在编写这本教科书的时候，作者曼昆尽量将自己看做一名初次接触经济学的读者。他用轻松的对话风格，完美地向未来的决策者们诠释了经济学理论中的政治与科学。您不难发现，贯穿全书的尽是作者对读者的不断启发，他引导人们不但在经营中，而且在日常生活中也能够用经济学的头脑去思考与判断。

N. Gregory Mankiw is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. As a student, he studied economics at Princeton University and MIT. As a teacher, he has taught macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, and principles of economics. He even spent one summer long ago as a
sailing instructor on Long Beach Island.
　　Professor Mankiw is a prolific writer and a regular participant in academic and policy de-
bates. His work has been published in scholarly journals, such as the American Economic Review,
Journal of Political Economy, and Quarterly Journal of Economics, and in more popular forums,
such as The New York Times, The Financial Times,The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune. He is also author of the best-selling intermediate-level textbook Macroeconomics (Worth Publishers). In addition to his teaching, research, and writing,Professor Mankiw is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, an adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and
the Congressional Budget Office, and a member of the ETS test development committee for the
advanced placement exam in economics.
　　Professor Mankiw lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his wife and three children.

During my 20-year career as a student, the course that excited me most was the two-semester sequence on the principles of economics that I took during my fresh- man year in college. It is no exaggeration to say that it changed my life.
　　I had grown up in a family that often discussed politics over the dinner table. The pros and cons of various solutions to society's problems generated fervent de- bate. But, in school, I had been drawn to the sciences. Whereas politics seemed vague, rambling, and subjective, science was analytic, systematic, and objective. While political debate continued without end, science made progress.
　 My freshman course on the principles of economics opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. Economics combines the virtues of politics and science. It is, truly, a social science. Its subject matter is society--how people choose to lead their lives and how they interact with one another. But it approaches the subject with the dis- passion of a science. By bringing the methods of science to the questions of politics, economics tries to make progress on the challenges that all societies face.
　 I was drawn to write this book in the hope that I could convey some of the ex- citement about economics that ! felt as a student in my first economics course. Eco- nomics is a subject in which a little knowledge goes a long way, (The same cannot be said, for instance, of the study of physics or the Japanese language.) Economists have a unique way of viewing the world, much of which can be taught in one or two semesters. My goal in this book is to transmit this way of thinking to the widest possible audience and to convince readers that it illuminates much about the world around them.
　 ! believe that everyone should study the fundamental ideas that economics has to offer. One purpose of general education is to inform people about the world and thereby make them better citizens. The study of economics, as much as any disci- pline, serves this goal. Writing an economics textbook is, therefore, a great honor and a great responsibility. It is one way that economists can help promote better government and a more prosperous future. As the great economist Paul Samuel- son put it, "I don't care who writes a nation's laws, or crafts its advanced treaties, if I can write its economics textbooks." For Whom Is This Book Written It is tempting for a professional economist writing a textbook to take the economist's point of view and to emphasize those topics that fascinate him and other econo- mists. I have done my best to avoid that temptation. I have tried to put myself in the　position of someone seeing economics for the first time. My goal is to emphasize the　material that students should and do find interesting about the study of the economy.
　　One result is that this book is briefer than many books used to introduce stu-　dents to economics. As a student, I was (and unfortunately still am) a slow reader.　I groaned whenever a professor gave the class a 1,000-page tome to read. Of course,　my reaction was not unique. The Greek poet Callimachus put it succinctly: "Big　book, big bore." Callimachus made that observation in 250 B.C., so he was probably　not referring to an economics textbook, but today his sentiment is echoed around　the world every semester when students first see their economics assignments. My goal in this book is to avoid that reaction by skipping the bells, whistles, and extraneous details that distract students from the key lessons.
