Introductory Economics or Political Determinants of Corporate Governance

Introductory Economics

Author: Arleen J J Hoag

This textbook is carefully designed to provide the reader with a good understanding of the fundamental concepts of economics. The writing is lucid and at the student's level. There are twenty-nine "one-concept" chapters. Each chapter is suitably short, highlighting one economic principle. The student can study one concept and be reinforced by the learning process before proceeding to another chapter. Self review exercises conclude each chapter. The one-concept chapters also provide organizational flexibility for the instructor. The text is well integrated to show the relationship among the basic concepts and to offer a comprehensive overview of economics. There are six modules: The Economic Problem; Price Determination; Behind the Supply Curve; Level of Income; Money; and Trade.

Booknews

Emphasizing fundamental concepts in the study of economics, this textbook features 29 one-topic chapters, yet highlights the relationships between the ideas discussed in the various chapters. Organized around themes like "the economic problem," "price determination," "behind the supply curve," "the level of income," "money," and "trade," the chapters focus on topics like production, demand, supply, market equilibrium, price elasticity, diminishing returns, cost, revenue, profit, perfectly competitive supply, monopoly, imperfect competition, unemployment and inflation, gross domestic product, price indexes, business cycles, consumption and investment, macro equilibrium, government, fiscal policy, monetary tools, and economic policy. Arleen Hoag teaches at Owens Community College. John Hoag teaches at Bowling Green State University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Table of Contents:

