introduction to economics assignment

Introduction

Chapter objectives.

In this chapter, you will learn about:

• What Is Economics, and Why Is It Important?
• Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
• How Economists Use Theories and Models to Understand Economic Issues
• How Economies Can Be Organized: An Overview of Economic Systems

Bring It Home

Information overload in the information age.

To post or not to post? Every day we are faced with a myriad of decisions, from what to have for breakfast, to which show to stream, to the more complex—“Should I double major and add possibly another semester of study to my education?” Our response to these choices depends on the information we have available at any given moment. Economists call this “imperfect” because we rarely have all the data we need to make perfect decisions. Despite the lack of perfect information, we still make hundreds of decisions a day.

Streams, sponsors, and social media are altering the process by which we make choices, how we spend our time, which movies we see, which products we buy, and more. Whether they read the reviews or just check the ratings, it's unlikely for Americans to make many significant decisions without these information streams.

As you will see in this course, what happens in economics is affected by how well and how fast information disseminates through a society, such as how quickly information travels through Facebook. “Economists love nothing better than when deep and liquid markets operate under conditions of perfect information,” says Jessica Irvine, National Economics Editor for News Corp Australia.

This leads us to the topic of this chapter, an introduction to the world of making decisions, processing information, and understanding behavior in markets —the world of economics. Each chapter in this book will start with a discussion about current (or sometimes past) events and revisit it at chapter’s end—to “bring home” the concepts in play.

What is economics and why should you spend your time learning it? After all, there are other disciplines you could be studying, and other ways you could be spending your time. As the Bring it Home feature just mentioned, making choices is at the heart of what economists study, and your decision to take this course is as much as economic decision as anything else.

Economics is probably not what you think. It is not primarily about money or finance. It is not primarily about business. It is not mathematics. What is it then? It is both a subject area and a way of viewing the world.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/principles-economics-3e/pages/1-introduction

• Authors: Steven A. Greenlaw, David Shapiro, Daniel MacDonald
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Principles of Economics 3e
• Publication date: Dec 14, 2022
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/principles-economics-3e/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/principles-economics-3e/pages/1-introduction

© Jan 23, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

Economics for Beginners: Understanding the Basics

Understanding the Basic Concepts of the Economy

• U.S. Economy
• Supply & Demand
• Archaeology
• Ph.D., Business Economics, Harvard University
• M.A., Economics, Harvard University
• B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Economics is a complex subject filled with a maze of confusing terms and details which can be difficult to explain. Even economists have trouble defining exactly what economics means . Yet, there is no doubt that the economy and the things we learn through economics affects our everyday lives.

In short, economics is the study of how people and groups of people use their resources. Money certainly is one of those resources, but other things can play a role in economics as well. In an attempt to clarify all this, let's take a look at the basics of economics and why you might consider studying this complex field.

The Field of Economics

Economics is divided into two general categories: microeconomics and macroeconomics . One looks at the individual markets while the other looks at an entire economy.

From there, we can narrow economics into a number of subfields of study . These include econometrics, economic development, agricultural economics, urban economics, and much more.

If you have an interest in how the world works and how financial markets or industry outlooks affect the economy, you might consider studying economics . It's a fascinating field and has career potential in a number of disciplines, from finance to sales to the government. 

Two Essential Concepts of Economics

Much of what we study in economics has to do with money and the markets. What are people willing to pay for something? Is one industry doing better than another? What is the economic future of the country or world? These are important questions economists examine and it comes with a few basic terms.

Supply and Demand is one of the first things we learn in economics. Supply speaks to the quantity  of something that's available for sale while demand refers to the willingness to purchase it. If the supply is higher than the demand, the market is thrown off balance and costs typically decrease. The opposite is true if demand is greater than the supply available because that commodity is more desirable and harder to obtain.

Elasticity is another key concept in economics. Essentially, here we're talking about how much the price of something can fluctuate before it has a negative impact on sales. Elasticity ties into demand and some products and services are more elastic than others.

Understanding the Financial Markets

As you might expect, many of the factors that play into economics have to do with the financial markets . This is also a complicated matter with many subtopics that you can dive into.

First and foremost, it's important to understand how prices are set in a market economy . At the heart of this is information and what is known as a contingent contract. Essentially, this type of arrangement places stipulations on the price paid based on external factors: if X happens, then I'll pay this much.

One question that many investors have is "What happens to my money when stock prices go down?" The answer is not easy, and before you dive into the stock market, it's essential that you know how it works .

To further complicate things, economic situations like a recession can throw many things off. For instance, just because an economy goes into recession, doesn't mean that prices will fall. In fact, it's the opposite for things like housing. Quite often, prices go up because supply is down and demand is up. This rise in prices is known as inflation .

Interest rates and exchange rates also cause fluctuations in the markets. You will often hear economists express concern over these.  When interest rates go down , people tend to buy and borrow more. Yet, this can cause interest rates to rise in the end.

Exchange rates refer to how the currency of one country compares to those of another. These are key components in the global economy.

Other terms you'll hear in reference to the markets are opportunity costs , cost measures , and  monopolies . Each is a key element in understanding the overall economic forecast.

Measuring Economic Growth and Decline

Whether on a national or global scale, measuring the health of the economy is no easy feat. Nationally, we use terms like GDP, which stands for Gross Domestic Product . This refers to the market value of a country's goods and services. Each country's GDP is analyzed by entities like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

There is also much discussion these days about globalization . The concerns over countries like the U.S. outsourcing jobs has many fearing a higher unemployment rate and sagging economy. Yet, some argue that advancements in technology do just as much for employment as globalization.

Every now and then, you will hear government officials discussing fiscal stimulus . This is one theory for encouraging economic growth, particularly in tougher times. But again, it's really not as easy as creating jobs that will lead to more consumer spending.

As with all things in economics, nothing is simple. That is precisely why this topic is so intriguing and keeps economists up late at night. Predicting the wealth of a nation or the world is no easier than predicting your own gains 10 or 15 years into the future. There are too many variables that come into play, which is why economics is an endless field of study.

• The Long-Run Supply Curve
• Interest - The Economics of Interest
• Online Macroeconomics Textbook Resources
• Microeconomics Vs. Macroeconomics
• What Is Fiscal Policy? Definition and Examples
• How Money Supply and Demand Determine Nominal Interest Rates
• The Slope of the Aggregate Demand Curve
• A Beginner's Guide to Economic Indicators
• What Is a Free Market Economy?
• The Government's Role in the Economy
• Top 10 Unsolved Economics Questions
• Guide to Supply and Demand Equilibrium
• What Is a Market?
• Introduction to Elasticity in Economics
• The Gold Standard

Principles of Economics

(7 reviews)

Copyright Year: 2016

ISBN 13: 9781946135162

Publisher: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Joyce Burnette, Professor of Economics, Wabash College on 8/12/19

This book covers everything I do in Principles, plus some things I would like to include if I had time. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book covers everything I do in Principles, plus some things I would like to include if I had time.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Standard economics. Does a good job with the GDP measurement problems.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Includes specific examples from the news. Examples are a couple years old. Most won't go out of date, but for a few you notice their age.