　 Another result of this student orientation is that more of this book is devoted to applications and policy--and less to formal economic theory--than is the case with many other books written for the principles course. Throughout this book I have tried to return to applications and policy questions as often as possible. Most chap- ters include case studies illustrating how the principles of economics are applied. In addition, "In the News" boxes (most of which are new to this edition) offer ex- cerpts from newspaper articles showing how economic ideas shed light on current issues facing society. After students finish their first course in economics, they should think about news stories from a new perspective and with greater insight. What's New in the Third Edition Much has happened in the world since I wrote the last edition of this book. Over the past few years, another U.S. recession, a new president, a tax cut, corporate account- ing scandals, a new European currency, and terrorist attacks have all altered the eco- nomic landscape. Because the teaching of economics has to stay current with an ever changing world, this new edition includes dozens of new case studies and boxes.
　 In addition to updating the book, I have also refined its coverage and pedagogy with input from many users of the previous edition. There are many changes, both large and small. For example, the basic presentation of supply and demand in Chapter 4 has been rearranged and improved. More important, this new edition contains two new chapters. A new chapter on the "Frontiers of Microeconomics" introduces students to the economics of asymmetric information, political economy, and behavioral economics. A new chapter on "The Basic Tools of Finance" develops the concepts of present value, risk management, and asset valuation. (Only the complete 36-chapter version of this book includes both of these chapters. See below for outlines of each of the five available versions.) These new chapters are optional, and instructors can skip them without loss of continuity. But adding these topics should give students a greater appreciation of the use and scope of economics.
　 All the changes that I made, and the many others that I considered, were evalu- ated in light of the benefits of brevity. Like most things that we study in econom- ics, a student's time is a scarce resource. I always keep in mind a dictum from the great novelist Robertson Davies: "One of the most important things about writing is to boil it down and not bore the hell out of everybody." How Is This Book Organized
　 To write a brief and student-friendly book, I had to consider new ways to organize familiar material. What follows is a whirlwind tour of this text. The tour will, I hope, give instructors some sense of how the pieces fit together. Introductory Material
　 Chapter 1, "Ten Principles of Economics," introduces students to the economist's view of the world. It previews some of the big ideas that recur throughout eco- nomics, such as opportunity cost, marginal decisionmaking, the role of incentives, the gains from trade, and the efficiency of market allocations. Throughout the book, I refer regularly to the Ten Principles of Economics introduced in Chapter 1 to remind students that these ideas are the foundation for all economics. An icon in the margin calls attention to these key, interconnected principles.
　 Chapter 2, "Thinking Like an Economist," examines how economists approach their field of study. It discusses the role of assumptions in developing a theory and introduces the concept of an economic model. It also discusses the role of econo- mists in making policy. The appendix to this chapter offers a brief refresher course on how graphs are used and how they can be abused.
　 Chapter 3, "Interdependence and the Gains from Trade," presents the theory of comparative advantage. This theory explains why individuals trade with their neighbors, as well as why nations trade with other nations. Much of economics is about how market forces coordinate many individual production and consump- tion decisions. As a starting point for this analysis, students see in this chapter why specialization, interdependence, and trade can benefit everyone. The Fundamental Tools of Supply and Demand The next three chapters introduce the basic tools of supply and demand. Chapter 4, "The Market Forces of Supply and Demand," develops the supply curve, the de- mand curve, and the notion of market equilibrium. Chapter 5, "Elasticity and Its Application," introduces the concept of elasticity and uses it to analyze events in three different markets. Chapter 6, "Supply, Demand, and Government Policies," uses these tools to examine price controls, such as rent-control and minimum-wage laws, and tax incidence.
　 Chapter 7, "Consumers, Producers, and the Efficiency of Markets," extends the analysis of supply and demand using the concepts of consumer surplus and pro- ducer surplus. It begins by developing the link between consumers' willingness to pay and the demand curve, and the link between producers' costs of production and the supply curve. It then shows that the market equilibrium maximizes the sum of the producer and consumer surplus. Thus, students learn early about the efficiency of market allocations.
　 The next two chapters apply the concepts of producer and consumer surplus to questions of policy. Chapter 8, "Application: The Costs of Taxation," shows why taxation results in deadweight losses and what determines the size of those losses. Chapter 9, "Application: International Trade," considers who wins and who loses from international trade and presents the debate over protectionist trade policies.　More Microeconomics
