Economic Principles and Problems A Pluralist Introduction Routledge Pluralist Introductions to Economics Series

Economic Principles and Problems: A Pluralistic Introduction offers a comprehensive introduction to the major perspectives in modern economics, including mainstream and heterodox approaches. Through providing multiple views of markets and how they work, it leaves readers better able to understand and analyze the complex behaviors of consumers, firms, and government officials, as well as the likely impact of a variety of economic events and policies.

Most principles of economics textbooks cover only mainstream economics, ignoring rich heterodox ideas. They also lack material on the great economists, including the important ideas of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, John Maynard Keynes, and Friedrich Hayek. Mainstream books tend to neglect the kind of historical analysis that is crucial to understanding trends that help us predict the future. Moreover, they focus primarily on abstract models more than existing economic realities. This engaging book addresses these inadequacies. Including explicit coverage of mainstream economics and the major heterodox schools of economic thought?institutionalists, feminists, radical political economists, post-Keynesians, Austrians, and social economists?it allows the reader to choose which ideas they find most compelling in explaining modern economic realities.

Written in an engaging style and focused on real-world examples, this textbook brings economics to life. Multiple examples of how each economic model works, coupled with critical analysis of the assumptions behind them, enable students to develop a sophisticated understanding of the material. Digital supplements are also available for students and instructors. Economic Principles and Problems offers the most contemporary and complete package for any pluralist economics class.

PART I: Economics: A Pluralist Definition; 1. What is economics?; 2. Scarcity, choice and opportunity cost; PART II: The evolution of economic ideas and systems; 3. The evolution of pre-capitalist economic systems; 4. Adam Smith and the rise of capitalism; 5. Karl Marx and the dark ages of capitalism; 6. Thorstein Veblen and monopoly capitalism; 7. Keynes and mixed market capitalism; 8. Modern economic systems; PART III: Markets, Supply and Demand; 9. Markets and how they work; 10. Applications of supply and demand; 11. Consumers and supplier behavior; PART IV: Market structures and corporations; 12. Different types of market structures; 13. Short-run and long-run costs of production; 14. Perfect competition and competitive markets; 15. Monopoly and monopoly power; 16. Monopolistic competition; 17. Oligopoly and strategic behavior; 18. Corporations and their role in society; Part V: Government intervention in microeconomic markets; 19. Market failure and government failure; 20. Economics of the environment and climate change; 21. Public goods and services; Part VI: Labor markets and inequality; 22. Working for a living: the labor market; 23. Inequality, a key modern issue; Part VII Macroeconomic issues and problems; 24. Modern macroeconomics; 25. Macroeconomic wellbeing; 26. Unemployment and price instability; Part VIII Macroeconomic models; 27. Aggregate demand and aggregate supply; 28. The Keynesian aggregate expenditure-income model; Part IX: Stabilization policy; 29. Fiscal policy, debt and deficits; 30. Money, banking and the financial sector; 31. Monetary policy; 32. Crises, financial and otherwise; Part X. Growth and global interconnectedness; 33. The sources of economic growth; 34. International trade and integration; 35. International finance and open economy macroeconomics

Geoffrey Schneider is Presidential Professor of Economics at Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He is an award-winning teacher, author or co-author of six books and numerous scholarly articles, and executive director of the International Confederation of Associations for Pluralism in Economics.