Clarity rating: 5

I particularly like the "Heads Up" section, which accurately points out the most common mistakes that undergraduates make.

Consistency rating: 5

AS/AD is introduced early in the macroeconomic section and is used in later chapters.

Modularity rating: 4

Arranged usefully into relatively short chapters. Inevitably, some chapters assume that you learned the previous material (S&D, or AS/AD).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The typical organization. Micro and then macro.

Interface rating: 4

Some of the equations did not show up in the program I was using to read it. In chapter 5 the sections are in the wrong order.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No problems.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Most examples are from the US, but there are some examples from elsewhere in the world.

I found this book to follow quite closely the way I like to teach principles.

Reviewed by Marek Kolar, Associate Professor, Trine University on 5/30/19

The scope of the book is impressive, it even includes a chapter on the recent history of macroeconomic thought, with a great discussion of the macroeconomic policy during Great Depression, and since, doing a good job integrating the tools... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The scope of the book is impressive, it even includes a chapter on the recent history of macroeconomic thought, with a great discussion of the macroeconomic policy during Great Depression, and since, doing a good job integrating the tools developed in earlier chapters. I don't recall seeing anything close to this in other intro to economics textbooks that I have seen. Individual topics are developed in sufficient depth, for instance the discussion of marginal benefit and marginal cost in chapter 6 is more detailed than in most of the other textbooks that I have seen. While the scope of the coverage is great, I couldn't find an index or a glossary of terms. Important terms are highlighted in the text, but I couldn't find a list of definitions to these.

The textbook seems to be accurate, without errors, and I think the author does a good job providing a balanced view, at least judging by the standards set by other principles of economics textbooks. The inclusion of topics is very standard and the discussion seems objective. I would personally like to see inclusion of the Austrian View of the Business Cycle, and of a more critical perspective on inflation, debt, and the role of government in general.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The lack of recent updates is in my opinion the main weakness of the textbook. In most chapters it doesn't matter much, but for the discussion of monetary and fiscal policy it is important to point out that the discussion in the textbook ends with the immediate aftermath of the 2008 recession, thus is missing the more recent changes in the Fed's policy and recent developments. The book lacks a discussion of negative interest rates, Fed's growing balance sheet, and the recent increases in government debt and budget deficits. This seems not to have been updated since 2010.

For an economics textbook, the writing is easy to understand, which makes it accessible to a wide range of students, but may not be an ideal choice for a more advanced student who may prefer a more demanding text. I found many of the examples interesting and engaging, for instance the example of smokers being on net a positive externality in chapter 11, or the example of hockey teams maximizing profits in chapter 10.

The book is consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter is organized in a few sections, each with its own learning objectives, examples, and a few questions to be answered. It seems easy to either pick a section from a chapter, or skip a section, without losing continuity. It seems effort was put into chapters being able to stand alone on their own, for instance there is a separate chapter (23) on economic growth, investment (29), and interest rate - loanable funds market (13).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

As mentioned under Modularity, the book does a good job including many stand-alone chapters, but this creates a problem in organization. For instance it is difficult to make the connection among interest rates, investment, saving, consumption, and economic growth, as the coverage is spread across chapters 13, 23, and 29. There is a small sub-section (a little over a page) in section 29.1 explaining the relationships, but overall I had difficulties finding the main points among the detailed discussion. I could see students getting a bit lost in the detail presented, and not being able to clearly see the bigger picture.

Interface rating: 5

I found the charts easy to read, and the use of colors is user-friendly. There are clickable links to figures within the text (if read online). The format is pretty easy to follow.

No grammatical errors encountered.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The pictures in the text feature people of various races, and examples feature a variety of countries from different continents.

This is a great textbook, likely to please anyone looking for a standard introductory economics text done well and freely available. The only significant downside is that it hasn't been updated since about 2010, which I find problematic for the monetary and fiscal policy discussions.

Reviewed by Joanna Short, Associate Professor, Augustana College on 6/19/18

This book includes all the usual principles topics, and then some. Want to talk about the effect of third-party payers in health care markets? Farm policy? Economies in transition? There's a chapter for each of these topics. Throughout, there... read more

This book includes all the usual principles topics, and then some. Want to talk about the effect of third-party payers in health care markets? Farm policy? Economies in transition? There's a chapter for each of these topics. Throughout, there are references to important historical events, which I appreciate. The Great Depression, for example, is mentioned several times. Some depth is sacrificed, through, to hit on all of these topics. I did not see a glossary, which is a glaring omission for an introductory textbook. In-text problems, with solutions, and end-of-chapter problems are included.

I did not notice any inaccuracies. Perhaps this is more of an interface issue, but I did notice a problem with the formula for elasticity. At least in the online version I was reading from, equation 5.1 "did not parse." This could be a big issue for students trying to understand the elasticity chapter. However, students would also probably be better than I am at finding a format that works

This text does a nice job of including a lot of environmental examples, which I think students usually find interesting and relevant. Chapter 1, for example, refers to oil extraction and water use, as well as careers and salaries in economics (another topic that should be of interest). Most case-in-point articles are at least 10 years old, though. I would like to see these updated.

Clarity rating: 4

In addition to the lack of depth, I find the writing style a little choppy. Reading this text is a little like reading a small-town newspaper. I frequently wanted more investigative reporting instead of just-the-facts. I am currently using the Krugman and Wells text (for Micro Principles), largely because it reads in many parts like a story.

I did not find many spots where I felt students would be confused, other than one spot in chapter 1, where a good is defined as "scarce" if it has alternative uses, such as air which we can either breathe or pollute. In other words, a good is scarce if it is limited. In contrast, a free good is not limited, like gravity. I find these examples (air and gravity, illustrating opposites) a little confusing particularly for chapter 1. If I were the author, I would avoid mention of free goods to emphasize that virtually everything is scarce. This is a minor issue, but I hate to see any issues so early in the book that might discourage later reading. In contrast, the section in this chapter on careers in economics is clear and engaging.

I did not notice any issues with consistency in the text.

