The Economics of Social Problems

The aim of this book is to introduce students to certain key economic concepts and methods of analysis through the study of a range of contemporary social problems. It is the authors’ deliberate intention to move away from the more abstract theoretical approach that is a feature of many introductory economics textbooks and instead try to provide a book that emphasizes "learning-by-doing." This is done through the simultaneous development of the relevant theory and its application to particular social issues. All the pertinent concepts and theories are explained in the text and so no prior training in economics is required. The issues discussed in this book have been called "social" problems, so as to distinguish them from the more conventional "economic" problems (such as inflation, unemployment, and economic growth) that are usually dealt with in introductory principles books.