Publisher's Synopsis
This is an innovative economics text - it demonstrates the general applicability of basic economic concepts, informed by ideas of the transaction cost paradigm, to a wide range of social, physical and legal phenomena of both general and local significance. The book draws real life examples from public affairs (such as housing, transportation and the environment) and is particularly suitable for students and professionals in development-related disciplines (such as surveying, planning and law). The first part of the book introduces the nature and function of economic inquiry. The second part explains the basic operations and applications of the law of demand and supply, and the ingredients of the capital theory. The third part deals with the emergence of the firm as a unit of economic decision making, as well as market failure and the economic analysis of law, both informed by the Coarse Theorem.