	Preface (To the Instructor)	xv
	Introduction (For the Student)	xix
	Acknowledgments	xxi
Module 1	The Economic Problem	1
Chapter 1	The Meaning of Economics	3
	Goods and Services	4
	Resources	4
	Scarcity	5
	Choices	6
	Alternative Uses	7
	Opportunity Cost	8
	Present and Future Consumption	9
	Social Science	9
	Summary	10
Chapter 2	Production Possibilities	13
	A Model of Scarcity	13
	Scarcity, Choice, and Opportunity Cost	16
	Increasing Costs	18
	Increasing Costs Explored	20
	Changing the Assumptions--Employment	22
	Changing the Assumptions--Resources and Technology	24
	Summary	27
Chapter 3	Economic Systems	31
	Allocation of Resources	31
	Alternatives and Goals	33
	Economic Systems	34
	The Circular Flow Model	36
	Summary	38
Module 2	Price Determination	43
	Chaos and Markets	43
	Price	44
	Overview	45
Chapter 4	Demand	46
	Demand	47
	The Law of Demand	49
	Change in Demand	52
	Demand and Quantity Demanded	57
	Summary	59
Chapter 5	Supply	63
	Supply	63
	The Law of Supply	65
	Change in Supply	66
	Summary	70
Chapter 6	Market Equilibrium	73
	Market Demand and Supply	73
	Surplus	75
	Shortage	78
	Equilibrium	79
	An Increase in Market Demand	81
	Shifts in Market Demand and Supply	84
	Summary	86
Chapter 7	Price Elasticity	90
	Price Elasticity of Demand	91
	Vertical and Horizontal Demand	93
	Determinants of Price Elasticity of Demand	94
	Price, Elasticity, and Total Revenue	97
	Bananas and Oil	98
	Summary	100
Module 3	Behind the Supply Curve	103
Chapter 8	Diminishing Returns	106
	The Short Run and Variable Inputs	107
	Total and Marginal Product	107
	The Law of Diminishing Returns	110
	Diminishing Returns Explored	112
	Summary	114
Chapter 9	Cost	118
	Total Cost	118
	The Economic Concept of Cost	123
	Average Cost	124
	Marginal Cost	128
	The Average-Marginal Relation	131
	Summary	133
Chapter 10	Revenue	137
	Revenue and Market Structure	137
	Perfect Competition	140
	Total and Marginal Revenue	142
	Monopoly	144
	Summary	147
Chapter 11	Profit	151
	The Economic Meaning of Profit	151
	Profit Maximization	152
	Profit Maximization in Perfect Competition	154
	Profit Maximization in Monopoly	156
	Perfect Competition in the Short Run	158
	Summary	161
Chapter 12	Perfectly Competitive Supply	165
	The Shutdown Decision	165
	Supply	167
	Long-Run Equilibrium	169
	An Evaluation of Perfect Competition	171
	Summary	175
Chapter 13	Monopoly	178
	Barriers to Entry	178
	Short- and Long-Run Monopoly	182
	Higher Price and Lower Output	182
	Misallocation of Resources	184
	Summary	186
Chapter 14	Imperfect Competition	190
	Monopolistic Competition	190
	Oligopoly	193
	Oligopoly--Kinked Demand	194
	Oligopoly--Cooperative Behavior	197
	Antitrust	198
	Market Failures	199
	Summary	200
Chapter 15	Demand for Inputs	204
	Marginal Revenue Product and Marginal Input Cost	205
	Profit Maximization	206
	Input Demand	208
	How Wages are Determined	211
	Summary	212
Module 4	The Level of Income	215
Chapter 16	Unemployment and Inflation	217
	Unemployment	218
	Causes of Unemployment	220
	Full Employment	221
	Inflation	223
	Causes of Inflation	224
	Summary	227
Chapter 17	Gross Domestic Product	231
	Micro- and Macroeconomics	232
	Income, Output, and Employment	233
	Gross Domestic Product	235
	Expenditure Approach to GDP	237
	Shortcomings of GDP	239
	Summary	241
Chapter 18	Price Indexes	245
	When Prices Change	245
	Constructing a Price Index	246
	Consumer Price Index	248
	Limitations of the CPI	250
	Real GDP	251
	Understanding Real GDP	252
	Summary	254
Chapter 19	Business Cycles	258
	Business Cycles	258
	Theories of Business Cycles	260
	Classical Economics	261
	The Great Depression	264
	Lord Keynes	265
	The Keynesian Revolution	266
	Summary	267
Chapter 20	Consumption and Investment	271
	Consumption	272
	The Marginal Propensity to Consume	272
	Saving	274
	Investment	277
	Summary	279
Chapter 21	Macro Equilibrium	282
	Equilibrium Identified in the Macro Model	282
	Why Equilibrium Occurs Where it Does	283
	Another View of Equilibrium	286
	Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply	290
	Summary	291
Chapter 22	Government	295
	Taxes	296
	Government Spending	297
	Equilibrium Again	298
	The Income Multiplier	301
	The Multiplier Process	303
	Automatic Stabilizers	305
	Summary	306
Chapter 23	Fiscal Policy	310
	What Fiscal Policy is	310
	How Fiscal Policy Works	311
	The Federal Budget	313
	Evaluation of Fiscal Policy	314
	Perspectives on Fiscal Policy	315
	The National Debt	317
	Costs and Burdens of the Debt	320
	Summary	322
Module 5	Money	327
Chapter 24	Money	329
	What is Money?	329
	What Counts as Money	331
	Fractional Reserves	332
	The Creation of Money	333
	The Money Multiplier	336
	Summary	338
Chapter 25	Monetary Tools	341
	The Federal Reserve System	341
	Changing the Reserve Requirement	343
	Discount Rate Policy	344
	Open Market Operations	345
	Bond Prices and Interest Rates	347
	Summary	348
Chapter 26	Money and the Level of Income	352
	The Money Market	353
	Money and Income	356
	The Link From Money to Income	357
	Monetary Policy	358
	Evaluation of Monetary Policy	361
	Summary	363
Chapter 27	Economic Policy	366
	Economic Goals	367
	Phillips Curve	368
	Stagflation	369
	Policy Failure	371
	Classical, Keynesian, and Monetarist	372
	Supply Side and Rational Expectations	374
	Goal Trade-Offs	377
	Summary	378
Module 6	Trade	381
Chapter 28	Trade Without Money	383
	Absolute Advantage	383
	Comparative Advantage	385
	Potential for Trade	387
	Production Possibilities	388
	Summary	391
Chapter 29	Trade With Money	394
	Foreign Exchange Rate	394
	Foreign Exchange Market	395
	Balance of Payments	398
	Barriers to Trade	400
	Free Trade versus Protectionism	402
	Summary	405
Module 7	Conclusion	409
	Glossary	413
	Index	429

Go to: Muscle Logic or Living with Bipolar Disorder

Political Determinants of Corporate Governance: Political Context, Corporate Impact

Author: Mark J Ro

The political and social predicates that make the large firm possible and that shape its form are not always taken into account, despite the fact that variation in the political and social environment can deeply affect which firms, which ownership structures, and which governance arrangements survive and prosper. Focussing on the US, the larger nations in continental Europe, and Japan, Mark Roe uses statistical and qualitative analyses to explore the relationship between politics, history, and business organization.