"Understand the forces behind the ups and downs of our economy" --Cover.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [387]-392) and index.

Economics explains it all -- Who gets what, and how? -- GDP and the players three -- The economist's toolbox -- Supply, demand, and the invisible hand -- Look at these prices! -- Capitalism at work -- Buyer be where? -- Income, outgo, and investment -- The business of business -- Wages, workers, and the workplace -- To have and have not -- The government and the economy -- The ups and downs of the business cycle -- Hey, big spender! The federal budget -- Fiscal policy and economic growth -- Money, the banking system, and policy -- The color- and velocity- of money -- The banks' bank: the Federal Reserve -- Monetary policy: the gas and the brakes -- The global economy -- International trade: exports, imports, etc. -- International finance -- The global economy -- Situational economics -- U.S. health care: on life support? -- The economics of sustainable growth -- Learning to "read" the economy -- Everyday economics.

Presents a guide to economics that covers such topics as leading economic indicators, fiscal and monetary policy, supply and demand, consumer behavior, the federal budget, business cycles, and the banking system.