Introduction to the Market System

The overriding objective of this text is to help students understand the economic context in which they play out their personal and professional lives, both in the United States and in the world. It seeks to overcome the indifference of non-economics majors at the college level. About Economics 1. Economists’ Methods 2. Why Are There Economic Systems? 3. The Emergence of the Market System 4. The Market System ’s Institutions 5. The Perfectly Competitive Market System: What to Produce 6. The Perfectly Competitive Market System: How and For Whom to Produce 7. Other Market Structures: Imperfect Competition 8. Our Labor Markets 9. For Whom Are We Producing? 10. The Role of Government in the Market System 11. World Markets: International Trade 12. Economic Development in the Developing and Transitional Economies 13. Measuring the Nation’s Income and Gross Domestic Product Business Cycles 14. Recessions, Inflation, and Economic Growth 15. Stabilizing the Market Economy: Fiscal Policy 16. Stabilizing the Market Economy: Monetary Policy