Economics: The Basics provides a fascinating introduction to the key issues in contemporary economics. With case studies ranging from the coffee plantations of El Salvador to the international oil industry and the economic slowdown in Japan, it addresses fundamental questions such as: *Must increasing wealth for some mean increasing poverty for others? *Does producing more food for humankind mean we drive other species to extinction? *Is it true that, if we buy less coffee, farm incomes from Brazil to Kenya take a beating? *Is granting people property rights the best way to preserve fish and wildlife stocks? *Do we really have to choose between low unemployment and low inflation? Comprehensive and easy to read, this accessible guidebook is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how economics works and why it is important.

Table of Contents

1. Wealth and Poverty; Rainforests and Tigers 2. Prices, Markets and a Simple Cup of Coffee 3. The Business of Supply: From Peasant Lands to Corporate Giants 4. Inflation and Unemployment; Boom and Bust 5. Money, Banks, Bubbles and Crises 6. National Income, World Trade and Multinational Enterprise 7. Can We Reduce Poverty and Protect the Environment?

Author Biography

Tony Cleaver is Vice Master of Grey College and Lecturer in the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Durham, UK.