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Newer Version Available
Cover of Principles of Economics v1.0
Published: 
May 2009
Page Count: 
914
ISBN (Digital): 
978-1-4533-2693-0

Principles of Economics

Version 1.0
By Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen

Included Supplements

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

Flat World Knowledge is thrilled to publish a first edition re-launch of Tim Tregarthen’s acclaimed Principles of Economics textbook, 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. 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: Elasticity: A Measure of Response

  • 5.1 Start Up: Raise Fares? Lower Fares? What’s a Public Transit Manager To Do?
  • 5.2 The Price Elasticity of Demand
  • 5.3 Responsiveness of Demand to Other Factors
  • 5.4 Price Elasticity of Supply
  • 5.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 6: Markets, Maximizers, and Efficiency

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

    • Chapter 7: The Analysis of Consumer Choice

  • 7.1 Start Up: A Day at the Grocery Store
  • 7.2 The Concept of Utility
  • 7.3 Utility Maximization and Demand
  • 7.4 Indifference Curve Analysis: An Alternative Approach to Understanding Consumer Choice
  • 7.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 8: Production and Cost

  • 8.1 Start Up: Street Cleaning Around the World
  • 8.2 Production Choices and Costs: The Short Run
  • 8.3 Production Choices and Costs: The Long Run
  • 8.4 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 9: Competitive Markets for Goods and Services

  • 9.1 Start Up: Life on the Farm
  • 9.2 Perfect Competition: A Model
  • 9.3 Output Determination in the Short Run
  • 9.4 Perfect Competition in the Long Run
  • 9.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 10: Monopoly

  • 10.1 Start Up: Surrounded by Monopolies
  • 10.2 The Nature of Monopoly
  • 10.3 The Monopoly Model
  • 10.4 Assessing Monopoly
  • 10.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 11: The World of Imperfect Competition

  • 11.1 Start Up: eBay Needs Google, Google Needs eBay, and Neither Trusts the Other
  • 11.2 Monopolistic Competition: Competition Among Many
  • 11.3 Oligopoly: Competition Among the Few
  • 11.4 Extensions of Imperfect Competition: Advertising and Price Discrimination
  • 11.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 12: Wages and Employment in Perfect Competition

  • 12.1 Start Up: College Pays
  • 12.2 The Demand for Labor
  • 12.3 The Supply of Labor
  • 12.4 Labor Markets at Work
  • 12.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 13: Interest Rates and the Markets for Capital and Natural Resources

  • 13.1 Start Up: Building the “Internet in the Sky”
  • 13.2 Time and Interest Rates
  • 13.3 Interest Rates and Capital
  • 13.4 Natural Resources and Conservation
  • 13.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 14: Imperfectly Competitive Markets for Factors of Production

  • 14.1 Start Up: Hockey Players Frozen Out
  • 14.2 Price-Setting Buyers: The Case of Monopsony
  • 14.3 Monopsony and the Minimum Wage
  • 14.4 Price Setters on the Supply Side
  • 14.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 15: Public Finance and Public Choice

  • 15.1 Start Up: Where Your Tax Dollars Go
  • 15.2 The Role of Government in a Market Economy
  • 15.3 Financing Government
  • 15.4 Choices in the Public Sector
  • 15.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 16: Antitrust Policy and Business Regulation

  • 16.1 Start Up: The Plastic War
  • 16.2 Antitrust Laws and Their Interpretation
  • 16.3 Antitrust and Competitiveness in a Global Economy
  • 16.4 Regulation: Protecting People from the Market
  • 16.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 17: International Trade

  • 17.1 Start Up: Trade Winds
  • 17.2 The Gains from Trade
  • 17.3 Two-Way Trade
  • 17.4 Restrictions on International Trade
  • 17.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 18: The Economics of the Environment

  • 18.1 Start Up: A Market for Carbon Emissions
  • 18.2 Maximizing the Net Benefits of Pollution
  • 18.3 Alternatives in Pollution Control
  • 18.4 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 19: Inequality, Poverty, and Discrimination

  • 19.1 Start Up: Poverty in the United States
  • 19.2 Income Inequality
  • 19.3 The Economics of Poverty
  • 19.4 The Economics of Discrimination
  • 19.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 20: Macroeconomics: The Big Picture

