Description

The introduction to Economics Today explains what economics is and why it is important in everyday life. Economics studies how individuals, businesses and governments make choices when resources are limited but human wants are unlimited.

Main ideas

• Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem. We cannot have everything we want because resources are limited.
• Because resources are scarce, people must make choices.
• Every choice involves an opportunity cost—the value of the best alternative that is given up.
• Economics studies how people and organisations decide what to produce, how to produce it, and for whom.
• Economic decisions are influenced by incentives, prices, income and available information.
• Economic principles can be applied to everyday decisions as well as business and government policy.
• The book uses real-world examples and applications to connect economic theory with practical situations.