E-Book Overview
In recent years, innovative texts in mathematics, science, foreign languages, and other fields have achieved dramatic pedagogical gains by abandoning the traditional encyclopedic approach in favor of attempting to teach a short list of core principles in depth. Two well-respected writers and researchers, Bob Frank and Ben Bernanke, have shown that the less-is-more approach affords similar gains in introductory economics. Although a few other texts have paid lip service to this new approach, Frank/Bernanke is by far the best throughout, and the best executed principles text in this mold. Avoiding excessive reliance on formal mathematical derivations, it presents concepts intuitively through examples drawn from familiar contexts. The authors introduce a coherent short list of core principles and reinforce them by illustrating and applying each in numerous contexts. Students are periodically asked to apply these principles and to answer related questions and exercises. Frank/Bernanke also encourages students to become “Economic Naturalists,” by employing basic economic principles to understand and explain what they observe in the world around them. An economic naturalist understands, for example, that infant safety seats are required in cars but not in airplanes because the marginal cost of space to accommodate these seats is typically zero in cars but often hundreds of dollars in airplanes. Such examples engage student interest while teaching them to see each feature of their economic landscape as the reflection of an implicit or explicit cost-benefit calculation.
E-Book Content
The Seven Core Principles Scarcity: Having more of one good thing usually means having less of another.
Incentives Matter: Comparing cost-benefit analyses enables us to predict actual decisions people make.
Increasing Opportunity Cost: Resources with the lowest opportunity cost should be used before turning to those with higher opportunity costs. Equilibrium: A market in equilibrium leaves no unexploited opportunities for individuals but may not exploit all gains achievable through collective action.
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ISBN 978-0-07-336266-3 MHID 0-07-336266-2
90000
9 780073 362663 www.mhhe.com
ECONOMICS Fourth Edition
Frank Bernanke
Efficiency: When the economic pie grows larger through efficiency, everyone can have a larger slice.
PRINCIPLES OF MICRO
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Comparative Advantage: Everyone does best if they concentrate on their relatively most productive activity.
Fourth Edition
MICRO ECONOMICS
Cost-Benefit Analysis: No action should be taken unless the marginal benefit is as great as the marginal cost.
Media Integrated iPod® Content Available
PRINCIPLES OF
Students need the ability to understand and evaluate our changing economy. Principles of Microeconomics, by Robert H. Frank and Ben S. Bernanke, provides students with the tools necessary to analyze current economic problems. By eliminating overwhelming detail and focusing on Seven Core Principles, the Fourth Edition helps students achieve a deep mastery of what is essential to understanding economics.
Robert H. Frank Ben S. Bernanke
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PRINCIPLES OF
MICROECONOMICS Fourth Edition
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THE MCGRAW-HILL SERIES IN ECONOMICS ESSENTIALS OF ECONOMICS
ECONOMICS OF SOCIAL ISSUES
MONEY AND BANKING
Brue, McConnell, and Flynn Essentials of Economics Second Edition
Guell Issues in Economics Today Fourth Edition
Mandel Economics: The Basics First Edi