Includes index.

The scope and method of economics -- The economic problem: scarcity and choice -- Demand, supply, and market equilibrium -- Demand and supply applications -- Elasticity -- Household behavior and consumer choice -- The production process: the behavior of profit-maximizing firms -- Short-run costs and output decisions -- Long-run costs and output decisions -- Input demand: the labor and land markets -- Input demand: the capital market and the investment decision -- General equilibrium and the efficiency of perfect competition -- Monopoly and antitrust policy -- Oligopoly -- Monopolistic competition -- Externalities, public goods, and common resources -- Uncertainty and asymmetric information -- Income distribution and poverty -- Public finance: the economics of taxation -- International trade, comparative advantage, and protectionism -- Economic growth in developing economies -- Critical thinking about research.

"Our goal in the 13th edition, as it was in the first edition, is to instill in students a fascination with both the functioning of the economy and the power and breadth of economics. The first line of every edition of our book has been "The study of economics should begin with a sense of wonder." We hope that readers come away from our book with a basic understanding of how market economies function, an appreciation for the things they do well, and a sense of the things they do poorly. We also hope that readers begin to learn the art and science of economic thinking and begin to look at some policy and even personal decisions in a different way"-- Provided by publisher.