This is a strength of the book. There are many chapters, instructors can pick and choose and rearrange as they see fit.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Generally speaking, the text follows the usual order, micro then macro. Personally, I would have rearranged the chapters a little. For example, I would probably use chapter 6 (consumer surplus, and deadweight loss) before chapter 4 (applications of supply and demand) so we can analyze deadweight loss from price controls. Also, the Keynesian Cross from chapter 28 goes before Aggregate Demand and Supply (chapter 22). But you can always cover in any order you want. The flow suffers a little from the choppy writing style and lack of depth I mentioned under Clarity. Perhaps students appreciate this more than I do, however.

This is a real strength of the text. New terms are highlighted in blue. The graphs and charts are colorful and easy-to-read. I only found a few issues from the online version that I read from. First the elasticity formula didn't come through, and one of the TryIt! problems in chapter 2 appears to be missing part of the table. There is reference to the production possibilities for Plant R and Plant S, and I only see a table for Plant R.

I did not notice any grammatical errors.

I think the text does a good job of including some international examples, as well as frequent reference to environmental issues that some texts ignore.

I like that instructors can easily pick and choose chapters, and the graphs and charts are colorful and engaging. Each chapter has TryIt! problems with answers, as well as end-of-chapter problems (both conceptual problems and numerical problems). The case-in-point articles are relevant but a bit dated. Will they be updated? Also, I just find it strange that the authors are "unnamed" or "anonymous." Is this common with OER textbooks? I just feel obligated to give credit where credit is due--I'm not sure I can put anonymous on my syllabus.

Reviewed by Robert Berman, Adjunct Instructor, American University on 2/1/18

Comprehensive in overall coverage; yet many on the sections leave out important discussions. For example, the table of contents covers everything that would be discussed in a two semester principles course -- micro & macro separately. However,... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Comprehensive in overall coverage; yet many on the sections leave out important discussions. For example, the table of contents covers everything that would be discussed in a two semester principles course -- micro & macro separately. However, the discussions are insufficient, sometimes to the extent of misleading the reader. For example, discussion of the long-run average cost curve shows an area on economies OF scale (associated with multiple sizes of plot) flowed my a range of constant returns TO scale (TO which scale? Still talking about several scales), then an range of economies OF scale. Confusion is (1) reader never told that economies and discommodes BOTH exist over the entire range. Downward sloping and upward sloping reflect the NET economies. Beginning students wonder if the economies disappear, or if diseconomies only appear with very large sizes. It would be helpful to distinguish between technological and pecuniary, and between internal and external. Finally. Mixing discussion of returns OF and TO scale confuses with short-run diminishing returns TO scale with economies and diseconomies OF different scale alternatives.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

There are some problems in accuracy owing to attempts to simplify or "dumb down" for beginning students. This is the problem of principles texts generally, and the inaccuracies here are on a par with those in other published works. See above discussion on comprehensiveness. Also, no distinction between simple inventory / style fluctuations and surplus and shortage problems. Explanations do not adequately distinguish between WILLINGNESS to buy and sell and quantities bought and sold.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Text is on par with most text in the field. Not likely to become obsolete. NB: I am no one who insists on most recent data or topical issues -- articles can easily supplement in this area. Theory and logic evolve over time. Updates should be relatively easy to implement. Most importantly in this area, organization and structure of presentation is classical and consistent with how I and many others structure a course.

Jargon is not a problem and text is not overly technical. As stated earlier, lucidity problems stem from inadequate discussion in attempt to simplify. Similar to published texts in this area.

Consistency rating: 3

Consistency is somewhat problematic, as discussed above, for example switching back and forth between quantity (actually) supplied/demanded and willingness to supply/demand such quantities; also economies OF scale and returns TO scale are used interchangeably

Modularity is good; similar to other published principles texts.

Organization/structure/flow is easy to work with.

No problems with interface. Electronic version (e.g., .PDF) takes advance of hyperlinks to reference charts and other sections.

No grammatical errors noted.

Did not review with an eye to cultural relevance or political correctness. Nothing stood out as being problematic.

I will seriously consider the text. It is on par with commercially published principles texts -- none of which I have been completely happy with. One potentially negative factor is the lack of an electronic homework capability. Need to confer with students about how useful this is to their learning (as opposed to my teaching); and perhaps experiment with using the electronic homework / quizzes/tests developed for a different text with this one.

Reviewed by Maxwell Eseonu, Professor of Economics, Virginia State University on 6/20/17

The text's coverage is comprehensive. The writing approach is a very good one; that is, giving the reader a heads-up in concept coverages, real world applications of concepts and giving the reader an opportunity to apply learned concepts into... read more

The text's coverage is comprehensive. The writing approach is a very good one; that is, giving the reader a heads-up in concept coverages, real world applications of concepts and giving the reader an opportunity to apply learned concepts into real world applications (Learning By Doing).

The chapter flows is very good. I am suggesting that Chapter 11: The World of Imperfect Competition should be spelled-out clearly: Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly.

Chapter 16: Anti-trust Policy and Business Regulation should be brought forward and should read: Anti-trust Policy and Regulation - It is an Economics Text and not a Business Text. The normal flow in the Microeconomic Section is that once the Market Structure chapters are covered, the chapter on Anti-trust Policy and Regulation should follow.

On the Macroeconomics side, the flow between chapters 20 - 23 is a good one but I would suggest a re-arranging of the chapters so that Fiscal Policy Issues are addressed before the Monetary Policy Chapters. Therefore, the proposed re-arranging should be as follows: 1. Chapters 20 - 23 2. Chapter 31 3. Chapters 28, 29 and 27 4. Chapters 24,25, 26 and remaining chapters can then follow.

It is OKAY for an introductory text. The relevant concepts coverage are in place.

It is a GOOD text and considering the high cost of textbooks, I will strongly consider using it in my Principles of Economics courses. Thank you to whomever envisioned such a worthwhile venture!

It is very clear and concise. It will be easily readable and understood by students.

The text is relevant, good coverage of concepts and will be easily understood by students.

It is easily readable but I have also made some suggestions in re-arranging the flow of chapters.

See suggestions above.

For a text made available to Community of Learners, without any cost, it achieves the purpose like other high-priced textbooks. All I can say is THANK YOU!

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

It is in line with other high-priced texts. Being first edition, the second edition will be better.

It is a balanced text. Instead of extolling the vices, I commend the writer(s) for a splendid job and should continue the GOODWORK!

I very much like the text and will consider it highly for adoption in my Principles of Economics Courses. One of the problems I encounter with my students is that majority of them do not buy the prescribed textbook and this will be a great solution to this problem - THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Reviewed by Choikam Yip, Adjunct Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

This textbook is very comprehensiveness. It covers almost all the major topics in mainstream micro and macroeconomic studies. The examples and data used are very current and up-to-date. read more

This textbook is very comprehensiveness. It covers almost all the major topics in mainstream micro and macroeconomic studies. The examples and data used are very current and up-to-date.