　 Having examined why market allocations are often desirable, the book then con- siders how the government can sometimes improve on them. Chapter I0, "Exter- nalities,'' explains how external effects such as pollution can render market outcomes inefficient and discusses the possible public and private solutions to those inefficiencies. Chapter 11, "Public Goods and Common Resources," considers the problems that arise when goods, such as national defense, have no market price. Chapter 12, "The Design of the Tax System," describes how the government raises the revenue necessary to pay for public goods. It presents some institutional back-　ground about the U.S. tax system and then discusses how the goals of efficiency and　equity come into play when designing a tax system.
　　The next five chapters examine firm behavior and industrial organization. Chap-　ter 13, "The Costs of Production," discusses what to include in a firm's costs,　and it introduces cost curves. Chapter 14, "Firms in Competitive Markets," ana-　lyzes the behavior of price-taking firms and derives the market supply curve.　Chapter 15, "Monopoly," discusses the behavior of a firm that is the sole seller in its market. It discusses the inefficiency of monopoly pricing, the possible policy re- sponses, and the attempts by monopolies to price discriminate. Chapter 16, "Oli- gopoly,'' covers markets in which there are only a few sellers, using the prisoners' dilemma as the model for examining strategic interaction. Chapter 17, "Monopolistic Competition," looks at behavior in a market in which many sellers offer similar but differentiated products. It also discusses the debate over the effects of advertising.
　 The next three chapters present issues related to labor markets. Chapter 18, "The Markets for the Factors of Production," emphasizes the link between factor prices and marginal productivity. Chapter 19, "Earnings and Discrimination," dis- cusses the determinants of equilibrium wages, including compensating differen- tials, human capital, and discrimination. Chapter 20, "Income Inequality and Poverty," examines the degree of inequality in U.S. society, alternative views about the government's role in changing the distribution of income, and various policies aimed at helping society's poorest members.
　　The next two chapters present optional material. Chapter 21, "The Theory of Consumer Choice," analyzes individual decisionmaking using budget constraints and indifference curves. Chapter 22, "Frontiers of Microeconomics," introduces the topics of asymmetric information, political economy, and behavioral econom- ics. Many instructors may skip all or some of this material. Instructors who do cover these topics may choose to assign these chapters earlier than they are pre- sented in the book, and I have written them to give instructors flexibility. Macroeconomics
　　My overall approach to teaching macroeconomics is to examine the economy in the long run (when prices are flexible) before examining the economy in the short run (when prices are sticky). I believe that this organization simplifies learning macro- economics for several reasons. First, the classical assumption of price flexibility is more closely linked to the basic lessons of supply and demand, which students have already mastered. Second, the classical dichotomy allows the study of the long run to be broken up into several, easily digested pieces. Third, because the business cy- cle represents a transitory deviation from the economy's long-run growth path, studying the transitory deviations is more natural after the long-run equilibrium is understood. Fourth, the macroeconomic theory of the short run is more controversial among economists than the macroeconomic theory of the long run. For these rea- sons, most upper-level courses in macroeconomics now follow this long-run-before- short-run approach; my goal is to offer introductory students the same advantage.
　　Returning to the detailed organization, I start the coverage of macroeconomics with issues of measurement. Chapter 23, "Measuring the Nation's Income," dis- cusses the meaning of gross domestic product and related statistics from the national income accounts. Chapter 24, "Measuring the Cost of Living," discusses the measurement and use of the consumer price index.
　 The next four chapters describe the behavior of the real economy in the long run. Chapter 25, "Production and Growth," examines the determinants of the large variation in living standards over time and across countries. Chapter 26, "Saving, Investment, and the Financial System," discusses the types of financial institutions in our economy and examines their role in allocating resources. Chapter 27, "The Basic Tools of Finance," introduces present value, risk management, and asset pricing. Chapter 28, "Unemployment and Its Natural Rate," considers the long- run determinants of the unemployment rate, including job search, minimum-wage laws, the market power of unions, and efficiency wages.
　 Having described the long-run behavior of the real economy, the book then turns to the long-run behavior of money and prices. Chapter 29, "The Monetary System," introduces the economist's concept of money and the role of the central bank in controlling the quantity of money. Chapter 30, "Money Growth and Infla- tion,'' develops the classical theory of inflation and discusses the costs that infla- tion imposes on a society.
