	181
	Index	183
	About the Author	189