Simple Introductions

Economics: A Simple Introduction offers an accessible guide to the principles and methods of economics, with calculations and over 25 diagrams to support the analysis.

Understand the four dimensional nature of economics, and how its learning process differs from other subjects.

Use data points, read graphs, and learn to create your own graphs and how to plot a trend curve. Evaluate the laws of diminishing marginal utility and diminishing returns exhibited by these trend curves, and assess the impact on consumers and producers. Turn curves into lines to find the relationship between two variables using an intercept and slope.

Find the equilibrium outcome where all sides are balanced and understand its importance for consumers and producers. Examine the factors which facilitate or prevent an equilibrium outcome, and which may lead to a range of possible outcomes.

Explore the impact of time as static analysis becomes dynamic analysis. Look into short-run shifts in demand or supply, and the affect which they may have on prices and consumption or production levels. Look at changes which can occur over the long-run, specifically the end of the law of diminishing returns.

Microeconomics overview explains how consumer preferences and budget constraint decide demand, and firm productivity and costs against revenue decide supply. Macroeconomics overview explains how the IS-LM model where goods and money markets balance decides aggregate demand, and the Phillips curve and growth models determine aggregate supply.

Econometrics is introduced as a method is presented to create value estimates, and economic theory becomes practice.