Economics for Business & CWG

Table of Contents

Guided tour

Preface

About the authors

Publisher’s acknowledgements

• Part A Business and economics
• Chapter 1 The business environment and business economics
• 1.1 The business environment
• 1.2 The structure of industry
• 1.3 The determinants of business performance
• Box 1.1 The biotechnology industry
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 2 Economics and the world of business
• 2.1 What do economists study?
• 2.2 Business economics: the macroeconomic environment
• 2.3 Business economics: microeconomic choices
• Box 2.1 Looking at macroeconomic data
• Box 2.2 The opportunity costs of studying economics
• Summary
• Review questions
• Appendix: Some techniques of economic analysis
• Summary of appendix
• Review questions to appendix
• Chapter 3 Business organisations
• 3.1 The nature of firms
• 3.2 The firm as a legal entity
• 3.3 The internal organisation of the firm
• Box 3.1 Managers and performance
• Box 3.2 The changing nature of business
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part B Business and markets
• Chapter 4 The working of competitive markets
• 4.1 Business in a competitive market
• 4.2 Demand
• 4.3 Supply
• 4.4 Price and output determination
• Box 4.1 UK house prices
• Box 4.2 Stock market prices
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 5 Business in a market environment
• 5.1 Price elasticity of demand
• 5.2 The importance of price elasticity of demand to business
• 5.3 Other elasticities
• 5.4 The time dimension of market adjustment
• 5.5 Dealing with uncertainty
• Box 5.1 The measurement of elasticity
• Box 5.2 Adjusting to oil price shocks
• Box 5.3 Don’t shoot the speculator
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part C Background to demand
• Chapter 6 Demand and the consumer
• 6.1 Marginal utility theory
• 6.2 Demand under conditions of risk and uncertainty
• 6.3 The characteristics approach to analysing consumer demand
• Box 6.1 The marginal utility revolution: Jevons, Menger, Walras
• Box 6.2 Rogue traders
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 7 Demand and the firm
• 7.1 Estimating demand functions
• 7.2 Forecasting demand
• Box 7.1 The demand for lamb
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 8 Products, marketing and advertising
• 8.1 Product differentiation
• 8.2 Marketing the product
• 8.3 Advertising
• Box 8.1 The battle of the brands
• Box 8.2 Advertising and the long run
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part D Background to supply
• Chapter 9 Costs of production
• 9.1 The meaning of costs
• 9.2 Production in the short run
• 9.3 Costs in the short run
• 9.4 Production in the long run
• 9.5 Costs in the long run
• Box 9.1 The fallacy of using historic costs
• Box 9.2 Short-run cost curves in practice
• Box 9.3 UK competitiveness: moving to the next stage
• Box 9.4 Minimum efficient scale
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 10 Revenue and profit
• 10.1 Revenue
• 10.2 Profit maximisation
• Box 10.1 Selling ice cream when I was a student
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part E Supply: short-run profit maximisation
• Chapter 11 Profit maximisation under perfect competition and monopoly
• 11.1 Alternative market structures
• 11.2 Perfect competition
• 11.3 Monopoly
• 11.4 Potential competition or potential monopoly? The theory of contestable markets
• Box 11.1 Concentration ratios
• Box 11.2 E-commerce
• Box 11.3 Windows cleaning
• Box 11.4 ‘It could be you’
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 12 Profit maximisation under imperfect competition
• 12.1 Monopolistic competition
• 12.2 Oligopoly
• 12.3 Game theory
• Box 12.1 Eating out in Britain
• Box 12.2 Reining in big business
• Box 12.3 The prisoners’ dilemma
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part F Supply: alternative strategies
• Chapter 13 An introduction to business strategy
• 13.1 What is strategy?
• 13.2 Strategic analysis
• 13.3 Strategic choice
• 13.4 Business strategy in a global economy
• 13.5 Strategy: evaluation and implementation
• Box 13.1 Business strategy the Samsung way
• Box 13.2 Hybrid strategy
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 14 Alternative theories of the firm
• 14.1 Problems with traditional theory
• 14.2 Alternative maximising theories
• 14.3 Multiple aims
• Box 14.1 In search of long-run profits
• Box 14.2 Stakeholder power
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 15 Growth strategy
• 15.1 Growth and profitability
• 15.2 Constraints on growth
• 15.3 Alternative growth strategies
• 15.4 Internal growth
• 15.5 External growth through merger
• 15.6 External growth through strategic alliance
• 15.7 Explaining external firm growth: a transactions costs approach
• Box 15.1 Global merger activity
• Box 15.2 How many firms does it take to make an iPod?
• Box 15.3 The day the world stopped
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 16 The small-firm sector
• 16.1 Defining the small-firm sector
• 16.2 The survival, growth and failure of small businesses
• 16.3 Government assistance and the small firm
• Box 16.1 Capturing global entrepreneurial spirit
• Box 16.2 Hotel Chocolat
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 17 Pricing strategy
• 17.1 Pricing and market structure
• 17.2 Alternative pricing strategies
• 17.3 Price discrimination
• 17.4 Multiple product pricing
• 17.5 Transfer pricing
• 17.6 Pricing and the product life cycle
• Box 17.1 Easy pricing
• Box 17.2 How do European companies set prices?
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part G The firm in the factor market
• Chapter 18 Labour markets, wages and industrial relations
• 18.1 The UK labour market
• 18.2 Market-determined wage rates and employment
• 18.3 Firms with power in the labour market
