Microeconomics

Synopsis

Boyes and Melvin have developed the Sixth Edition of Economics to enhance its central features: direct and accessible writing, proven pedagogy, and thorough integration of global economic issues. The text's international perspective has been strengthened and extended to focus on the implications of economic principles for business strategy in an era of global competition. International issues appear consistently throughout the text in examples that illustrate basic economic concepts. In addition, economic data drawn from around the world underscores the authors' long-standing emphasis on global issues. Extended coverage of topics affecting global competitiveness, such as resource pricing and foreign exchange markets, explicitly connects the study of economics with real-world business decisions. New! The discussions of market failure and the different forms of economic and social regulation have been reorganized to facilitate learning. A stronger focus on the application of market theory to current, real-life issues—including the recent corporate accounting scandals—helps students to see the content's practical relevance, increasing their comprehension of key ideas. New! Chapter 17, Financial Markets: Institutions and Recent Events provides a detailed description of how U.S. stock and bond markets work, as well as their role in the global economy to reinforce the application of economic principles to business. New! Chapter 14, Government and Market Failure, discusses the circumstances under which markets might fail, including externalities, public goods, the lack of private property rights, and asymmetric information—as well as approaches to solving the problem. Chapter 13, Antitrust and Regulation, covers all the forms of regulation (economic, social, and financial markets regulation) in one, convenient place. New! Global Business Insight boxes use thumbnail maps and examples from around the world to illustrate essential economic concepts. A consistent framework of instruction helps to improve students' understanding and performance in the course. Fundamental Questions reinforce 5–8 key points per chapter, appearing repeatedly throughout the chapter as well as the supplements. In addition, the text's internal referencing system establishes a hierarchy of ideas by designating a number for each section and subsection—cited consistently in the textbook and supplements (including the Test Bank). New! Eduspace is Houghton Mifflin's online learning tool. Powered by Blackboard, Eduspace is a customizable, powerful and interactive platform that provides instructors with text-specific online courses and content in multiple disciplines. Features of the Boyes/Melvin Economics course include algorithmic homework with hints as well as presentation slides, photos, illustrations and links to group projects.