Business Economics

Business Economics is aimed at business students who need a solid, but not excessively theoretical, introduction to economics which focuses on the contribution economics can make to the study of business policy. In addition to the standard economics of supply, demand, costs, and competition, the text places special emphasis on specifically business-oriented issues such as transaction costs, rents, sustainable competitive advantage, the resource-based view of the firm, corporate architecture, corporate governance, diversification and acquisitions, an outline of macroeconomics, forecasting, and an introduction to public policy. The text has been structured closely to meet existing business courses, and a section in the introduction recommends particular permutations of chapters to suit the different courses available. Each chapter contains an introduction covering the key concepts used, a further reading list, discussion questions and a conclusion summarizing what the student should have learnt. The book is extensively illustrated with figures, tables and other displayed material, and simple algebra will be all that is required by way of mathematical understanding This book is intenTable of ContentIntroduction; PART I: THE SEARCH FOR VALUE, MARKETS, CONSUMERS AND FIRMS; 1: Economic Activity and Value Creation; 2: The Operation of the Market, Market Forces and Market Equilibrium; 3: Individual Choices, the Supply of Work, and the Demand for Goods; 4: The Nature, Purpose, and Objectives of Firms; 5: The Search for Added Value and the Costs of Production; PART II: THE SEARCH FOR VALUE, PRICES, PROFITS, AND THE FIRM'S COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT; 6: The Competitive Market Model; 7: The Monopoly Model and Barriers to Entry; 8: Oligopoly and Strategic Competition; PART III: THE SEARCH FOR VALUE, VALUE CREATION, THE SCOPE OF THE FIRM, AND ITS GOVERNANCE; 9: The Search for Value and the Firm's Investment Decisions; 10: Value Creation and Sustainable Competitive Advantage; 11: Value Creation, the Scope of the Firm, and Acquisitions; 12: Ownership, Management, and the Search for Value; PART IV: THE SEARCH FOR VALUE AND THE WIDER ENVIRONMENT OF THE FIRM; 13: The Search for Value and the Legislative and Regulatory Environment; 14: The Firm and the Macroeconomic Environment; 15: Economic Forecasting; 16: The Search for Value, International trade, and Economic Performance; Bibliography; Index