• 18.4 The role of trade unions
• 18.5 The efficiency wage hypothesis
• 18.6 Low pay and discrimination
• 18.7 The flexible firm and the market for labour
• Box 18.1 ‘Telecommuters’
• Box 18.2 The UK national minimum wage
• Box 18.3 The Internet and labour mobility
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 19 Investment and the employment of capital
• 19.1 The pricing of capital and capital services
• 19.2 The demand for and supply of capital services
• 19.3 Investment appraisal
• 19.4 Financing investment
• 19.5 The stock market
• Box 19.1 Investing in roads
• Box 19.2 Financing innovation
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part H The relationship between government and business
• Chapter 20 Reasons for government intervention in the market
• 20.1 Markets and the role of government
• 20.2 Types of market failure
• 20.3 Government intervention in the market
• 20.4 The case for less government intervention
• 20.5 Firms and social responsibility
• Box 20.1 Can the market provide adequate protection for the environment?
• Box 20.2 Deadweight loss from taxes on goods and services
• Box 20.3 The Body Shop
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 21 Government and the firm
• 21.1 Competition policy
• 21.2 Policies towards research and development (R&D)
• 21.3 Policies towards training
• Box 21.1 The umpires strike back
• Box 21.2 The R&D Scoreboard
• Box 21.3 The UK needs to ‘raise its game’
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 22 Government and the market
• 22.1 Environmental policy
• 22.2 Transport policy
• 22.3 Privatisation and regulation
• Box 22.1 A Stern rebuke about climate change inaction
• Box 22.2 Road pricing in Singapore
• Box 22.3 The right track to reform?
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part I Business in the international environment
• Chapter 23 Globalisation and multinational business
• 23.1 Globalisation: setting the scene
• 23.2 What is a multinational corporation?
• 23.3 Trends in multinational investment
• 23.4 Why do businesses go multinational?
• 23.5 The advantages of MNC investment for the host state
• 23.6 The disadvantages of MNC investment for the host state
• 23.7 Multinational corporations and developing economies
• Box 23.1 The transnationality index
• Box 23.2 Location. Location. Location.
• Box 23.3 Grocers go global
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 24 International trade
• 24.1 Trading patterns
• 24.2 The advantages of trade
• 24.3 Arguments for restricting trade
• 24.4 The world trading system and the WTO
• Box 24.1 Strategic trade theory
• Box 24.2 Taken to the cleaners
• Box 24.3 The Doha development agenda
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 25 Trading blocs
• 25.1 Preferential trading
• 25.2 Preferential trading in practice
• Box 25.1 Beyond bananas
• Box 25.2 The Internal Market Scoreboard
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part J The macroeconomic environment
• Chapter 26 The macroeconomic environment of business
• 26.1 Macroeconomic objectives
• 26.2 Economic growth
• 26.3 Unemployment
• 26.4 Inflation
• 26.5 The business cycle and macroeconomic objectives
• 26.6 The circular flow of income
• Box 26.1 Output gaps
• Box 26.2 Unemployment rates
• Box 26.3 Coping with a low-inflation environment
• Summary
• Review questions
• Appendix: Measuring national income and output
• Summary to appendix
• Review questions to appendix
• Chapter 27 The balance of payments and exchange rates
• 27.1 The balance of payments account
• 27.2 The exchange rate
• 27.3 Exchange rates and the balance of payments
• 27.4 Fixed versus floating exchange rates
• Box 27.1 Dealing in foreign exchange
• Box 27.2 The importance of international financial movements
• Box 27.3 The euro/dollar seesaw
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 28 Banking, money and interest rates
• 28.1 The meaning and functions of money
• 28.2 The financial system
• 28.3 The supply of money
• 28.4 The demand for money
• 28.5 Equilibrium
• Box 28.1 Financial intermediation
• Box 28.2 Banks’ balance sheets
• Box 28.3 Residential mortgages and securitisation
• Box 28.4 Tackling the credit crunch
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 29 Business activity, employment and inflation
• 29.1 The determination of business activity
• 29.2 The relationship between money and GDP
• 29.3 Unemployment and inflation
• 29.4 Inflation targeting and unemployment
• 29.5 Business cycles
• Box 29.1 Mind the gap
• Box 29.2 Has there been an accelerator effect over the past 60 years?
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
• Part K Macroeconomic policy
• Chapter 30 Demand-side policy
• 30.1 Fiscal policy
• 30.2 Monetary policy
• 30.3 Attitudes towards demand management
• Box 30.1 From golden to temporary rules
• Box 30.2 The daily operation of monetary policy
• Box 30.3 Monetary policy in the eurozone
• Box 30.4 Quantitative easing
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 31 Supply-side policy
• 31.1 Supply-side problems
• 31.2 Market-orientated supply-side policies
• 31.3 Interventionist supply-side policies
• 31.4 Regional policy
• Box 31.1 Getting intensive with capital
• Box 31.2 Productivity and economic growth
• Box 31.3 A new approach to industrial policy
• Summary
• Review questions
• Chapter 32 International economic policy
• 32.1 Global interdependence
• 32.2 International harmonisation of economic policies
• 32.3 European economic and monetary union
• 32.4 Alternative policies for achieving currency stability
• Box 32.1 Doctor, the world has caught a cold!
• Box 32.2 Optimal currency areas
• Box 32.3 The Tobin tax
• Summary
• Review questions
• Part end – additional case studies and relevant websites
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Web appendix

Key ideas

Glossary

Index