Includes bibliographical references and index.

Economics : the study of opportunity cost -- Supply and demand -- The concept of elasticity and consumer and producer surplus -- Firm production, cost, and revenue -- Perfect competition, monopoly, and economic versus normal profit -- Every macroeconomic word you ever heard: gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment, recession, and depression -- Interest rates and present value -- Aggregate demand and aggregate supply -- Fiscal policy -- Monetary policy -- Federal spending -- Federal deficits, surpluses, and the national debt -- The housing bubble -- The recession of 2007/2009 : causes and policy responses -- Japan's lost decade : could it happen in the united states? -- Is the (fiscal) sky falling? : an examination of unfunded social security, medicare, and state and local pension liabilities -- International trade: does it jeopardize american jobs? -- International finance and exchange rates -- European debt crisis -- Economic growth and development -- The line between legal and illegal goods -- Natural resources, the environment, and climate change -- Health care -- Government-provided health insurance : medicaid, medicare, and the child health insurance program -- The economics of prescription drugs -- So you want to be a lawyer : economics and the law -- The economics of crime -- The economics of race and sex discrimination -- Income and wealth inequality : what's fair? -- Farm policy -- Minimum wage -- Ticket brokers and ticket scalping -- The economics of k/12 education -- College and university education : why is it so expensive? -- Poverty and welfare -- Social security -- Personal income taxes -- Energy prices -- If we build it, will they come? and other sports questions -- The stock market and crashes -- Unions -- Walmart : always low prices (and low wages); always -- The economic impact of casino gambling -- Summary -- Index.