　 The next two chapters present the macroeconomics of open economies, main- taining the long-run assumptions of price flexibility and full employment. Chapter 31, "Open-Economy Macroeconomics: Basic Concepts," explains the relationship among saving, investment, and the trade balance, the distinction between the nominal and real exchange rate, and the theory of purchasing-power parity. Chap- ter 32, "A Macroeconomic Theory of the Open Economy," presents a classical model of the international flow of goods and capital. The model sheds light on var- ious issues, including the link between budget deficits and trade deficits and the macroeconomic effects of trade policies. Because instructors differ in their empha- sis on this material, these chapters are written so they can be used in different ways. Some may choose to cover Chapter 31 but not Chapter 32; others may skip both chapters; and still others may choose to defer the analysis of open-economy macroeconomics until the end of their courses.
　 After developing the long-run theory of the economy in Chapters 25 through 32, the book turns to explaining short-run fluctuations around the long-run trend. This organization simplifies teaching the theory of short-run fluctuations because, at this point in the course, students have a good grounding in many basic macro- economic concepts. Chapter 33, "Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply," be- gins with some facts about the business cycle and then introduces the model of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. Chapter 34, "The Influence of Monetary and Fiscal Policy on Aggregate Demand," explains how policymakers can use the tools at their disposal to shift the aggregate-demand curve. Chapter 35, "The Short-Run Tradeoff between Inflation and Unemployment," explains why policy- makers who control aggregate demand face a tradeoff between inflation and un- employment. It examines why this tradeoff exists in the short run, why it shifts over time, and why it does not exist in the long run.
　　The book concludes with Chapter 36, "Five Debates over Macroeconomic Pol- icy.'' This capstone chapter considers five controversial issues facing policymakers: the proper degree of policy activism in response to the business cycle; the choice between rules and discretion in the conduct of monetary policy; the desirability of reaching zero inflation; the importance of balancing the government's budget; and the need for tax reform to encourage saving. For each issue, the chapter presents both sides of the debate and encourages students to make their own judgments. "Economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life." So wrote Alfred Marshall, the great nineteenth-century economist, in his textbook, Principles of Economics. Although we have learned much about the economy since Marshall's time, this definition of economics is as true today as it was in 1890, when the first edition of his text was published.
　 Why should you, as a student at the beginning of the twenty-first century, em- bark on the study of economics There are three reasons.
　 The first reason to study economics is that it will help you understand the world in which you live. There are many questions about the economy that might spark your curiosity. Why are apartments so hard to find in New York City Why do air- lines charge less for a round-trip ticket if the traveler stays over a Saturday night Why is Robin Williams paid so much to star in movies Why are living standards so meager in many African countries Why do some countries have high rates of inflation while others have stable prices Why are jobs easy to find in some years and hard to find in others These are just a few of the questions that a course in economics will help you answer.
　 The second reason to study economics is that it will make you a more astute participant in the economy. As you go about your life, you make many economic decisions. While you are a student, you decide how many years to stay in school. Once you take a job, you decide how much of your income to spend, how much to save, and how to invest your savings. Someday you may find yourself running a small business or a large corporation, and you will decide what prices to charge for your products. The insights developed in the coming chapters will give you a new perspective on how best to make these decisions. Studying economics will not by itself make you rich, but it will give you some tools that may help in that endeavor.
　 The third reason to study economics is that it will give you a better under- standing of the potential and limits of economic policy. As a voter, you help choose the policies that guide the allocation of society's resources. When deciding which　policies to support, you may find yourself asking various questions about eco-　nomics. What are the burdens associated with alternative forms of taxation What　are the effects of free trade with other countries What is the best way to protect　the environment How does a government budget deficit affect the economy 　These and similar questions are always on the minds of policymakers in mayors'　offices, governors' mansions, and the White House.
　　Thus the principles of economics can be applied in many of life's situations.　Whether the future finds you reading the newspaper, running a business, or sitting　in the Oval Office, you will be glad that you studied economics.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　N. Gregory Mankiw
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　October 2002