  • 20.1 Start Up: Financial Crisis Batters Economy
  • 20.2 Growth of Real GDP and Business Cycles
  • 20.3 Price-Level Changes
  • 20.4 Unemployment
  • 20.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 21: Measuring Total Output and Income

  • 21.1 Start Up: The Lockup
  • 21.2 Measuring Total Output
  • 21.3 Measuring Total Income
  • 21.4 GDP and Economic Well-Being
  • 21.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 22: Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply

  • 22.1 Start Up: The Great Warning
  • 22.2 Aggregate Demand
  • 22.3 Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply: The Long Run and the Short Run
  • 22.4 Recessionary and Inflationary Gaps and Long-Run Macroeconomic Equilibrium
  • 22.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 23: Economic Growth

  • 23.1 Start Up: How Important Is Economic Growth?
  • 23.2 The Significance of Economic Growth
  • 23.3 Growth and the Long-Run Aggregate Supply Curve
  • 23.4 Determinants of Economic Growth
  • 23.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 24: The Nature and Creation of Money

  • 24.1 Start Up: How Many Macks Does It Cost?
  • 24.2 What Is Money?
  • 24.3 The Banking System and Money Creation
  • 24.4 The Federal Reserve System
  • 24.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 25: Financial Markets and the Economy

  • 25.1 Start Up: Clamping Down on Money Growth
  • 25.2 The Bond and Foreign Exchange Markets
  • 25.3 Demand, Supply, and Equilibrium in the Money Market
  • 25.4 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 26: Monetary Policy and the Fed

  • 26.1 Start Up: The Fed’s Extraordinary Challenges in 2008
  • 26.2 Monetary Policy in the United States
  • 26.3 Problems and Controversies of Monetary Policy
  • 26.4 Monetary Policy and the Equation of Exchange
  • 26.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 27: Government and Fiscal Policy

  • 27.1 Start Up: A Massive Stimulus
  • 27.2 Government and the Economy
  • 27.3 The Use of Fiscal Policy to Stabilize the Economy
  • 27.4 Issues in Fiscal Policy
  • 27.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 28: Consumption and the Aggregate Expenditures Model

  • 28.1 Start Up: A Dismal 2008 for Retailers
  • 28.2 Determining the Level of Consumption
  • 28.3 The Aggregate Expenditures Model
  • 28.4 Aggregate Expenditures and Aggregate Demand
  • 28.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 29: Investment and Economic Activity

  • 29.1 Start Up: Jittery Firms Slash Investment
  • 29.2 The Role and Nature of Investment
  • 29.3 Determinants of Investment
  • 29.4 Investment and the Economy
  • 29.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 30: Net Exports and International Finance

  • 30.1 Start Up: Currency Crises Shake the World
  • 30.2 The International Sector: An Introduction
  • 30.3 International Finance
  • 30.4 Exchange Rate Systems
  • 30.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 31: Inflation and Unemployment

  • 31.1 Start Up: The Inflation/Unemployment Conundrum
  • 31.2 Relating Inflation and Unemployment
  • 31.3 Explaining Inflation–Unemployment Relationships
  • 31.4 Inflation and Unemployment in the Long Run
  • 31.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 32: A Brief History of Macroeconomic Thought and Policy

  • 32.1 Start Up: Three Revolutions in Macroeconomic Thought
  • 32.2 The Great Depression and Keynesian Economics
  • 32.3 Keynesian Economics in the 1960s and 1970s
  • 32.4 An Emerging Consensus: Macroeconomics for the Twenty-First Century
  • 32.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 33: Economic Development

  • 33.1 Start Up: Being Poor in a Poor Country
  • 33.2 The Nature and Challenge of Economic Development
  • 33.3 Population Growth and Economic Development
  • 33.4 Keys to Economic Development
  • 33.5 Review and Practice

    • Chapter 34: Socialist Economies in Transition

  • 34.1 Start Up: The Collapse of Socialism
  • 34.2 The Theory and Practice of Socialism
  • 34.3 Socialist Systems in Action
  • 34.4 Economies in Transition: China and Russia
  • 34.5 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

    A PowerPoint presentation highlighting key learning objectives and the main concepts for each chapter are available for you to use in your classroom. You can either cut and paste sections or use the presentation as a whole.

    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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