目录 Unit One Text: What Is Economics? Additional Text: ?The Economic Problem Unit Two Text: Demand and Supply Additional Text: Utility and Consumer Choice Unit Three Text: Price Elasticities of Demand and Supply Additional Text: ? The Factors Influencing the Price Elasticities of Demand and Supply Unit Four Text: Cost of Production Additional Text: Economies and Diseconomies of Scale Unit Five Text: Monopoly Additional Text: Perfect Competition Unit Six Text: Oligopoly Additional Text: Monopolistic Competition Unit Seven Text: Gross Domestic Product Additional Text: Two Alternative Approaches of Measuring GDP Unit Eight Text: Economic Growth Additional Text: Sources of Economic Development Unit Nine Text: Inflation Additional Text: Unemployment Unit Ten Text: Money and Banking Additional Text: ? The U.S. Central Bank: ?The Federal Reserve System Unit Eleven Text: Foreign Exchange and Exchange Rate Additional Text: ?The Effects of Exchange Rates on the Economy Unit Twelve Text: ?The Balance of Payments Additional Text: International Monetary Systems Unit Thirteen Text: Fiscal and Monetary Policy Additional Text: Lags in the Economy’s Response to Monetary and Fiscal Policy Unit Fourteen Text: Role of Government in the Economy Additional Text: Government’s Policies Toward Externalities Appendix Ⅰ Answers to Exercises Appendix Ⅱ Chinese Translation of the Texts
精彩内容 Text WHAT IS ECONOMICS? There is no single adequate definition of what economics actually is, and the old joke that “economics is what economists do” is hardly helpful. A famous economist of the past, Alfred Marshall (1842?D1924), said: Economics is the study of mankind in the ordinary business of life;it examines that part of individual and social action which is most closely connected with the attainment and with the use of the material requisites of well-being. Economics has also been defined as the study of decision-making; decisions which involve choosing between alternatives in the related activities of earning, spending, producing and consuming, all with the object of achieving material well-being. In short, economics is, like sociology, law and politics, a study of one aspect of human behavior. It is important and relevant to all of us because it is concerned with such everyday activities as buying things, getting a job, using a bank and paying tax. Economics is concerned with people’s wants, in particular their material wants, and how they can be satisfied. Economics is often thought of as a science. However, it is a very inexact science because it is a social science, and is affected by the many influences that lead to incessant change. Human behavior cannot be examined with the same precision with which a natural scientist can examine laboratory specimens. The social sciences, which include economics, psychology, sociology and political behavior, can never be exact sciences since human behavior is extremely difficult to test or measure. Much economic behavior is based on what is known as a value judgment, which means it is based on the personal values of individuals and so cannot be verified in a factual way. Economics is a living subject, which is constantly developing and it affects us all. To understand the society in which we live, we must be informed about what is going on in our society and what the issues are. As consume
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