Essentials of Economics lives up to its name by making the difficult choices. The standard table of contents has been pruned to the core. The surviving topics are the very essence of economic concepts. In microeconomics, for example, the focus is on the polar models of perfect competition and monopoly. Theses models are represented as the endpoints of a spectrum of market structures (see figure on p.130). Intermediate market structures--for example, oligopoly, monopolistic competition--are noted but not analyzed. The goal here is simply to convey the sense that market structurre is an important determinant of market outcomes. The contrast between the extreams of monopoly and perfect competition is sufficient to convey this essential message. The omission of other market structures from the outline also leaves more space for explaining and illustrating how market structure affects market behavior.

Section I Basics
Section II Microeconomics
Section III Macroeconomics
Section IV International