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Cover of Principles of Economics v1.1.2
Published: 
August 2011
Page Count: 
548
ISBN (Digital): 
978-1-4533-3067-8

Principles of Economics

Custom Version 1.1.2
By Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen
Adapted by Erin Hutton

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Listen to a podcast here of Libby discussing her textbook to gain perspective on her and Tim's text.

Version 1.1 boasts improved coverage throughout the text including significant updates to: Chapters 20 (GDP, Price Level Changes, Business Cycles, and Unemployment) Chapter 21 (Measuring Total Output and Income) Chapter 27 (Government and Fiscal Policy) Chapter 32 (Macroeconomics for the 21st Century)

Flat World Knowledge is honored to publish the revision of this first edition re-launch of Tim Tregarthen’s acclaimed Principles of Economics book, and proud to bring Tim's remarkable talents as a teacher to future generations of students.

In 1996, Tim published the first edition of his principles of economics textbook to great acclaim, and it became widely used in colleges around the country. That same year, MS made him wheelchair-bound. The disease forced his retirement from teaching at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1998. He lost the use of his arms in 2001 and has been quadriplegic ever since.

Tim never let his disease get him down. In fact, he turned back to his love of writing and teaching for inspiration. He obtained a voice-activated computer, recruited a co-author, Libby Rittenberg of Colorado College, and turned his attention to revising his principles of economics book.

Today we are excited to introduce Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen’s Principles of Economics V1.1. The authors teach economics as the study of ”choice ” by providing students with an accessible, straightforward overview of economics. This text combines the clarity and writing of Tregarthen's seminal periodical "The Margin" with great teaching insights.

Rittenberg and Tregarthen help students to understand how real individuals actually work with economics. In this new book, the authors illustrate the practicality and relevance of economics with a variety of new illustrations and insights.

The authors take a three-pronged approach to every concept: (1) the concept is covered with a ”Heads Up“ to ward off confusion, (2) a ”You Try It“ section makes sure students are staying on top of the concept and (3) a ”Case and Point“ section that uses a real-world application to harness the concept in reality. For one example of how this plays out in the text see "Chapter 3, Section 2 on Supply." here

This book is intended for a two-semester course in economics taught out of the social sciences or business school.

  • About the Authors
  • Acknowledgments
  • Preface

    • Chapter 1: Economics: The Study of Choice

  • 1.1 Start Up: Economics in the News
  • 1.2 Defining Economics
  • 1.3 The Field of Economics
  • 1.4 The Economists’ Tool Kit
  • 1.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 2: Confronting Scarcity: Choices in Production

  • 2.1 Start Up: Tightening Security at the World’s Airports
  • 2.2 Factors of Production
  • 2.3 The Production Possibilities Curve
  • 2.4 Applications of the Production Possibilities Model
  • 2.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 3: Demand and Supply

  • 3.1 Start Up: Crazy for Coffee
  • 3.2 Demand
  • 3.3 Supply
  • 3.4 Demand, Supply, and Equilibrium
  • 3.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 4: Applications of Demand and Supply

  • 4.1 Start Up: A Composer Logs On
  • 4.2 Putting Demand and Supply to Work
  • 4.3 Government Intervention in Market Prices: Price Floors and Price Ceilings
  • 4.4 The Market for Health-Care Services
  • 4.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 5: The Analysis of Consumer Choice

  • 5.1 Start Up: A Day at the Grocery Store
  • 5.2 The Concept of Utility
  • 5.3 Utility Maximization and Demand
  • 5.4 Indifference Curve Analysis: An Alternative Approach to Understanding Consumer Choice
  • 5.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 6: Markets, Maximizers, and Efficiency

  • 6.1 Start Up: A Drive in the Country
  • 6.2 Maximizing in the Marketplace
  • 6.3 Market Failure
  • 6.4 Review And Practice

    • Chapter 7: Socialist Economies in Transition

  • 7.1 Start Up: The Collapse of Socialism
  • 7.2 The Theory and Practice of Socialism
  • 7.3 Socialist Systems in Action
  • 7.4 Economies in Transition: China and Russia
  • 7.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 8: A Brief History of Macroeconomic Thought and Policy

  • 8.1 Start Up: Three Revolutions in Macroeconomic Thought
  • 8.2 The Great Depression and Keynesian Economics
  • 8.3 Keynesian Economics in the 1960s and 1970s
  • 8.4 An Emerging Consensus: Macroeconomics for the Twenty-First Century
  • 8.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 9: Macroeconomics: The Big Picture

  • 9.1 Start Up: Financial Crisis Batters Economy
  • 9.2 Growth of Real GDP and Business Cycles
  • 9.3 Price-Level Changes
  • 9.4 Unemployment
  • 9.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 10: Measuring Total Output and Income

  • 10.1 Start Up: The Lockup
  • 10.2 The Significance of Economic Growth
  • 10.3 Measuring Total Output
  • 10.4 Measuring Total Income
  • 10.5 GDP and Economic Well-Being
  • 10.6 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 11: Inflation and Unemployment