The book is accurate in terminology, concept, model, graphing, and wording.

The authors are using "big" and on-going economic issues in the illustration, explanation, and case in point. This makes the study of the concept very relevant to real world experience. Since those are important on-going economic issues in our economy, the longevity of the content will last and is easy to update with relevant information and data.

Terminologies are defined in easy understandable language/wording. Concepts are explained with examples and illustrations. Graphs are using grid-lines and arrows to show the effect of it and are easy to follow and understand. Overall, the book is very clear and precise.

All chapters are using the same format. Terminologies, concepts, and graphs are consistently applied and moved on from one chapter to another chapter.

1. I found that the display in HTML version is a bit different from the PDF file. HTML has more space between paragraphs and sections whilst PDF file does not have space. The HTML format is better and easy to read. 2. Inside each chapter, it has the section numbers which are missing in the Table of Contents. For example, in chapter 1, "Defining Economics" is section 1.1. It would be better to put back the section number 1.1 in the Table of Content as well. Other than the above, the text in each chapter has good sections and sub-units.

The topics in the text are presented in a logical and clear fashion. The organization/structure/flow are consistent and coherent. All chapters are organized in the same format by using colored text box, heading and sub-heading, highlighted text, and bullet point. Easy to read and follow.

Interface rating: 3

1. As I have mentioned in 6 above, the PDF file does not space out appropriately and makes it hard to navigate through the text and go back to find text. 2. The Table of Contents should include section number for each chapter. 3. The Table of Contents should be divided into Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. 4. There is no glossary and index list at the end of the book.

I can't any grammatical error.

The authors are cultural sensitive and relevance. They are using lots of different quotes to back up their points without prejudice or bias. Different countries' cultural and economic issues are discussed and included in its content.

More Try It Problems would be better. For example, provide more Try It calculation on Elasticities, Costs of Production, etc., and provide answers and explanations. I wonder if the book comes with test bank and quiz/exam paper generation tool for the instructor? That would be great!

Reviewed by Bill Burrows, Economics Instructor, Lane Community College, Eugene,OR on 1/7/16

Being a product of the Pleistocene epoch, I sometimes don't trust my online navigation skills. That said, after repeated attempts, I was unable to locate a glossary or index for this otherwise fine text. Assuming they don't exist, their absence... read more

Being a product of the Pleistocene epoch, I sometimes don't trust my online navigation skills. That said, after repeated attempts, I was unable to locate a glossary or index for this otherwise fine text. Assuming they don't exist, their absence is certainly not a deal-breaker. In my long and labored experience, nearly all college principles of economics texts really are pretty much interchangeable in terms of providing basic content. They are obligated to cover these basics if they intend to be even moderately useful. This text provides solid, competent, confident coverage of all the rudiments in a clear, useful, and even fun manner: Scarcity, Choice, Supply and Demand, Elasticity, Costs of Production, Market Structures, Aggregate Supply & Demand, Money & Banking, Blah, Blah, Blah. You get the idea. The chapter on Socialist Economies in Transition was an interesting and welcome addition to the usual list of topics. Another absolutely wonderful thing the text did was to address the students with respect. Specifically, the authors recognized and acknowledged that the vast majority of students in college are there to gain knowledge and/or a degree that will help them provide for themselves and their families (present or future). Few texts in any discipline make even vague reference to what should be an obvious reality of their end customers' worlds. Most college texts authors ignore such tawdry issues out of a misplaced concern for sullying the purity of their disciplines with such pedestrian and base concerns. Also, I suspect, many of them are annoyed by the realization that what they teach (or how they teach) is of little practical value. Whoa! Where-the-heck did all THAT come from?!? Apparently someone's little "soapbox" button got pushed. Meanwhile, back to the topic at hand: Libby Rittenberg & Timothy Tregarthen are rare and refreshing exceptions to the norm. They go on at length about Careers in Economics, Application of Economics to Other Fields, LSAT Scores and Undergraduate Majors (Economics majors rank quite well), and Starting Salaries of Economists vs other Professionals (again, not-so-bad). If they had been in the room as I read these sections, I would have kissed them squarely on the lips.

Okay, I'll try to curb myself a bit and not run on quite so much with this response. As I read through the text (no, I didn't read every page, but I did read quite a bit; samplings from nearly every chapter), I wasn't once struck by an obvious inaccuracy or biased presentation of concepts and material. I haven't always had that impression when reading texts, economics or otherwise. Krugman's springs to mind. These folks did an admirable job of fairly and evenhandedly compelling students to understand far reaching ramifications and consequences of topics such as the unavoidable reality (sometimes unpleasant) of having limited choices, how not "black-and-white" antitrust policies can be in a complex world of international economies, the economics of environmentalism, causes and remedies for income inequality, poverty, and discrimination, and other hot-button issues.

References are made to relatively current topics such as the great recession and its ongoing and potent relevance to the future of the economies of the U.S. and the world in general. Events of this magnitude and scope will certainly remain relevant for some time to come even as they transition from a current event to an important historic lesson (think, "The Great Depression"). Likewise, investigations into the inner goings on of present-day socialist economies will likely be of interest as they continue their unprecedented morphication (?) into Lord knows what. I could be wrong (often am, ask the wife), but the authors of this text leave me with the impression that they will be responsible stewards of their OER text. The phrase, "labor of love" springs to mind. I see ongoing updates in this book's future. I am rating the text as a 4 rather than 5 only because, as economists are painfully aware, the future is a shimmering, unfocused phenomenon.

Let's face it, when preparing for a relaxed evening in front of a warm, crackling fire, hot Belgian cocoa in hand, and trusty canine underfoot, few would pull a love-worn economics text off the carved mahogany bookshelf (I'm painting a picture here) as an appealing choice for the evening's read. It is a sad reality that no viable college economics text (including this one) will ever be described on course evaluations with words such as, "lilting prose" or "Like the vampires in 'Twilight' this economics text made marginal cost curves spring to life; flying off the pages and into my heart..." However, Libby Rittenberg & Timothy Tregarthen truly do do (good thing my 13-year-old boy isn't in the room) a marvelous job of keeping the (captive) reader's interest and attention. From the references to Heraclitis in the preface to the effect of cancelled games on pro-basketball players' earnings in a later chapter, the reading is peppered with references and examples designed to clarify potentially (and actually) complex social, political, economic, and mathematical concepts. They rank, "well above the norm" among econ texts. Once again, I'm choosing a rank of 4 rather than 5. I do this for two reasons: 1) I am a bitter old man who grades way to hard (I've been told), and 2) I'm saving the ultimate-highest-rank of 5 for when they finally make a digital text that plugs directly into the higher learning centers of our students' cortices (directly bi-passing the sizable portions of their brains dedicated to Netflix and pizza).

