title: University economics;: Elements of inquiry
author: Alchian Armen Albert
description: Man wants more than there is any prospect of obtaining.  As soon as we have more of this, we want still more of it and more of that and that.  To say that we always want more is to say that man lives, even in the most affluent societies, in a state of scarcity.  The response to scarcity  What determines how much each person produces and gets of the total?  And what determines the particular mix of goods and services s/he consumes? -- constitutes the area of economic study.  Economics studies the competitive and cooperative behavior of people in resolving conflicts of interest that arise because wants exceed what is available. 
  
  To address these questions, this book discusses the following topics, each in its own chapter:  
  -&gt; Scarcity, Competitive Behavior, and Economics;
  -&gt; Competition;
  -&gt; Some Behavior Postulates;
  -&gt; Basis of Exchange;
  -&gt; Market Restrictions, Pollution, Property Enforcement Costs, and Public Goods;
  -&gt; Costs and Production;
  -&gt; The Business Firm and Profits;		
  -&gt; Production by Firms in Price-Takers Open Markets;
  -&gt; Production and Pricing in Price-Searchers Open Markets;
  -&gt; Sellers Tactics for Changing Market Conditions;
  -&gt; Derived Demand for Productive Resources;
  -&gt; Wages and Employment in Open Markets;
  -&gt; Restrictions on Open Markets for Labor;
  -&gt; Interest, Saving, and Investing;
  -&gt; Growth and Distribution of Wealth;
  -&gt; Unemployment and Economic Fluctuations;
  -&gt; National Income: Measurement and Meaning;
  -&gt; National-Income Theory: The Basic Model;
  -&gt; Money and Income;
  -&gt; Money Supply and Commercial Banks;
  -&gt; Money Supply: Determinants and Techniques of Control;
  -&gt; Government Finances;
  -&gt; Fiscal Policy Impacts on Income;
  -&gt; Inflation;
  -&gt; Stabilization orDestabilization Policy?;
  -&gt; Imports and the Gain from Trade;
  -&gt; International Trade Theory;
  -&gt; Resource Alocation, Terms of Trade, and Tariffs;
  -&gt; The Balance of Payments and Its Interpretation;
  -&gt; Balance-of-Payments Adjustment
zlib_text: # THE ECONOMICS OF DISCONTENT
  
  
  **THE ECONOMICS OF DISCONTENT**
  
  by Jean-Michel Paul
  
  eBook Formatting and Cover Design by
  [FormattingExperts.com](https://FormattingExperts.com)
  
  Book cover art: mural by Pascal Boyart ([pboy-art.com](http://pboy-art.com) )
  
  Paperback ISBN 978-981-14-1730-6
  
  This book has no royalties or copyright. Feel free to quote, copy and share.
  If you wish to show your appreciation for this book I cannot think of a better
  way than by supporting the twin pillars of education and research.
  
  I have the privilege to be associated with two particularly fine initiatives
  in my alma mater, the Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, of which I am
  particularly proud. Any donation, whatever the amount, is much appreciated.
  
  The postgraduate finance programme in which I teach, helping bright candidates
  coming from around the world but who lack sufficient financial means to enroll
  (Advanced Master in Financial Markets programme,
  <https://am.solvay.edu/financial-markets-4-2/