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N·格里高利·曼昆(N.Gregory Mankiw)：暂无简介

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PART 1　　　　　　 INTRODUCTION　　1
CHAPTER 1　　 Ten Principles of Economics　3
CHAPTER 2　　 Thinking Like an Economist　19
CHAPTER 3　　 Interdependence and the Gains from Trade　45

PART 2　　　SUPPLY AND DEMAND h
HOW MARKETS WORK　61
CHAPTER 4　　 The Market Forces of Supply and
Demand　63
CHAPTER 5　　 Elasticity and Its Application　89
CHAPTER 6　　 Supply, Demand, and Government
Policies　113

PART 3　　　SUPPLY AND DEMAND II:
MARKETS AND WELFARE　135
CHAPTER 7　　 Consumers, Producers, and the Efficiency
of Markets　137
CHAPTER 8　　 Application: The Costs of Taxation　159
CHAPTER 9　　 Application: International Trade　175

PART 4　　　　　　THE ECONOMICS
OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR　201
CHAPTER 10　　Externalities　203
CHAPTER 11　　Public Goods and
Common Resources　223
CHAPTER 12　　The Design of the Tax System　241

PART 5　　　FIRM BEHAVIOR AND THE ORGANIZATION
OF INDUSTRY　265
CHAPTER 13　　The Costs of Production　267
CHAPTER 14　　Firms in Competitive Markets　289
CHAPTER 15　　Monopoly　313
CHAPTER 16　　Oligopoly　345
CHAPTER 17　　Monopolistic Competition　373

PART 6　　　THE ECONOMICS
OF LABOR MARKETS　389
CHAPTER 18　　The Markets for the
Factors of Production　391
CHAPTER 19　　Earnings and Discrimination　411
CHAPTER 20　　Income Inequality and Poverty　429

PART 7　　　　TOPICS FOR FURTHER STUDY　451
CHAPTER 21　　The Theory of Consumer Choice　453
CHAPTER 22　　Frontiers of Microeconomics　479

PART 8　　　　　　 THE DATA OF MACROECONOMICS　　497
CHAPTER 23　　Measuring a Nation's Income　499
CHAPTER 24　　Measuring the Cost of Living　519

PART 9　　　THE REAL ECONOMY
IN THE LONG RUN　535
CHAPTER 25　　Production and Growth　537
CHAPTER 26　　Saving, Investment,
and the Financial System　561
CHAPTER 27　　The Basic Tools of Finance　583
CHAPTER 28　　Unemployment and Its Natural Rate　599

PART 10　　　　　MONEY AND PRICES
IN THE LONG RUN　625
CHAPTER 29　　The Monetary System　627
CHAPTER 30　　Money Growth and Inflation　645

PART 11　　 THE MACROECONOMICS
OF OPEN ECONOMIES　673
CHAPTER 31　　Open-Economy Macroeconomics:
Basic Concepts　675
CHAPTER 32　　A Macroeconomic Theory of the Open
Economy　697

PART 12　　 SHORT-RUN ECONOMIC
FLUCTUATIONS　721
CHAPTER 33　　Aggregate Demand and
Aggregate Supply　723
CHAPTER 34　　The Influence of Monetary and
Fiscal Policy on Aggregate Demand　755
CHAPTER 35　　The Short-Run Tradeoff between Inflation
and Unemployment　781

PART 13　　　　　FINAL THOUGHTS　　809
CHAPTER 36　　Five Debates over
Macroeconomic Policy　811
Glossary　829
Index　835