As I sheepishly admitted somewhere above, I didn't read everysingleword of the text. However of the very many pages I did read, terminology was always consistent. I didn't find one instance where students would have been confused by the same terms being used different ways. The framework of the text was logical and consistent with the majority of economics texts available today, both OER and elsewhere. Just to be clear, that is a good thing. I'm generally unimpressed with authors that strive to distinguish their text by presenting material in an avant-garde or experimental way.

Okay, I can't help myself, is "modularity" really a word? According to the authors themselves, all the chapters are written using a “modular” format. It appears that most of the chapters are divided into major sections (three in most cases). This helps keep topics from becoming too darn unwieldy. Each section also contains learning objectives, summaries, examples, and problems. Each chapter is introduced with a nice story to motivate the material and each chapter ends with a wrap-up and additional problems. Good stuff! Plenty of useful examples and a good assortment of different types of questions (with answers). I'm seriously considering using this text in my in-class sections and perhaps my online as well. Hence, the modularity issue is an important one to me. I don't have the time or inclination to cover all the chapters of any economics text, including this one. As most of you reading this likely know, this can be a problem with some texts that have chapters so tightly linked that missing out on one or more "episodes" (let alone ten) would leave the students quite befuddled (kind of like, "Downton Abbey"). Reading through this text leaves me with the strong impression that this would not be a problem (more like, "General Hospital"). In the authors' own words, "To ensure students realize that economics is a unified discipline and not a bewildering array of seemingly unrelated topics, we develop the presentation of microeconomics and of macroeconomics around integrating themes."

Boy, this sure sounds an awful lot like #5 and to a lesser extent #6 above which reference "consistency" ,"framework", "easily realigned" and other related concepts.That said, I'll do my best to approach it as a somehow unique and separate query. And even if I am unable to do so, I will almost certainly still manage to write many many words. Why? Because I've been to graduate school! To aid the "organization/structure/flow" of the text, the authors have organized the material a manner deliberately intended to show students that economics is a cohesive body of thought and not some sort of maddening series of complex and unrelated topics. Economic concepts can be (and regularly are) divided into the two general categories of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics; "Integrating themes" are used for both the Macro and Micro topics. For Macro, the integrating theme is the notion of Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand (sexy stuff that). The integrating theme for microeconomics is the "marginal decision rule." This powerful (and fun!) idea is presented quite early in the text and then used throughout the remaining discussions of microeconomics.

A great job was done with the text's interface. All the graphs and charts and tables are clear and uncluttered and generally user-friendly. Understandably, you won't find the dizzying array of expensive multi-colored, 3D, flip-page gadgets that appear in some $307.59 economics texts. That stuff is spendy and lest we forget, the point of OER materials is to bring costs to students down. I can happily accept the simple, straight-forward, understandable format contained herein. Frankly, many of the "fancier" presentations often provide more distraction than edification.

Granted, I didn't have magnifying glass in hand, but in all the material I read I don't recall seeing a single grammatical faux pas.

While I can't absolutely guarantee that there's not a single humanoid on our fair planet that would find any words in this text offensive, I can with some confidence say that if we did find such a person they would likely be more than a little bit wacko. While the authors didn't shy away from potentially controversial but relevant economics related topics, they were without exception respectful and inclusive.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'll spell it out: This is a great college level economics principles text. Before long, I intend to quite requiring the expensive text now used in my in-class courses and require students to read chapters from this OER text instead. Thanks Libby Rittenberg & Timothy Tregarthen for all your good work!

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1: Economics: The Study of Choice
• Chapter 2: Confronting Scarcity: Choices in Production
• Chapter 3: Demand and Supply
• Chapter 4: Applications of Demand and Supply
• Chapter 5: Elasticity: A Measure of Response
• Chapter 6: Markets, Maximizers, and Efficiency
• Chapter 7: The Analysis of Consumer Choice
• Chapter 8: Production and Cost
• Chapter 9: Competitive Markets for Goods and Services
• Chapter 10: Monopoly
• Chapter 11: The World of Imperfect Competition
• Chapter 12: Wages and Employment in Perfect Competition
• Chapter 13: Interest Rates and the Markets for Capital and Natural Resources
• Chapter 14: Imperfectly Competitive Markets for Factors of Production
• Chapter 15: Public Finance and Public Choice
• Chapter 16: Antitrust Policy and Business Regulation
• Chapter 17: International Trade
• Chapter 18: The Economics of the Environment
• Chapter 19: Inequality, Poverty, and Discrimination
• Chapter 20: Macroeconomics: The Big Picture
• Chapter 21: Measuring Total Output and Income
• Chapter 22: Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
• Chapter 23: Economic Growth
• Chapter 24: The Nature and Creation of Money
• Chapter 25: Financial Markets and the Economy
• Chapter 26: Monetary Policy and the Fed
• Chapter 27: Government and Fiscal Policy
• Chapter 28: Consumption and the Aggregate Expenditures Model
• Chapter 29: Investment and Economic Activity
• Chapter 30: Net Exports and International Finance
• Chapter 31: Inflation and Unemployment
• Chapter 32: A Brief History of Macroeconomic Thought and Policy
• Chapter 33: Economic Development
• Chapter 34: Socialist Economies in Transition

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This book is intended for a two-semester course in Economics taught out of the social sciences or business school. Principles of Economics aims to teach considerable range and depth of Economic concepts through an approachable style and methodology. The authors take a three-pronged approach to every chapter: The concept is covered with a “Heads Up” to ward off confusion, a real-world application for that concept, and a “You Try It” section to make sure students are staying on top of the concept.

Contribute to this Page

Introduction to Economics

Economics is the social science of studying the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services and It is a complex social science that spans from mathematics to psychology. At its most basic, however, economics considers how a society provides for its needs. Its most basic need is survival; which requires food, clothing and shelter. Once those are covered, it can then look at more sophisticated commodities such as services, personal transport, entertainment, the list goes on. Today, this social science known as "Economics" tends to refer only to the type of economic thought which political economists refer to as Neoclassical Economics . It developed in the 18th century based on the idea that Economics can be analysed mathematically and scientifically.

