John Jackson,
RMIT University Ron McIver,
University of South Australia
ISBN: 0074713248 Copyright year: 2004
Features
A BALANCED APPROACH
The text exposes students to diverse points of view, political standpoints and alternative ways of thinking, and encourages them to formulate their own conclusions about economic problems and policy solutions. This approach equips students with the ability to reason accurately and objectively about economic matters, and become thoughtful and independent critics.
A CLEAR AGENDA
Written with the introductory economics student in mind, the text is centred on the step-by-step development of a comprehensive and realistic economic story, and the logical arrangement and clear exposition of essential ideas.
Key economic concepts are presented in three ways-through narrative, numbers and graphs-in an effort to appeal to the diverse learning styles of students and aid their comprehension of essential theory and application.
MARRIAGE OF THEORY AND PRACTICE
This text clearly establishes the underlying principles of economics while providing numerous boxed examples and articles that bring the theory to life, and successfully illustrate Australia's role in the Asian region and the wider global economy. Knowledge is developed through clear, concise and accurate explanations that challenge and motivate students without sacrificing depth.
Pedagogy
Learning Objectives
Each chapter opens with a set of Learning Objectives that outline the skills students will have attained upon completing that chapter.
Key Terms
The field of economics has its own unique language. Key terms highlighted in the margin allow students easy access to understanding this language. They are also presented in an alphabetical glossary at the end of the text.
Check Point Boxes
These boxes summarise and review the key concepts of each major section and reinforce the central learning goals of each chapter.
Business Insight Boxes
These boxes discuss various economic issues affecting businesses and assess the broader implications of economic policies on business.
Asia in Focus Boxes
These boxes discuss economic activity within a regional context and include a graph or table and approximately three discussion questions.
Global Watch Boxes
These boxes provide relevant and interesting international data corresponding to the chapter topic. They illustrate Australia's role and relative position in the Asia-Pacific region and in the wider global economy. They pose three critical thinking questions.
Idea of the Moment Boxes
These boxes will summarise 'flavour of the month' topics and issues that are controversial or particularly important to our economic climate, as drawn from public debate. They appear only in the chapters to which they are most relevant.
Summary
At the end of each chapter, the main points are briefly summarised to assist students in the learning process.
Review Questions
These questions are specifically designed to test students' knowledge of the chapter they have just finished.
Problem-Solving Exercises
These exercises are directly linked to chapter content and designed to get students thinking critically and analytically
Application Questions
These questions have been included to enable students to apply the skills and knowledge they have just attained upon completing the chapter.
Economics in Reality
These end-of-chapter articles are excerpts from the popular press (The Economist, The Bulletin, The Age) that illustrate real-world applications or human interest aspects of economic concepts, and provide a sense of place for the ideas that have been developed in the text. They are to be used as the basis for tutorial or class discussion and are accompanied by four to five critical analysis questions.
Appendices
The authors have included supplementary material at the end of selected chapters. Each appendix comprises a brief introduction, learning objectives, additional chapter text, graphs and tables, a summary, a list of key terms and concepts, and review questions and exercises.
2004
McGraw-Hill Australia