  • 11.1 Start Up: The Inflation/Unemployment Conundrum
  • 11.2 Relating Inflation and Unemployment
  • 11.3 Explaining Inflation–Unemployment Relationships
  • 11.4 Inflation and Unemployment in the Long Run
  • 11.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 12: Economic Development

  • 12.1 Start Up: Being Poor in a Poor Country
  • 12.2 The Nature and Challenge of Economic Development
  • 12.3 Population Growth and Economic Development
  • 12.4 Keys to Economic Development
  • 12.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 13: International Trade

  • 13.1 Start Up: Trade Winds
  • 13.2 The Gains from Trade
  • 13.3 Two-Way Trade
  • 13.4 Restrictions on International Trade
  • 13.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 14: The Nature and Creation of Money

  • 14.1 Start Up: How Many Macks Does It Cost?
  • 14.2 What Is Money?
  • 14.3 The Banking System and Money Creation
  • 14.4 The Federal Reserve System
  • 14.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 15: Monetary Policy and the Fed

  • 15.1 Start Up: The Fed’s Extraordinary Challenges in 2008
  • 15.2 Monetary Policy in the United States
  • 15.3 Problems and Controversies of Monetary Policy
  • 15.4 Monetary Policy and the Equation of Exchange
  • 15.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 16: Interest Rates and the Markets for Capital and Natural Resources

  • 16.1 Start Up: Building the “Internet in the Sky”
  • 16.2 Time and Interest Rates
  • 16.3 Interest Rates and Capital
  • 16.4 Natural Resources and Conservation
  • 16.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 17: Government and Fiscal Policy

  • 17.1 Start Up: A Massive Stimulus
  • 17.2 Government and the Economy
  • 17.3 The Use of Fiscal Policy to Stabilize the Economy
  • 17.4 Issues in Fiscal Policy
  • 17.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 18: Public Finance and Public Choice

  • 18.1 Start Up: Where Your Tax Dollars Go
  • 18.2 The Role of Government in a Market Economy
  • 18.3 Financing Government
  • 18.4 Choices in the Public Sector
  • 18.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 19: Antitrust Policy and Business Regulation

  • 19.1 Start Up: The Plastic War
  • 19.2 Antitrust Laws and Their Interpretation
  • 19.3 Antitrust and Competitiveness in a Global Economy
  • 19.4 Regulation: Protecting People from the Market
  • 19.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 20: The Economics of the Environment

  • 20.1 Start Up: A Market for Carbon Emissions
  • 20.2 Maximizing the Net Benefits of Pollution
  • 20.3 Alternatives in Pollution Control
  • 20.4 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 21: Inequality, Poverty, and Discrimination

  • 21.1 Start Up: Poverty in the United States
  • 21.2 Income Inequality
  • 21.3 The Economics of Poverty
  • 21.4 The Economics of Discrimination
  • 21.5 Review and Practice

    • Appendix A: Appendix A: Graphs in Economics

  • A.1 How to Construct and Interpret Graphs
  • A.2 Nonlinear Relationships and Graphs without Numbers
  • A.3 Using Graphs and Charts to Show Values of Variables

    • Appendix B: Appendix B: Extensions of the Aggregate Expenditures Model

  • B.1 The Algebra of Equilibrium
  • B.2 The Aggregate Expenditures Model and Fiscal Policy
  • B.3 Review and Practice
    • Instructor’s Manual

    Instructor’s Manual

    The Instructor’s Manual guides you through the main concepts of each chapter and important elements such as learning objectives, key terms, and key takeaways. Can include answers to chapter exercises, group activity suggestions, and discussion questions.

    Instructor’s Manual

    PowerPoint Lecture Notes

    PowerPoint Lecture Notes

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    PowerPoint Lecture Notes

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    Solutions Manual

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    Libby Rittenberg Colorado College

    Libby Rittenberg (PhD Rutgers University) is Professor Emerita of Economics at Colorado College. She also served as the Dean of Summer Programs as well as the college’s ombudsperson. As a professor, she frequently taught Principles of Economics, Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, Comparative Economic Systems, and a senior seminar on the International Political Economy. Throughout her academic career, Libby was deeply involved in study abroad education and directed programs in central Europe and Turkey. She was honored to have been a Fulbright Lecturer. Her research has focused on the internationally oriented areas of economics, with numerous articles on comparative and development economics, and a particular emphasis on the Turkish economy. 

    Timothy Tregarthen University of Colorado Colorado Springs

    Timothy Tregarthen (PhD University of California, Davis) is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. There is one word that captures the essence of Tim Tregarthen—inspiring. Tim was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1975, yet, he continued a remarkable academic career of teaching and research which includes an autobiography recounting his experiences with multiple sclerosis titled Suffering, Faith, and Wildflowers. Tim was formerly on faculty at University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. 

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