The Economics Book by DK-Publishing -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

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Index

BOOK CONTENTS INTRODUCTION LET THE TRADING BEGIN 400 BCE–1770 CE

Property should be private • Property rights What is a just price? • Markets and morality You don’t need to barter when you have coins • The function of money Make money from money • Financial services Money causes inflation • The quantity theory of money Protect us from foreign goods • Protectionism and trade The economy can be counted • Measuring wealth Let firms be traded • Public companies Wealth comes from the land • Agriculture in the economy Money and goods flow between producers and consumers • The circular flow of the economy Private individuals never pay for street lights • Provision of public goods and services

THE AGE OF REASON 1770–1820

Man is a cold, rational calculator • Economic man The invisible hand of the market brings order • Free market economics The last worker adds less to output than the first • Diminishing returns Why do diamonds cost more than water? • The paradox of value Make taxes fair and efficient • The tax burden Divide up pin production, and you get more pins • The division of labor Population growth keeps us poor • Demographics and economics Meetings of merchants end in conspiracies to raise prices • Cartels and collusion Supply creates its own demand • Gluts in markets Borrow now, tax later • Borrowing and debt The economy is a yo-yo • Boom and bust Trade is beneficial for all • Comparative advantage

INDUSTRIAL AND ECONOMIC REVOLUTIONS 1820–1929

How much should I produce, given the competition? • Effects of limited competition Phone calls cost more without competition • Monopolies Crowds breed collective insanity • Economic bubbles Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution • Marxist economics The value of a product comes from the effort needed to make it • The labor theory of value Prices come from supply and demand • Supply and demand You enjoy the last chocolate less than the first • Utility and satisfaction When the price goes up, some people buy more • Spending paradoxes A system of free markets is stable • Economic equilibrium If you get a pay raise, buy caviar not bread • Elasticity of demand Companies are price takers not price makers • The competitive market Make one person better off without hurting the others • Efficiency and fairness The bigger the factory, the lower the cost • Economies of scale The cost of going to the movies is the fun you’d have had at an ice rink • Opportunity cost Workers must improve their lot together • Collective bargaining People consume to be noticed • Conspicuous consumption Make the polluter pay • External costs Protestantism has made us rich • Religion and the economy The poor are unlucky, not bad • The poverty problem Socialism is the abolition of rational economy • Central planning Capitalism destroys the old and creates the new • Creative destruction

WAR AND DEPRESSIONS 1929–1945

Unemployment is not a choice • Depressions and unemployment Some people love risk, others avoid it • Risk and uncertainty Government spending boosts the economy by more than what is spent • The Keynesian multiplier Economies are embedded in culture • Economics and tradition Managers go for perks, not their company’s profits • Corporate governance The economy is a predictable machine • Testing economic theories Economics is the science of scarce resources • Definitions of economics We wish to preserve a free society • Economic liberalism Industrialization creates sustained growth • The emergence of modern economies Different prices to different people • Price discrimination

POST-WAR ECONOMICS 1945–1970

In the wake of war and depression, nations must cooperate • International trade and Bretton Woods All poor countries need is a big push • Development economics People are influenced by irrelevant alternatives • Irrational decision making Governments should do nothing but control the money supply • Monetarist policy The more people at work, the higher their bills • Inflation and unemployment People smooth consumption over their life spans • Saving to spend Institutions matter • Institutions in economics People will avoid work if they can • Market information and incentives Theories about market efficiency require many assumptions • Markets and social outcomes There is no perfect voting system • Social choice theory The aim is to maximize happiness, not income • The economics of happiness Policies to correct markets can make things worse • The theory of the second best Make markets fair • The social market economy Over time, all countries will be rich • Economic growth theories Globalization is not inevitable • Market integration Socialism leads to empty shops • Shortages in planned economies What does the other man think I am going to do? • Game theory Rich countries impoverish the poor • Dependency theory You can’t fool the people • Rational expectations People don’t care about probability when they choose • Paradoxes in decision making Similar economies can benefit from a single currency • Exchange rates and currencies Famine can happen in good harvests • Entitlement theory

CONTEMPORARY ECONOMICS 1970–PRESENT

It is possible to invest without risk • Financial engineering People are not 100 percent rational • Behavioral economics Tax cuts can increase the tax take • Taxation and economic incentives Prices tell you everything • Efficient markets Over time, even the selfish cooperate with others • Competition and cooperation Most cars traded will be lemons • Market uncertainty The government’s promises are incredible • Independent central banks The economy is chaotic even when individuals are not • Complexity and chaos Social networks are a kind of capital • Social capital Education is only a signal of ability • Signaling and screening The East Asian state governs the market • Asian Tiger economies Beliefs can trigger currency crises • Speculation and currency devaluation Auction winners pay over the odds • The winner’s curse Stable economies contain the seeds of instability • Financial crises Businesses pay more than the market wage • Incentives and wages Real wages rise during a recession • Sticky wages Finding a job is like finding a partner or a house • Searching and matching The biggest challenge for collective action is climate change • Economics and the environment GDP ignores women • Gender and economics Comparative advantage is an accident • Trade and geography Like steam, computers have revolutionized economies • Technological leaps We can kick-start poor economies by writing off debt • International debt relief Pessimism can destroy healthy banks • Bank runs Savings gluts abroad fuel speculation at home • Global savings imbalances More equal societies grow faster • Inequality and growth Even beneficial economic reforms can fail • Resisting economic change The housing market mirrors boom and bust • Housing and the economic cycle

DIRECTORY GLOSSARY CONTRIBUTORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS COPYRIGHT

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