• 1 What is Value?
• 2.1 Setting a price
• 2.2 Free and Regulated markets
• 3.1 The complexities of barter
• 3.2 The essence of money
• 4 Supply and Demand

What is Value? [ edit | edit source ]

A generally accepted notion of Value is the worth of goods and services as determined by markets. Thus an important part of Economics is the study of policies and activities for the generation and transfer of Value within markets in the form of goods and services. Often a measure for the worth of goods and services is units of currency such as the US Dollar, peso, etc... But, unlike the units of measurements in Physics such as Seconds for Time, there exists no absolute basis for standardizing the units for Value. Usually the value of a currency is related to the value of Gold, which in turn is valued by amount or number of goods and services that it can be exchanged for. Because the rate of production of gold in the world is slower than the rate of creation of goods and services, the relation between gold and currencies is not as strict as it used to be.

Thus, one of the most complicated and most often misunderstood parts of economy is the concept of value . One of the big problems is the large number of different types of values that seem to exist, such as exchange-value , surplus-value , use-value

The discussion of values all start with one simple question: What is something worth?

Today's most common answer is one of those answers that are so deceptively simple that it seems obvious when you know it. But then remember that it took economists more than a hundred years to figure it out: Something is worth whatever you think it is worth . In 1st century BC, Publilius Syrus wrote: "Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it".

This statement needs some explanation. Take as an example two companies that are thinking of buying a new copying machine. One company does not think they will use a copying machine that much, but the other knows it will copy a lot of papers. This second company will be prepared to pay more for a copying machine than the first one. They find different utility in the object.

The companies also have a choice of models. The first company knows that many of the papers will need to be copied on both sides. The second company knows that very few of the papers it copies will need double sided copying. Of course, the second company will not pay much more for this, while the first company will. In this example, we see that a buyer will be prepared to pay more for the increase in utility compared to alternative products.

But how does the seller value things? Well, in pretty much the same way. Of course, most sellers today do not intend to use the object he sells himself. The utility for the seller is not as an object of usage, but as a source of income. And here again it is marginal utility that comes in. For which price can you sell the object? If you put in some more work, can you get a higher price?

Here we also get into the resellers utility. Somebody who deals in trading will look at an object, and the utility for him is to be able to sell it again. How much work will it take, and what margins are possible?

So not only do the two different buyers have a different value on an object, the salesman puts his value on it, and the original manufacturer may have put yet another value on it. The value depends on the person who does the valuation, it is subjective.

So, how do all these subjective values turn into the price? To understand that, we must take a look at the place where things are bought and sold: The market .

The Market [ edit | edit source ]

A market is an often national but increasingly international legally, autonomous or semi-autonomous, defined place, system or arrangement. Where economic agents (producers, facilitators, sellers, buyers, investors and speculators, etc) come into close contact with each other for the purpose of economic transactions. Not only can it simply consist on a limited electronic marketplace such as eBay but in its broader sense markets are aggregated specific around their rules or intrinsic uniqueness. The things that congregates agents or product(s).

We can for instance refer to the wine market (that is specific without more context to all the things related to the national wine economy) but we can also specify the global Porto market (that is specific to a specific type of wine, national regarding the Porto brand) to congregate its global economic agents.

Setting a price [ edit | edit source ]

An object's Value, worth and utility is not something fixed, but instead a subjective property of the object. This subjectivity may be a bit surprising, it is easy to imagine that something must have an objective worth being bought and sold. However this is not the case, in fact, it's the opposite.

When somebody has an item to sell, he puts a value on this item, and will not sell under that value. Likewise, when somebody wants to buy something, he will put a value on the object, and will not pay more than this. If these valuations overlap, so that the buyer's valuation is higher than the seller's valuation, the object will be sold. If the seller's valuation is higher than the buyer's, the buyer will simply say "it's not worth it" or the seller will say "it's worth more than that" and no deal will be made.

Of course, you don't haggle about price every time you buy a candy bar, but you still agree on a price. It's just that the store owner has put up a sign with a price, and you can either accept it or reject it. Neither you nor him want to haggle about something that just costs eighty cents, because it's simply not worth the effort. So even though haggling is not a necessary part of the pricing, both the buyer and seller agrees on the price, and both think they are better off after the exchange. Think about this: If you would think you would be worse off after buying something, would you buy it? Of course not, so buying and selling is an act done by free will. (Unless of course somebody is pointing a gun at you, but then it's not buying and selling, but stealing.)

Now, we know that the price ends up somewhere between the seller's valuation of the item and the buyer's valuation of the item. The question of what the price of an item will be, therefore depends on these valuations. What, then will these valuations depend on?

If an object had an intrinsic, objective worth, and both seller and buyer were aware of it(and had the same preferences, or valuation), the buyer's and seller's valuation of the object would never overlap, and no deal would ever be cut, because the seller would never be willing to sell it at a price less than the objective worth [or else he would be in loss] and the buyer would never be willing to buy it at a cost higher than the objective worth [why would he?], and hence, nobody would ever sell or buy anything. The subjectiveness of value is necessary for things to be sold and bought at all.

Free and Regulated markets [ edit | edit source ]

The description above is of a free market, where anyone can buy and sell, and where price is set by buyer and seller alone. This is not always the case. Instead many markets are regulated .

While the national government may hold the ultimate control over national affairs, at least to some degree, depending on its level of political/economical independency, often it will delegate the power to private or non-governmental public authorities, even to supra national or international institutions to oversee the regulatory needs, internationally there may be also be other regulations due to treaties and accords.

A form of sanctioned bureaucratic approval is often necessary to limit either the people involved or the prices or both, or to make sure the action/function is not a danger to others. For example, not everyone is allowed to sell medicine, claim to be a doctor or drive a taxi. But it goes beyond public security, it can be generalized primarily as a way to protect special interest groups, more than the good of the general public. Regulated markets include for instance valuable metals, currency, weapons, technical functions (practice of medicine, drug production, prescription, sale) and even educational accreditation and technology. This regulations can take many shapes, for example the control of prices, movement/transfer, establishing of quality and quantity gradients and the freedom and requirements to practice a job/function.

Of course, it can be said today that all markets are regulated in some way. When the state sets up the rules for making the market function smoothly is not usually seen as making the market non-free, at best it is to exert control (protect, manage), preserve market (social-economic) stability and increase national competitiveness.

Money [ edit | edit source ]

Money is such an obvious and integral part of today's society, that it is sometimes difficult to imagine society without it. It's also a very abstract concept, and can be hard to grasp. It comes in many forms, from special types of sea-shells, to pigs, and via the paper and coin system to digital blips in a computer. But what is money, really?

As we have seen, people value things differently. But communicating this value to somebody else is a problem. The only way you can communicate this value is by comparing it with other things. But since all others, just like you, have subjective values, it becomes complex and confusing. This gets evident if we look at how value impacts on barter

The complexities of barter [ edit | edit source ]

When exchanging goods by barter, you need to find something you want more than something you have, while the person you barter with has to value the thing you have more than the thing you want. There are four individual valuations that must match.

