Includes index.

Contents: The economic challenge: Economics: The core issues -- The U.S economy: a global view -- Supply and demand -- The role of government -- Measuring macro outcomes: National income accounting -- Unemployment -- Inflation -- Cyclical instability: The business cycle -- Aggregate demand -- Self adjustment or instability -- Fiscal policy tools: Fiscal policy -- Deficits and debt -- Monetary policy options: Money and banks -- The federal reserve system -- Monetary policy -- Supply-side options: supply-side policy: short-run options -- Growth and productivity: long -run possibilities -- Policy constraints: Theory versus reality -- Product markets: the basics -- Consumer choice -- Elasticity -- The costs of production -- Market structure: The competitive firm -- Competitive markets -- Monopoly -- Oligopoly -- Monopolistic competition -- Regulatory issues: Natural monopolies -- (DE)regulation -- Environmental protection -- The farm problem -- Factor markets: basic theory: The labor market -- Labor unions -- Financial markets -- Distributional issues: Taxes: equity versus efficiency -- Transfer payments: welfare and social security -- International economics: International trade -- International finance -- Global poverty.