Includes index.

Ch. 1. What is economics? --
Pt. 1. Prices and markets.
Ch. 2. The role of prices.
Ch. 3. Price controls.
Ch. 4. An overview --
Pt. 2. Industry and commerce.
Ch. 5. The rise and fall of business.
Ch. 6. The role of profits and losses.
Ch. 7. Big business and government.
Ch. 8. An overview --
Pt. 3. Work and pay.
Ch. 9. Productivity and pay.
Ch. 10. Controlled labor markets.
Ch. 11. An overview --
Pt. 4. Time and risk.
Ch. 12. Investment and speculation.
Ch. 13. Risk and insurance.
Ch. 14. An overview --
Pt. 5. The national economy.
Ch. 15. National output.
Ch. 16. Money and the banking system.
Ch. 17. Government functions.
Ch. 18. Government finance.
Ch. 19. An overview --
Pt 6. The international economy.
Ch. 20. International trade.
Ch. 21. International transfers of wealth.
Ch. 22. An overview --
Pt. 7. Special economic issues.
Ch. 23. Myths about markets.
Ch. 24. "Non-economic" values.
Ch. 25. The history of Economics.
Ch. 26. Parting thoughts.

The fourth edition of Basic Economics is both expanded and updated. A new chapter on the history of economics itself has been added, and the implications of that history examined. A new section on the special role of corporations in the economy has been added to the chapter on government and big business, among other additions throughout the book.

Basic Economics, which has now been translated into six languages, has grown so much that a large amount of material in the back of the book in previous editions has now been put online instead, so the book itself and its price will not have to expand. The central idea of Basic Economics, however, remains the same: that the fundamental facts and principles of economics do not require jargon, graphs, or equations, and can be learned in a relaxed and even enjoyable way.