An example might clear things up: If what you really want is some shoes, and the thing you have that you want to get rid of is a chair, you have to find a shoemaker that needs a chair, or you will not get any shoes. Say that the shoemaker instead needs a lamp. Then you can find somebody else that needs a chair, and has a lamp, barter that, and then go to the shoemaker.

Now, the big problem here is that when you are to value the lamp, it is no longer what you think of the lamp that is important. It's what the shoemaker thinks of the lamp. You need to guess its average value, so that you can be reasonably sure that the shoemaker will want it. The effect of this is that you pretty much need to know how people value almost everything, since you'll be forced into bartering almost everything.

This type of direct barter system may seem to some as not very efficient, but in fact may be extremely efficient if done in the proper context and with the needed infrastructures, especially in today technological world. The reason we don't do it like that ? Well, we can only state that it is not the general norm. There are plenty of communities that still use barter systems. Bartering is also the system that is adopted as soon as any other more complex system fails or loses trust. But due to the way trade evolved with the appearance of larger markets and adoption of currency the need of an increased level of economic control and taxation become evident to ruling classes and inevitable beyond the level of city states.

The essence of money [ edit | edit source ]

So in essence, money is a common value system. It quantifies the value of an object in a way that everyone understands, and it makes communicating with others simpler. Instead of weighing the values of the shoes against the lamp against the chair, you can set a number on it. You can say that your chair is worth five units, the lamp maker can value his lamp to three units and the shoemaker thinks his shoes are worth four units. We can now instantly and easily compare values. Trading suddenly got much easier.

But that's not all. With a common value system that is based on exchangeable entities, we can exchange these entities as payment. You can now go down with your chair to the market, sell the chair to the highest bidder, and then go with your money to the shoemaker, and buy a couple of shoes. The shoemaker in turn takes the money and goes to the lamp maker. No longer do you need to evaluate the average market value of the lamp, or cut three-way deals. All you need to do is find somebody that is willing to pay what you think your chair is worth, and find a pair of shoes that is cheap enough for you.

And it doesn't even end there! Money can be stored because it does not rot like wood or rust like steel. If you have a source of income that is seasonal you can keep the money you make during high-season and buy food with it during low season.

So money is simply a common value system based on exchangeable entities. But this simple concept makes life much less complicated in so many ways.

Supply and Demand [ edit | edit source ]

The principle of supply and demand is one of the best-known principles of economic theory. It was first posited by Jean-Baptiste Say, an 18th-century Classical Political Economist who suggested that demand and supply are interrelated. His theory was that the more people want something, the higher the demand is for it and the more they will value it. So if something is in low supply but in high demand the value is increased, as it will decrease if there is an abundance or a low demand for the that item. For example: There are 100 dolls and 400 people that want those dolls . Since there are more people than there are dolls, people will pay more money for them.

Alfred Marshall, a famous neoclassical economist, went further in the mid-20th century and developed a mathematical model of supply and demand. The two variables in this theory are price and quantity. The forces of demand and supply are prominent in determining the price of a commodity.

DEMAND- Is the amount of a good that will be bought at given prices over a period of time.

SUPPLY- Is the amount of a good that sellers are prepared to sell at a given price.

MARKET SYSTEM/ PRICE MECHANISM- Is the automatic determination of prices and the allocation of resources by the operation of markets in the economy.

PRICE- Is the amount of money goods are exchanged for in a transaction.

Capital [ edit | edit source ]

Capitalism, as its name suggests, is based on the ownership of capital. What is capital? Basically, capital is anything that can be traded for something else. Any amount of money is capital, as it can be traded for a huge variety of things. Personal items are also capital because they can be sold; houses, cars, and other bizarre items fall under this category. The ability to work can also be considered capital, or labour-power.

Karl Marx first posited that perhaps there was something that separated capital into two broad categories. Some capital is bought, and then the value is fixed; this applies for an item of clothing or food, for instance. Some may lose value and depreciate; cars fall into this category. Some capital, however, can actually produce more capital which can then be sold; this, he argued, is real capital. For example, if you have a cookie-stamper and a van, some flour, butter, and other cookie ingredients, with that capital, you could produce cookies and ship them around in the van selling them for a profit, albeit small.

• Book:Introduction to Economics
• Shelf:Economics
• Books to be merged
• Subject:Economics
• Subject:Economics/all books
• Subject:Social sciences/all books
• Subject:Books by subject/all books
• Book:Wikibooks Stacks/Books
• Shelf:Economics/all books
• Department:Social sciences/all books
• Alphabetical/I
• Freshly started books
• Books by completion status/all books

Navigation menu

Browse Course Material

Course info.

• Prof. Jonathan Gruber

Departments

As taught in.

• Microeconomics

Learning Resource Types

Principles of microeconomics, assignments.

You are leaving MIT OpenCourseWare

Faculty Resources

Assignments.

The assignments in this course are openly licensed, and are available as-is, or can be modified to suit your students’ needs. Answer keys are available to faculty who adopt Waymaker, OHM, or Candela courses with paid support from Lumen Learning. This approach helps us protect the academic integrity of these materials by ensuring they are shared only with authorized and institution-affiliated faculty and staff.

The assignments and discussion for this course align with the content and learning outcomes in each module. They will automatically be loaded into the assignment tool within your LMS. They can easily used as is, modified, or removed. You can preview them below.

Note that the Data Project Assignment is split into two parts and spans both module 6 and module 7. The Module 16 assignment presents two options, one that emphasizes topics from macroeconomics, and the other that emphasizes concepts from microeconomics.

Contribute!

Improve this page Learn More

• Assignments. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Pencil Cup. Authored by : IconfactoryTeam. Provided by : Noun Project. Located at : https://thenounproject.com/term/pencil-cup/628840/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

