Economics Principles and Tools - Hardcover

O'Sullivan, Arthur; Sheffrin, Steven M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0130081515 ISBN 13: 9780130081513

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2002

Synopsis

By emphasizing the five key principles, this book teaches readers how to think like economists by showing them how to use economic concepts in their everyday lives and careers. The authors make the material both accessible and motivating by using key concepts repeatedly, illustrating them with compelling real-world examples, and giving readers lots of practice at ?Active Learning;? doing their own economic analysis. The focus on the five key principles of economics throughout the book includes: 1) Opportunity Cost, 2) The Marginal Principle (comparing marginal benefits and marginal costs), 3) Diminishing Returns, 4) The Spillover Principle (for externalities in production and consumption), and 5) The Reality Principle (distinguishing real from nominal magnitudes). Returning to these principles repeatedly explains the logic of economic reasoning and demystifies the tools of economics. For anyone who wants to see the relevance of economics in their life, career, and future.

About this title

About the Author

Arthur O'Sullivan is a professor of economics at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. After receiving his B.S. Degree in economics at the University of Oregon, he spent two years in the Peace Corps, working with city planners in the Philippines. He received his Ph.D. degree in economics from Princeton University in 1981 and has taught at the University of California, Davis and Oregon State University, winning several teaching awards at both schools. He recently accepted an endowed professorship at Lewis and Clark College, where he teaches microeconomics and urban economics. He is the author of the best-selling textbook, Urban Economics, currently in its fifth edition.

Professor O'Sullivan's research explores economic issues concerning urban land use, environmental protection, and public policy. His articles appear in many economics journals, including Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, National Tax Journal, Journal of Public Economics, and Journal of Law and Economics.

Professor O'Sullivan lives with his family in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He enjoys outdoor activities, including tennis, rafting, and hiking. Indoors, he plays chess, foosball, and ping-pong with his two kids, and is lucky to win one of five games.

Steven M. Sheffrin is dean of the division of social sciences and professor of economics at the University of California, Davis. He has been a visiting professor at Princeton University, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics, and served as a financial economist with the Office of Tax Analysis of the United States Department of Treasury. He has been on the faculty at Davis since 1976 and served as the chairman of the department of economics. He received his B.A. from Wesleyan University and his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professor Sheffrin is the author of eight other books and monographs and over 100 articles in the fields of macroeconomics, public finance, and international economics. His most recent books include Rational Expectations (Second Edition) and Property Taxes and Tax Revolts: The Legacy of Proposition 13 (with Arthur O'Sullivan and Terri Sexton), both from Cambridge University Press.

Professor Sheffrin has taught macroeconomics at all levels, from large lectures of principles (classes of 400) to graduate classes for doctoral students. He is the recipient of the Thomas Mayer Distinguished Teaching Award in economics.

He lives with his wife Anjali (also an economist) and his two children in Davis, California. In addition to a passion for current affairs and travel, he plays a tough game of tennis.

From the Back Cover

NEW AND ENHANCED! Active Learning CD-ROM

This unique learning tool reinforces key concepts with rich, interactive exercises.

New to this edition are seven Economic Experiment Videos, an electronic Graphing Tool, and an audio Graphing tutorial. The Active Learning CD-ROM is free with every new copy of this text!

FEATURES

• Active Graphs—Over 60 Active Graphs (referenced in the text) allow students to change the value of a variable and look at the effects on the equilibrium. Experience indicates that using graphs in this way considerably strengthens students' intuition and understanding of the mechanisms at work.
• eGraphs—Our new electronic graph builder—allows students to plot and create their own graphs using FLASH animation. Graphing Questions, which require the student to analyze a scenario using eGraph, can then be printed or sent electronically to their professor for grading.
• Graphing Tutorial—A dynamic visual and audio graphing tutorial provides helpful explanations and reference for the student.
• Economic Experiments—Seven economic experiments have been chosen from the text and filmed five in classes at Iona College to demonstrate the fun interactive nature of economics. Experiments on Ultimatum Bargaining, the Production of Fold-Its, Market Equilibrium, Inflation Uncertainty, and Store of Value are brought to life.
• Walkthrough Tutorial—Organized by chapter, each tutorial includes a detailed summary, hotlinks to Chapter-Opening Questions, Test Your Understanding, Active Graphs, all new critical-thinking questions for A Closer Look boxes, tables and figures from the text, dynamic graphs, pop-up glossary terms and principles, the Economic Experiments, and end-of-chapter, self-assessment quizzes.
• Chapter Quizzes—Revised and updated, each chapter contains approximately 20 multiple-choice questions to provide instant feedback and reinforce students' understanding of the concepts.
• Glossary of Terms—A complete alphabetical listing of all terms from the text as well as hyperlinks to terms throughout the chapter tutorials.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pearson College Div
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0130081515
• ISBN 13: 9780130081513
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 704