• Degree Completion Plans
• Course Guides
• Supplemental Instruction
• IT Helpdesk
• Academic Departments
• Doctoral Degrees
• Communications
• Criminal Justice
• Public Policy
• Strategic Leadership
• Worship Studies
• More Programs >
• Masters Degrees
• Applied Psychology
• Business Administration
• Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• Executive Leadership
• Healthcare Administration
• Political Science
• Public Administration
• Social Work
• Bachelor's Degrees
• Graphic Design
• Information Technology
• Paralegal Studies
• Sports Management
• Associate Degrees
• Christian Counseling
• Creative Writing
• Early Childhood Education
• Information Systems
• Interdisciplinary Studies
• Medical Office Assistant
• STEM Mathematics
• Undergraduate
• Christian Ministry
• Data Networking
• Project Management
• Biblical Studies
• Educational Tech. & Online Instruction
• General Business
• Health Promotion
• Theological Studies
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Instructional Design
• Higher Ed. Administration
• Special Education
• New Programs
• Biblical Counseling (BS)
• Chaplaincy (MA)
• Christian Leadership – Faith-Based Consulting (PhD)
• Educational Research (PhD)
• Fire Administration – Emergency Medical Services (BS)
• Geographic Information Systems – Commercial Logistics (MS)
• Healthcare Law and Compliance (MBA)
• Instructional Design and Technology (EdS)
• Interdisciplinary Research (MA)
• International Relations – Human Rights (MS)
• Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (BS)
• Special Education (EdD)
• Who Are We?
• Our Three A's
• Virtual Tour of Liberty's Campus
• What is a Nonprofit University?
• Why Choose Liberty?
• Accreditation
• Top 10 Reasons to Choose Liberty University
• Video Testimonials
• Annual Security Report
• Annual Security Report 2023
• Admission Information
• Getting Started With Liberty
• Admission Process
• Admission FAQs
• Academic Calendar
• Admission Resources
• Common Forms and Documents
• Technical Requirements
• Official Transcript Request Form
• Textbooks and Software
• Transferring to Liberty
• Transfer Students
• Experience Plus – Credit for Life Experience
• Transfer FAQs
• University Transcript Request Links
• Tuition Assistance
• First Responder Discount
• Military Tuition Discount
• Small Business Discount
• Corporate Tuition Assistance
• Corporate Tuition Affiliates
• Financial Basics
• Tuition & Fees
• Payment Plans
• Military Benefits
• Financial Check-In
• Financial Aid
• Financial Aid Process
• Financial Aid FAQs
• Grants & Loans
• Scholarship Opportunities
• Military Homepage
• Military Benefits Guide
• Discount on Tuition
• Doctoral Military Rate
• Veterans Benefits
• Academics and Programs
• Military Programs and Partnerships
• Military Benefits and Scholarships
• Community and Resources
• Top Used Links
• Upcoming Events
• Academic Advising
• Jerry Falwell Library
• Policies and Deadlines
• Liberty University Academic Calendar Online
• Academic Policies
• Information Technology (IT)
• Online Writing Center
• Honor Societies
• Student Advocate Office
• Flames Pass (Student ID)
• Online Student Life
• Office of Disability Accommodation Support
• Commonly Used Forms
• learn.liberty.edu

Food-borne Illness Prevention for Health Science Professionals – HSCI 442

CG • Section 8WK • 07/01/2018 to 12/31/2199 • Modified 02/20/2024

Request Info

Course Description

Diverse introduction to political and economic ideas, government institutions, free market processes, public issues, economic policy and political and economic activity, emphasizing the close relationship between a system of limited constitutional government and the free enterprise economy and providing an overview of the Christian worldview with regard to government and economics.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the  Academic Course Catalog .

According to the Center for Disease Control, one in six Americans will contract a food-borne illness resulting in more than 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths each year. The production, preparation, and delivery of food is a common source of food-borne illnesses around the world. Health professionals need an understanding of the etiology and prevention of these illnesses so they can intercede through consumer education. Knowledge of food safety is critical to public health, food defense, and food security.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations/notes

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and  Student Expectations , the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete four Discussions. Each discussion will consist of a thread of 400-500 words and at least two replies of 200-250 words each reply. The instructor is looking for substantial, thoughtful, and critical discussions. F or each thread, students must support their assertions with at least 2 scholarly citations in AMA format. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation(s) in AMA format.

Short Paper Assignments (2)

The student will complete two Short Paper Assignments, each at least 600 words. The instructor is looking for substantial, thoughtful, and critical analysis of an assigned topic. Each paper should include at least two citations.

Research Article Critique: Bacterial Outbreak Assignment

Students will select a research article on the topic of food safety and then critique the article based on the questions posed in the instructions. This assignment will familiarize students with scholarly literature, contribute to their knowledge of food safety issues, and teach them to critique research publications as they answer open-ended questions about the research paper. The content summary should be at least 200 words and at least 15 vocabulary words should be defined.

Scavenger Hunt Assignment

Students will become familiar with a book published by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that is a valuable resource for health professionals. This book is available online at no charge. Questions regarding common foodborne pathogens are posed in the assignment that students will answer after searching and reading appropriate sections of the book.

Research Paper Assignments (2)

The student will select one country (other than the U.S.) to investigate. They will search the literature for credible sources and write a research paper about foodborne illnesses in this country. The student will also explain and analyze the public health policies and regulations in that country in comparison to the U.S.

Research Paper: Bibliography Assignment

The student will submit a bibliography with at least 6 credible sources in current AMA formatting.

Research Paper: Global View of Foodborne Illnesses Assignment

The student will write a 6-10 page paper addressing the prompts provided. 

Quizzes (8)

There will be eight quizzes during the course. These quizzes will cover the Learn material for the assigned module: week. These quizzes will be open-book/open-notes, contain 20 multiple-choice and true/false questions, and will have a 1-hour time limit.

Almost there! How may we contact you?

Our Admissions team is ready to answer any additional questions you may have.

By submitting contact information through this form, I agree that Liberty University and its affiliates may call and/or text me about its offerings by any phone number I have provided and may provide in the future, including any wireless number, using automated technology.

Message and data rates may apply. For additional information, text HELP to 49595 or 49596. You may opt-out at any time by sending STOP to 49595 or 49596. Visit for Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

• Get My Results

Discover what Liberty can do for you!

Get your personalized guide on how to start with liberty..

In 60 seconds or less!

Become a Champion for Christ

Estimate your Cost

Cost Per Credit Hour Per Semester for 7 to 15 Credits* Per Semester for 9 to 15 Credits* i Visit the Tuition and Financing page for more information.

Additional program fees may apply. See program page for details.

Disclaimer: This calculator is a tool that provides a rough estimate of the total cost of tuition, and should not be relied upon to determine overall costs, as pricing may vary by program and tuition/fees are subject to change. Estimates are not final or binding, and do not include potential financial aid eligibility.

Your Cost Estimate:

View All Tuition & Fees Go Back

For eligibility requirements for military discounts at the doctoral level, please review the online benefits page .

Request Information

Learn More About Liberty University Online

You will be automatically taken to the application once you submit your request for information

Message and data rates may apply. For additional information, text HELP to 49595 or 49596. You may opt-out at any time by sending STOP to 49595 or 49596. Visit for Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy .

You have to have a lot of self-motivation and self-discipline when you are going to school online, but the amazing thing is at Liberty you do not need to do it by yourself. You really do have resources like someone who is going to school on campus.

– Janae Fleming ’15, B.S. in Education